Peppermint Candy Cane Cake with Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

A beautiful Peppermint cake, with a luscious cream cheese swirl and a rich candy cane cream cheese frosting. A festive Candy Cane cake that will have everyone running to the dessert table.

Bundt cakes are the best; they are so easy but look fancy. No boxed white cake mix or fussy cake layers here. 

With the holidays just around the corner, you’ll love this easy Gingerbread Bundt Cake, this famous White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake, or this popular moist chocolate cake.

I love bundt cakes, they look fancy, but are secretly really easy! Try a few of our favorites; this Best Banana Bread Bundt Cake Recipe with Brown Butter Glaze, Pear Bundt Cake and this to-die for Peach Cobbler Pound Cake.

I enjoy giving precise details in my recipe posts to lead my readers through any questions. If you’re just here for the printable recipe, use the Jump to Recipe to head straight there!

How to Make Christmas Peppermint Bundt Cake

Step 1 | Prep Pan, Oven, and Ingredients

Remove eggs, cream cheese, butter, buttermilk, and Greek yogurt from the fridge one hour before baking. 

Preheat oven to 350°F (175° C); see notes for high altitude. Grease a 10-12 inch bundt pan with baking release spray (my favorite brand) or brush with soft butter well and flour, knocking out excess. Set aside.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt in a separate bowl.

Step 2 | Make Cream Cheese Filling

In a stand mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and mix on medium speed until combined. Add egg, flour, and vanilla and continue beating until smooth; 2-3 minutes on medium speed. Set aside.

Step 3 | Make Peppermint Cake Batter

In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat eggs and sugar for 3 minutes on high speed until fluffy and pale in color.

Add melted butter, coconut oil, and peppermint extract, blending between each ingredient. 

Add buttermilk and Greek Yogurt until well blended with the mixer on low, scraping the sides of the bowl if needed.

Slowly add the sifted flour mixture / dry ingredients into the wet ingredients about ⅓ cup at a time and mix on low speed until blended. Add Crushed Candy Canes and, if adding, add red food coloring until the desired hue. Mix on low speed until just combined; do not overmix. 

Step 4 | Prepare Bundt and Bake

Spoon about ⅔ of the peppermint cake batter evenly into the prepared bundt pan (eyeballing it is fine). Spread all of the cream cheese filling evenly on top of the batter. 

Pour the remaining peppermint cake batter evenly on top and smooth. Place a pot holder under the bundt pan and give 2-3 taps to settle the batter. 

Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer comes out mostly clean, with some moist crumbs. Cool for 10 minutes in pan, then invert onto a wire rack, remove Bundt pan, and cool completely before frosting.

Step 5 | Prepare Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat the butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment until smooth and no lumps remain. 

Add powdered sugar, a ½ cup at a time with the mixer on low. Then add in the peppermint extract and cream until desired consistency. Add more powdered sugar to reach the desired consistency.

Step 6 | Frost Candy Cane Bundt Cake

Once the cake is completely cooled frost the cake. Spoon frosting into a piping bag and snip off ½ inch, then frost “fingers” from the inside to the outside of the cake.

If you prefer not to have the cream cheese frosting, add peppermint extract to basic vanilla buttercream glaze or this easy chocolate ganache.

Variations & Substitutions

• For extra richness, stir in 1½ cups of white chocolate chips to the batter before pouring into the bundt pan, to keep them from sinking toss them with a tablespoon of the flour mixture before adding to the batter. 
• For a less pepperminty cake, reduce the peppermint flavor in the batter by 1 teaspoon and in the frosting by ½ tsp.
• Looking for a chocolate peppermint cake recipe? Turn this delicious Copycat Chocolate Chocolate Chip Nothing Bundt Cake into a delicious holiday cake by adding 2 teaspoon peppermint extract to the batter, 1 teaspoon to the frosting, and sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
• Use red, white and green crushed peppermint for a more colorful cake.
• No plain Greek yogurt? Swap out with an equal amount of sour cream.
• Instead of cream cheese frosting, make peppermint buttercream frosting by adding ½-1 teaspoon peppermint extract, and make it extra pretty by placing buttercream in piping bag and frosting similar to my red velvet bundt cake. 

Mini Peppermint Candy Cane Bundt Cakes

Mini candy cane bundt cakes, bundtlets, or bundtlettes or just plain candy cane cupcakes – Whatever you call them, they are adorable, convenient, and delish! All you need to do is add the cake batter to a mini bundt cake pan or a cupcake pan, filling each to about ⅔ full, spoon a layer of cream cheese filling on top and finally spoon remaining cake batter on top, being careful not to overfill past ¾ full.

For the bundlette and quartet pan, bake the treats for about 20 to 25 minutes; bake the treats for 18 to 22 minutes for the cupcake pan. Then, cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack, invert onto a cooling rack, cool completely, frost and sprinkle crushed peppermints and serve!

Sheet Pan Peppermint Candy Cake Recipe

You can also use a baking pan to make this recipe. A 9×13-inch pan works best. Brush the pan with butter or baking spray, then evenly pour batter about ½ way up the side of the pan.

Spread an even layer of the cream cheese filling on top, then pour the remaining cake batter. Using a butter knife, slowly pull the knife through the batter to swirl. Bake as directed and check the cake at about 25 minutes. When finished, cool, then frost with cream cheese icing and sprinkle with crushed peppermint candy canes. 

Gluten-Free Peppermint Cake

While I haven’t made this cake gluten-free, I have had great luck in the past, substituting the all-purpose flour with equal amounts of Gluten-free all-purpose flour (King Arthur is my fave) and a combination of almond flour and oat flour, or all one or the other. Do not overbake. 

Storage Tips

Since this cake has a cream cheese frosting, I recommend you refrigerate it, if making it longer than 4-6 hours before serving. Remove from the fridge about 20-30 minutes prior to slicing. Bundt cakes will last from 5-7 days in the fridge, if you can hide it from your family!

Can You Freeze Peppermint Candy Cane Bundt Cakes?

• You betcha! Even frosted you can freeze these cakes or bundtlets. If freezing before frosting, cool completely (very important so you don’t form ice crystals, then wrap well in plastic wrap and then in foil. 
• Much like this Banana Bread, I think it’s better the second day, allowing the flavors to mingle and meld. 
• If freezing after icing, place in the freezer for 30-50 minutes to harden the icing, then cover with plastic wrap well; then again in foil. Will keep well frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in fridge.

Frequently Asked Questions

Best Drinks for Peppermint Cake

For a tasty combo with your peppermint cake, try a Cranberry Mimosa – or go for a Christmas Morning Chai, or sip on this Starbucks White Hot Chocolate; check out all of our holiday drinks!

Best appetizers to serve with Candy Cane Cake

We love this Cranberry cream cheese dip, these Turkey and Cranberry sliders and our favorite Cowboy crack dip (great hot or cold).

Our favorite holiday sweets

More peppermint recipes you will love!

• Try these easy Peppermint Sugar Cookies
• White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
• Lemon & Peppermint Antibacterial Hand Scrub
• White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake (Instant Pot or Oven)

I hope you loved this Peppermint Cake — if you did, would you share your creation on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest? And be sure to comment below!