Festive Red Velvet Bundt Cake: Your Ultimate Guide to a White Chocolate Peppermint Holiday Delight

As the holiday season rapidly approaches, the excitement of Christmas fills the air! Whether you’re meticulously prepared or, like many of us, still scrambling with last-minute gift shopping and festive planning, there’s always time for a show-stopping dessert. Forget the traditional fruitcake that often requires weeks of preparation; this year, elevate your holiday table with a spectacular Red Velvet Bundt Cake, generously adorned with a luscious White Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cheese Glaze. This cake is not only visually stunning with its vibrant festive hues but also incredibly moist, flavorful, and surprisingly easy to make, making it the perfect alternative for any holiday gathering.

Christmas is a time for indulgence, warmth, and delicious treats that bring people together. While the classic red velvet cake is a year-round favorite, infusing it with seasonal flavors like white chocolate and peppermint transforms it into an irresistible holiday centerpiece. This bundt cake eliminates the stress of intricate frosting techniques, allowing the beauty of the bundt pan to do all the heavy lifting. The result is an elegant, bakery-worthy dessert that tastes even better than it looks, and trust us, it looks absolutely magnificent!

The Magic of Bundt Cakes: Effortless Elegance for Your Holiday Table

One of the greatest advantages of baking a bundt cake is its inherent ability to look incredibly impressive with minimal effort. The distinctive fluted design of a bundt pan transforms a simple cake batter into a work of art, eliminating the need for elaborate decorations or complicated layering. The pan truly does all the hard work for you, ensuring that every slice is as beautiful as it is delicious.

Finding the perfect bundt pan is key to achieving that stunning silhouette. I discovered the gorgeous pan used for this very cake at HomeSense, which remains one of my absolute favorite destinations for unique homewares and kitchen essentials. Their shelves are always brimming with pretty things, making it a joy to browse. For bundt enthusiasts, HomeSense is an excellent spot to find high-quality Nordic Ware bundt tins – widely regarded as some of the best you can buy for their durability and intricate designs. I must confess, I spent a delightful twenty minutes contemplating which beautiful design to take home, a testament to the wide array of choices available! (If only my kitchen had endless storage for all of them!). Beyond baking essentials, HomeSense also provided the beautiful slate slab and many of the festive props you see in the photos, making me feel like a kid in a candy shop. It’s genuinely a fantastic place for unique Christmas presents, though I admit most of my purchases tend to be for myself!

Choosing a bundt cake for your holiday baking means less time spent on fussy decorations and more time enjoying the festive atmosphere. These cakes are not only striking but also incredibly versatile, lending themselves perfectly to simple glazes and a sprinkle of festive toppings. They slice beautifully, making them ideal for serving a crowd, and their dense, moist texture holds up wonderfully, ensuring a delightful treat for everyone.

A Symphony of Flavors: Red Velvet Meets Peppermint & White Chocolate

The decision to make this a red velvet cake was an easy one. Its rich, deep crimson hue is inherently festive, perfectly complementing the traditional colors of Christmas. But beyond its stunning appearance, red velvet offers a unique and delicious flavor profile – a subtle hint of cocoa balanced by a tender crumb and a slightly tangy buttermilk note. It’s a cake that truly tastes as luxurious as it looks.

No bundt cake is complete without a glorious glaze, and for this festive creation, I wanted to honor the classic cream cheese element of red velvet frosting while infusing it with unmistakable holiday spirit. The addition of creamy white chocolate brings a delightful sweetness and richness, while a hint of peppermint extract introduces that signature cool, refreshing holiday flavor. The final touch? A generous scattering of crushed candy cane, which adds a festive crunch and a pop of vibrant color that makes the cake truly sing “Christmas.”

The cake itself is wonderfully soft and incredibly moist, a testament to the combination of butter, oil, and buttermilk in the recipe. This ensures a tender crumb that melts in your mouth with every bite. The glaze, on the other hand, is so divinely smooth and flavorful that you’ll be tempted to eat it straight off the spoon! Just remember a crucial tip for serving: only add the crushed candy cane crumbs right before you plan to serve the cake. Peppermint candies tend to melt over time, especially when exposed to moisture, so to keep them looking their best and retaining their satisfying crunch, save the topping for the last possible moment. If by some miracle there are leftovers (though I highly doubt it!), this red velvet bundt cake keeps beautifully in an airtight container, maintaining its moisture and flavor for days.

The Ultimate Festive Red Velvet Bundt Cake Recipe

Ready to bake this show-stopping holiday dessert? Here’s the detailed recipe to guide you through creating a truly unforgettable Red Velvet Bundt Cake with White Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cheese Glaze.

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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.

Tips for Bundt Cake Perfection

Achieving a perfect bundt cake, especially one as magnificent as this Red Velvet Peppermint version, involves a few key techniques:

• Generous Greasing and Flour Dusting: This is arguably the most crucial step. Use a baking spray specifically designed for baking, or thoroughly grease your bundt pan with softened butter or shortening, ensuring every nook and cranny is coated. Then, dust it generously with plain flour, tapping out any excess. This creates a non-stick barrier that helps the cake release cleanly, preserving those beautiful details.
• Room Temperature Ingredients: Ensure your butter, eggs, and buttermilk are all at room temperature. This allows them to emulsify properly, creating a smoother batter and a more uniform, tender cake crumb.
• Don’t Overmix: Once you add the dry ingredients to the wet, mix only until just combined. Overmixing can develop the gluten in the flour too much, leading to a tough, dry cake.
• Prevent Air Bubbles: After pouring the batter into the bundt pan, gently tap the pan on your counter a few times. This helps to release any trapped air bubbles, ensuring an even bake and a smooth surface.
• Patience with Cooling: Resist the urge to flip the cake out of the pan too soon. Letting it cool in the pan for the recommended 15-20 minutes allows the cake to firm up slightly, making it less prone to breaking when inverted.
• The Right Food Coloring: For red velvet, a high-quality gel food coloring is essential to achieve that vibrant, deep red hue without adding too much liquid to the batter. Liquid food coloring can thin the batter and make the color less intense.

Embrace the Holiday Spirit with a Delicious Showstopper

This Red Velvet Bundt Cake with White Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cheese Glaze is more than just a dessert; it’s an experience. It’s the perfect way to bring warmth, joy, and a touch of festive elegance to your holiday table. The rich, moist cake, combined with the refreshing peppermint and creamy white chocolate glaze, creates a flavor combination that will delight everyone, from traditionalists to adventurous eaters.

So, whether you’re hosting a grand Christmas dinner, attending a holiday potluck, or simply want to treat your family to something special, this bundt cake is sure to be a hit. Its beauty and flavor make it a truly unforgettable holiday treat. Happy baking, and happy holidays!

Disclosure: I received HomeSense vouchers in exchange for creating and sharing this festive recipe and post. All opinions, as always, are genuinely my own and reflect my love for their unique homeware selections.