Have you thought about your Christmas menu yet? Now’s the time! Christmas Eve is only 2 weeks away!

I was chatting with a friend about it last week and she mentioned how hard it feels to create a menu for just a few people when you’re used to having a crowd for the holidays. I totally understand – we usually celebrate with our big families! – but it’s also the perfect opportunity to let small-batch treats shine.

This cutie is the perfect example! A petite chocolate cake that is perfectly sized for just 2-4 people and topped off with fluffy peppermint frosting – what more do you want for Christmas? It’s a great option for this year’s sized-down celebrations.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Directions
• More Christmas Sweets
• Recipe

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the icing:

• 4 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 teaspoon milk
• 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

The key to a smooth, fluffy frosting is making sure you sift your powdered sugar before beating it in. There’s nothing worse than lumps in your frosting!

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Grease your pan – it can be any small baking pan or large ramekin. I used a small pyrex.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and baking soda.
• In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the semi-sweet chocoate chips at half-power for 30 second intervals, until melted.
• Add in the eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and melted chocolate chips into the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
• Transfer batter to greased pan and bake until a knife inserted comes out clean – the time will vary based on your pan, for me it was 40 minutes.
• Let it cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to cool completely.
• To make the frosting, beat the butter until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat in the powered sugar. Scrape down again and beat in the milk and peppermint extract until combined and fluffy.
• Spread frosting over the cooled cake. Decorate with sprinkles and crushed candy canes, if desired.

The size of your pan is going to dictate your cook time. My pan was about 3×8″ so I had a pretty high cake and a longer bake time. If you go with a longer, lower pan, you’ll have a shorter bake time.

More Christmas Sweets

Welcome to #ChristmasSweetsWeek 2020! Co-hosted by Terri from Love and Confections and Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures! What better way to celebrate the holidays than with food and fun? 21 bloggers from around the country have come together to share some of their favorite sweet Christmas recipes!! Deck the halls and get ready for very merry sweet treats, like fudge, cookies, Christmas morning breakfasts, layer cakes, cocoa, and more! Follow along on social media with our #ChristmasSweetsWeek hashtag. Happy Holidays!

Enjoy these #ChristmasSweetsWeek recipes from our bloggers:

Candy and Fudge Recipes
Chocolate Pecan Pralines by House of Nash Eats
Grinch Snack Mix by Sweet Beginnings
Oreo Cookie Truffles by Kathryn’s Kitchen Blog

Pastry and Dessert Recipes
Easy Gingerbread Dip Recipe by Love & Confections
Dark Chocolate Graham Crackers by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
Mini Tall & Creamy Cheesecakes by The Nifty Foodie
Small Batch Chocolate Cake with Fluffy Peppermint Frosting by Kate’s Recipe Box

Recipe

Small Batch Chocolate Cake with Fluffy Peppermint Frosting

Yield: 2-4 Servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

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Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the icing:

• 4 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 teaspoon milk
• 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Grease your pan - it can be any small baking pan or large ramekin. I used a small pyrex.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and baking soda.
3. In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the semi-sweet chocoate chips at half-power for 30 second intervals, until melted.
4. Add in the eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and melted chocolate chips into the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
5. Transfer batter to greased pan and bake until a knife inserted comes out clean – the time will vary based on your pan, for me it was 40 minutes.
6. Let it cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to cool completely.
7. To make the frosting, beat the butter until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat in the powered sugar. Scrape down again and beat in the milk and peppermint extract until combined and fluffy.
8. Spread frosting over the cooled cake. Decorate with sprinkles and crushed candy canes, if desired.