You know those times when you wake up and realize that it’s been way long since the last time you made a cake???

No? Okay, so that probably only applies to a few of us, but maybe you can imagine it. Those are very sad moments for me personally because I sort of have a thing for making cakes. I attribute it to my childhood of watching both my mom and, more often, my grandma decorating gorgeous cakes. She did it professionally for years. Have I mentioned that before haven’t I?

Yeah, she decorated cakes at Disneyland actually and she can still crank out these perfect roses of icing so fast it would blow your mind. Of course, Mom can decorate too, but where she really gets into it is the cake baking part. She used to make the most decadent and rich cakes and that made the two of them the perfect team. I can remember many occasions when they worked together by request on stunning cakes for different occasions like birthdays or friend’s weddings.

This was in my pre-baking-addict lifetime so I proudly held the role of chief frosting taster, it’s a position that I refuse to ever step down from, just sayin’. But now I guess in some ways I’ve taken over the majority of family baking a little bit, fine a lot a bit. Like I said though, it’s been a while since I made a new flavor so I figured it was about time.

So chocolate and peppermint, how do you feel about this match? I feel like it’s one of those flavor combos that you have to either love it or hate it because both are such bold flavors and when put together they form something very unique. I’m on the lover’s team but I understand for those of you who aren’t.

Last Christmas, while I was still living in Chile, I remember sharing with you about our lack of real candy canes. There are similar candies, yes, and the iconic shape and stripes of those candies promise you the nostalgic taste that we all associate with the holiday season only to disappoint you in a big big way when you find out the are completely the wrong flavor.

For me it doesn’t count as a candy cane any other way except if it’s classic peppermint. The stores in Chile usually only sell strawberry flavored ones, come on, it’s like blasphemy! Okay, maybe that’s a little much, but I still feel like they should always be minty for the Christmas season. I mean, we can eat fruity candy all Spring and Summer long, right? Clearly I feel stronger about this issue than even I had realized. Alright, I’m ending this little rant I’ve gotten into and focusing back on this exciting cake!

It’s truly a simple cake to make and I used my favorite vanilla cake recipe as the base because, ‘why fix what ain’t broke?’ Then as for the decorating part, I kept it very simple and quick. Honestly, I had wanted to do a way more elaborate decorating job for this, but, you get it, life happens and it’s December people. Sort of ended up finishing it a lot later than I’d planned. Ugh, why did I just go on and on about how I’ve got such talented cake decorators around? Ooops.

Hey, but the taste is what really matters here right? Besides yours can be as lovely as you want to make it and I’m a firm believer in less is more anyway. No one’s going to have the time to care about appearances while devouring this yummy treat anyway.

So, I hope you’re having a great time with your friends and family and that you can squeeze this recipe into your busy season at some point. Maybe right before New Years. I obviously can’t make guarantees but I’ve got a strong feeling that the peppermint+chocolate lovers in your life are going to love this!

ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL! All of these food photos were taken with my Nikon D5300 and my favorite Lens, the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G. You can find out more in my INTRO POST.

And, by the way, to all the minnows out there, my intro post did a huge $0.21. The key to success on Steemit is to be consistent and persistent.

Oh, and don't forget to follow me on all your favorite social media channels!

Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest ~ Instagram

Want some other recipes to try? Here's my most recent food posts!

1.Cottage Pies w/ Yams + Roasted Chestnuts

2.Easy Coconut Cream Pancakes

3.Berry Cream Cheese Pastries

4.Double Recipe - Crostini w/ Salmon & Capers + w/ Spinach & Hearts of Palm

5.Christmas Cookies - Pinwheels + Checkerboard Cookies - FOOD PHOTO SHOOT

6.Vanilla Cream Doughnuts - aka Twinkie Clones

7.Fakin' It Fish Sticks + Coconut Basil Cream Sauce

8....And a Partridge in a Pear Tree....Pizza.

9.Dark Chocolate Coated Christmas Tree Cakes

10.White Chocolate Snow Buddy Snack Cereal

Recipe available upon request to the first Steemian friend who says today's words : "Candy Cane Forest"