Deep Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cake

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 0.3 cup butter 
• 2 cups cake flour sifted
• 2  egg yolks 
• 1.8 cups milk divided
• 0.5 cup peppermint candies hard crushed
• 3 drops food coloring red
• 0.8 teaspoon salt 
• 4 ounce chocolate unsweetened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 2 cups sugar white

Equipment

• baking paper
• oven
• mixing bowl
• double boiler
• hand mixer

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9-inch round pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the cake flour and salt.
3. Melt chocolate and butter together in a double boiler. Turn into mixing bowl, and cool to room temperature; this mixture must be cool.
4. Mix in the sugar. Blend in egg yolks and 1 cup milk.
5. Pour in the flour and salt, and mix just until incorporated. Beat batter with electric mixer for 1 minute, and then blend in vanilla and 1/2 cup milk. Dissolve baking soda in the remaining 1/4 cup milk; stir into the batter quickly and thoroughly.
6. Pour batter into prepared pans.
7. Bake in the preheated oven until the surface of the cakes spring back lightly when pressed with a finger, about 30 minutes. Cool cakes on wire racks.
8. Prepare Seven Minute Frosting, omitting vanilla (see Footnote for link). Tint the frosting a delicate pink with a few drops of food coloring, and add 1/4 cup crushed candy. Frost and fill the cooled cake.
9. Garnish with bits of crushed candy.