Red Velvet Bundt Cake With White Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cheese Glaze

This is your NINE DAYS till Christmas warning! I hope you are all more prepared than I am, I've only bought one gift so far! I'm never usually quite this disorganised... The last minute rush to get everything sorted is on! If you are also unprepared and didn't get round to baking a fruitcake yet (or just don't like fruitcake), then this red velvet bundt cake with white chocolate peppermint cream cheese glaze makes a great festive alternative as it doesn't need to be baked in advance.

Bundt cakes are the perfect way to make an impressive looking cake without any effort - the tin does all the hard work for you! I found the beautiful tin for this cake in HomeSense which is one of my favourite shops for homewares, it is packed full of pretty things! It is also the best place I have found to get Nordic Ware bundt tins, which are the best quality ones you can buy; I have to admit I spent a good twenty minutes deliberating which of the lovely ones they had in store to buy! (I sadly don't have room in my kitchen to buy them all!). The beautiful slate slab and props in the photos are also all from HomeSense; I was like a kid in a candy shop! It is also a really good place to buy Christmas presents from, not that I actually bought anything for anyone else other than myself....

I went for a red velvet cake because it is such a festive colour (and delicious to boot!); a bundt cake needs a glaze so I kept the traditional cream cheese element of red velvet frosting but made it more Christmassy by adding white chocolate and peppermint and topping the cake with crushed candy cane. The cake is deliciously soft and moist, and the glaze is good enough to eat with a spoon! Just make sure that you don't add the candy cane crumbs (if using) until just before serving as they will melt after a while. The cake keeps well in an airtight container if it doesn't all get eaten straight away, though I doubt that it will hang around for long!

Print

5 from 2 votes

Red Velvet Bundt Cake With White Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cheese Glaze

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

• 300 g (2+½ cups) plain flour
• 45 g (generous ⅓ cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 150 g (½ cup + 2tbsp) butter unsalted, softened
• 400 g (scant 2 cups) caster sugar
• 100 ml (⅓ cup + 1tbsp) vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs separated
• ½ tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 240 ml (1 cup) buttermilk
• 2 tsp red gel food colouring (approx)

Glaze:

• 100 g (3.5oz) white chocolate chopped
• 100 g (3.5oz) cream cheese
• splash warm milk
• couple of drops peppermint extract
• 1 candy cane crushed

Instructions

Cake:

• Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/gas mark 3. Thoroughly grease a 10 cup bundt tin and dust with flour, tapping out the excess over the sink.
  
• Sift together the flour, cornflour, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder and salt, set aside. Using an electric mixer, whisk together the butter and sugar until well combined. Whisk in the oil a little at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in the egg yolks, vanilla extract and vinegar, beating until well combined.
• With the mixture on a low speed, fold in one third of the flour mixture, followed by half the buttermilk, then another third of flour, the remaining buttermilk then the remaining flour.
• Add red gel food colouring a little at a time until you reach the desired shade, bear in mind that the colour will darken a fair bit when the cakes are baked so you don't need to get it as dark as you want it to be.
• In a clean bowl, vigorously whisk the egg whites with a balloon whisk until good and frothy but not yet beginning to stiffen then fold them into the cake batter.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface. Tap the tin on a worktop protected with a tea towel a couple of times to burst any air bubbles.
  
• Bake the cake in the centre of the oven for about 50-65 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Cover loosely with tin foil after 30/40 minutes to prevent the top from browning too much.
  
• Leave the cake to cool in the tin for about 20 minutes then carefully turn it out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
  

Glaze:

• Melt the chocolate, either in a bain marie or in short bursts in the microwave, then whisk in the cream cheese. Add a little bit of warm milk - just enough that it becomes a pouring consistency; then add a couple of drops of peppermint extract to taste.
  
• Place the cake on a serving platter and pour over the glaze; top with crushed candy cake just before serving.
  

Notes

You will need a 10 cup bundt tin.

I was sent some HomeSense vouchers in exchange for writing this post. All opinions are as always my own.