Candy Cane Chocolate Cake Is the Perfect Easy Holiday Dessert

There's just something about the holiday season that makes you want to bake the perfect dessert, right? Unfortunately, our to-do lists this time of year are also jam-packed, leaving less time for baking sessions than we'd like. Luckily for you, this semi-homemade candy cane chocolate cake is easy to put together, but looks (and tastes!) like you spent all day in the kitchen. It starts with an easy boxed cake mix, but the homemade frosting and the addition of HERSHEY'S KISSES Candy Cane candies give it that special seasonal touch you desire.

Semi-homemade candy cane chocolate cake recipe

Ingredients: 

• 4 (6-inch) round chocolate cakes made from boxed cake mix (according to package directions)
• 1 bag HERSHEY’S KISSES Candy Cane candies
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons milk
• Red food coloring

Directions:

To make the frosting

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and powdered sugar.
2. Add vanilla, peppermint and salt and mix.
3. Add the milk one teaspoon at a time, stopping once you have reached your desired consistency.
4. Put half of the frosting in a separate bowl and add red food coloring to it and mix until the frosting is red. Leave the other bowl of frosting white.
5. Place each bowl of frosting (both white and red) in separate piping bags or gallon bags.

To assemble the cake

1. Crush or chop half of your bag of HERSHEY’S KISSES Candy Cane candies. Set it aside. Level all 4 cakes so each cake is flat on both sides.

2. Place your first layer onto a cake stand or tray and pipe red frosting in a circle on top of the layer of cake, leaving 1/4-inch of cake unfrosted around the edge.

3. Sprinkle 1/3 of your crushed or chopped HERSHEY'S KISSES Candy Cane candies on top of the frosted area of cake.

4. Repeat layering, frosting and sprinkling process 2 additional times, creating 2 more cake layers.

5. Place the final layer of cake on top and cover entire top of that layer with white frosting and smooth it with a spatula.

6. Pipe 7 dollops of red frosting onto the outer edge of white frosting and add one HERSHEY’S KISSES Candy Cane candies on top of each dollop.

This post was sponsored by HERSHEY'S KISSES brand.