The Flavored Liquor You Should Avoid Adding To Cake At All Costs

Even the simplest of cakes can be elevated with a splash of flavored liquor. Kahlua brings out a richer cocoa flavor in a typical chocolate cake, and Grand Marnier gives a basic olive oil cake a more complex orange-citrus flavor. When baked, much of the boozy burn cooks off, leaving you with a cake that has more interesting layers of flavor than just your typical mix of sugar, eggs, butter, flour, and the like. Needless to say, though, not all combinations of cake batter and alcohol work well together. Our article on the best liquors to add and avoid to cake mix stipulates that one liquor you should omit from your recipe is something you might expect would do wonders for holiday baking: peppermint schnapps.

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The minty liqueur in question is typically made using a neutral grain alcohol and peppermint leaves, extract, or other mint flavor, and some form of sugar. The resulting drink is strong both in alcohol percentage and mint flavor. It makes for a good addition to certain cocktails, but greatly overpowers any type of cake batter. What's meant to result in a cake with more depth of flavor turns out to be a straight-up peppermint liquor cake — and not in a good way.

How to satisfy your peppermint dessert desires

All this is not to say that you should give up your dreams of the perfect peppermint chocolate cake; there's no question that chocolate and peppermint pair well together. Just stick to peppermint extract or candy canes to add the right type of mintiness to your confections. If you've got a bottle of peppermint schnapps to use up, ditch the cake idea and make spiked peppermint hot chocolate to get your fix of the flavor combination. The liquor also works well in other rich mixed drinks; cream balances peppermint schnapps out perfectly in a peppermint white Russian.

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Still got boozy baked goods on your mind? Try baking with bourbon – its deep flavor complements vanilla and caramel well. Or get your hands on a bottle of Captain Morgan to make a spiced rum chocolate banana bread. When baking with any alcohol, don't go overboard, and consider the proof level and how you'll have to modify the recipe with the addition of more liquid.

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