5 from 12 votes
Mint Chocolate Cake
The Mint Chocolate Cake blends rich Dutch cocoa chocolate with cool peppermint flavor throughout moist layers and a creamy butter-based frosting. The cake batter is thick and includes coffee for an enhanced depth of chocolate taste. The frosting combines butter, powdered sugar, peppermint, and vanilla extracts, with optional food coloring for a minty green tone. This cake suits special dessert occasions where a classic chocolate cake with refreshing mint notes is desired, and can be decorated with ganache, swirls, or chocolate chips.
Prep Time
35 mins
Cook Time
35 mins
Total Time
1 hr 10 mins
Servings:
14
servings
Calories:
910 kcal
Course:
Dessert, Cake
Cuisine:
American
Ingredients
- 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 cup Dutch cocoa powder 2 tablespoons
- 2 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
- 1 cup neutral cooking oil avocado, canola, or vegetable oil
- ¾ cup butter melted, unsalted
- 3 egg room temperature preferred
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk room temperature preferred
- ¾ cup coffee may substitute hot water, very hot, boiling
Frosting (see “decorating” section in notes below)
- 1 ½ cups butter softened, unsalted
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1-4 Tablespoons heavy cream as needed
- Food Coloring optional (I use Americolor Mint, mint colored
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and grease and flour three 8” (23cm) round pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
- Add oil and melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients have been moistened. Batter will be thick.
- Add eggs and vanilla extract and stir well until batter is smooth and uniform.
- Gradually add buttermilk, stirring until batter is completely combined.
- Slowly pour hot coffee into the batter and stir until uniform. Be sure to scrape the sides and borrow of the bowl and stir again.
- Evenly divide batter between prepared cake pans (if you’re weighing your cakes you’ll need 700 grams in each cake pan). Bake in center rack of 350F (175C) preheated oven for 35-38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. If your oven bakes unevenly, rotate cakes during baking.
- Allow cakes to cool in their pans for 15 minutes, then run a knife along the edge to loosen cakes from pan and carefully invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Cup of Yum
Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter until creamy and smooth.
- Gradually add sugar, about a half cup at a time, using your electric mixer to stir on low-speed until combined before adding the next.
- Once all the sugar is added in, add salt, vanilla, and peppermint extracts and stir until completely combined. If desired, stir in food coloring until desired color is reached.
- Add a Tablespoon of heavy cream, and beat until well incorporated. Add more cream as needed until frosting is smooth, creamy, and easily spreadable.
Assembly
- Level cakes if needed and evenly cover with frosting. I find it helpful to do a crumb coating, meaning after applying icing between the layers and stacking the cakes I’ll do a very thin layer of frosting around the exterior of the cake then place it in the freezer for 15 minutes (this will catch all the crumbs) then remove and finish decorating the cake with an even layer of frosting. See decorating notes below for more ideas on decorating.
Notes
- You can substitute milk for heavy cream in the frosting; reduce the quantity as milk is thinner and affects texture.
- Store the frosted cake in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days or refrigerate up to 5 days.
- This cake freezes well if tightly wrapped, preserving freshness for up to 3 months.
- To decorate with ganache drip, follow specific ganache drip instructions linked in the notes.
- Increase frosting recipe by 50% if making decorative swirls; use a piping tip similar to Ateco 848 for similar results.
- Mini chocolate chips pressed onto the sides or tops create a chocolate chip mint variant.
Nutrition Information
Serving
1serving
Calories
910kcal
(46%)
Carbohydrates
118g
(39%)
Protein
6g
(12%)
Fat
49g
(75%)
Saturated Fat
21g
(105%)
Polyunsaturated Fat
6g
(35%)
Monounsaturated Fat
19g
(95%)
Trans Fat
1g
(50%)
Cholesterol
118mg
(39%)
Sodium
478mg
(20%)
Potassium
207mg
(4%)
Fiber
3g
(12%)
Sugar
96g
(192%)
Vitamin A
1021IU
(20%)
Vitamin C
0.01mg
(0%)
Calcium
70mg
(7%)
Iron
2mg
(11%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 14 servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 910
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1serving | |
| Calories | 910kcal | 46% |
| Carbohydrates | 118g | 39% |
| Protein | 6g | 12% |
| Fat | 49g | 75% |
| Saturated Fat | 21g | 105% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 6g | 35% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 19g | 95% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 118mg | 39% |
| Sodium | 478mg | 20% |
| Potassium | 207mg | 4% |
| Fiber | 3g | 12% |
| Sugar | 96g | 192% |
| Vitamin A | 1021IU | 20% |
| Vitamin C | 0.01mg | 0% |
| Calcium | 70mg | 7% |
| Iron | 2mg | 11% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.