Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

This delicious cake is the ultimate blend of mint and chocolate flavours, perfect for any birthday or celebration!

Chocolate Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 cups cake flour, plus 1/2 cup extra for flouring the two cake pans
• 1 1⁄2 cups sugar
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter softened at room temperature, plus 2 tablespoons extra for greasing the two cake pans
• 1⁄3 cup cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄3 cup melted, unsweetened, Baker’s chocolate
• 1⁄2 cup hot water
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1⁄2 cup buttermilk

Directions

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Put the flour, sugar, butter, cocoa, baking soda, and baking powder in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. (If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can put the ingredients in a bowl, and use a hand mixer with the blending attachments) Mix on low just until the ingredients are blended together, a few seconds, then raise the speed to low-medium and continue to mix until smooth, approximately 1 additional minute.

3. Stop the motor and pour in the chocolate. Mix for 1 minute, then, with the motor running, pour in the hot water. Then add the eggs, mixing until both have been absorbed. With the motor still running, pour in the buttermilk.

4. Stop the motor periodically and scrape from the bottom with a rubber spatula to be sure all the ingredients are fully integrated, and return the mixer to low-medium speed.

5. Continue to mix for an additional minute to ensure the eggs are fully absorbed, all the sugar is dissolved, and the flour is thoroughly mixed in.

6. Grease two 9-inch cake pans (2 inches deep) with butter, then flour them.

7. Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the bowl and get as much batter as possible out. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the cakes begin to pull from the sides of the pan, about 25 to 30 minutes.

8. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes. The cake should be almost at room temperature before you remove it from the pan. Put a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet, top with sugar, and turn the cake out onto parchment; the sugar will keep it from sticking. Refrigerate until ready to decorate.

Mint Chocolate Icing

Ingredients

•  280g (2.5 sticks) unsalted butter
• 500g icing sugar (about 4 cups) sifted
• 3-4 tsp peppermint extract, adjust to taste
• 150g dark chocolate, very finely chopped or pulsed through a food processor
• green food colouring

1. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl.

2. Add the butter and use a hand or stand mixer to mix until well combined. (I started by mixing it with my hand so that the icing sugar would not spray everywhere, if you make the icing you may want to do the same)

3. Add the chocolate, peppermint extract and food colouring. I did not write down an amount of food colouring because it is up to you depending on how green you want your cake to look.

4. To ice the cake, start by filling up a piping bag and making rings around the cake, then smooth it all out with a spatula.

5. Use the same technique for the outside of the cake.    

6. You can decorate the cake however you like, I decided to pour a ganache over the top, which was a little messy but quite delicious.

7. Finally, share the cake with friends and family and enjoy! 🙂