This chocolate mint cake recipe combines dark, fudgy layers of chocolate cake with a minty, green chocolate freckled buttercream. Think of mint chocolate chip ice cream but in cake form.
Mint-chocoholics should indulgence in my mint chocolate fridge cake.
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This chocolate mint cake is based on my childhood favourite ice cream: mint chocolate chip. It even comes complete with green-coloured icing for that authentic retro look.
I created this cake for my birthday a few years back. It has to be said, this is one giant mint chocolate birthday cake if you want it to be. The recipe is enough to make either a 4-layer cake using 6-inch tins or a 3-layer cake using standard 8-inch tins.
If you are not expecting a small army to visit and help demolish the cake with you, then you can always bake the full recipe and store an undecorated layer in the freezer. Pull it out when you need a speedy, indulgent accessory to go with berries & ice cream.
Fancy a white chocolate version? Take a look at my white chocolate & peppermint layer cake. It’s presented with an Easter theme, but that can easily be adapted. And if you’re in the market for mint chocolate in liquid form then don’t miss my candy cane peppermint hot chocolate, minty mocha or my After Eight chocolate mint liqueur.
Why you’ll love this cake
- Appearance: this mint chocolate chip cake is covered in a gloriously green mint-choc-chip buttercream. That’s right, there are chunks of chocolate stirred into the buttercream. It’s reminiscent of childhood seaside holidays, only without the sand in each mouthful.
- Easy to decorate: those flecks of chocolate in the buttercream make this cake a very forgiving one. Anybody who gets a bit intimidated by the thought of covering a layer cake should give it a go. There’s no need to worry about cake crumbs mixing in with the icing as nobody will notice.
- Texture: this is not a typical sponge cake. Expect a denser, fudgy texture, which matches perfectly with the minty buttercream.
- Taste: there are rich layers of chocolate cake combined with fresh hints of peppermint. It’s divine.
Ingredients notes
In this chocolate mint cake, I have managed to combine 3 of my all-time favourite baking ingredients – buttermilk, chocolate and mint. What a birthday cake! Let’s take a look at some of the ingredients in more detail.
Peppermint extract: this is an essential ingredient for mint chocolate chip cake. Flavour strength does vary from brand to brand so add your extract gradually, tasting as you go, until you are happy with the level of peppermint flavour in your buttercream.
Dark chocolate: real chocolate is used in the cake batter (melted) and in the buttercream (chopped). It’s another core ingredient. Go for chocolate with around 70% cocoa solids.
Butter: this chocolate mint cake recipe calls for real butter both for the cake layers and the buttercream.
Buttermilk: this ingredient helps the cake stay moist for days whilst also delivering a tender crumb due to the acidity in the buttermilk. It also reacts with the baking soda to help create rise in the cake.
Dark muscovado sugar: this sugar helps develop that slightly dense and fabulously fudgy texture that this cake boasts.
Food colouring: this is optional but a dab of green food colouring really adds to the fun retro vibes in this mint chocolate cake. Gel food colouring is best. Add a bit at a time until you are happy with the colour.
Step by step instructions
Full instructions and measurements are given in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
There are three stages to complete when making this chocolate mint cake recipe:
- Make the chocolate cake layers.
- Prepare the mint choc chop buttercream.
- Assemble the cake.
Here are the details.
Make the chocolate cake
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until well combined.
- Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well between each addition.
- Mix the cocoa powder and water to form a smooth paste then add this to the cake batter and beat until well combined.
- Pour in the melted chocolate and mix again.
- Sieve the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl.
- Pour half of the buttermilk into the cake batter and mix it in.
- Add half of the flour mixture and mix in briefly.
- Repeat with the remaining buttermilk and flour.
- Add 275ml recently boiled water and stir with a large metal spoon until just combined.
- Pour equal amounts into the cake tins and put them into the oven to bake (around 25-30 minutes for the 6-inch cakes and 30-35 minutes for the 8-inch cakes).
- Check that the cakes are cooked by inserting a metal skewer into the centre – it should come out clean. Once cooked, take the cakes out of the oven and let. them stand for 2 minutes, before removing each one from the tins and allowing them to cool completely on a wire rack.
Make the mint chocolate chip buttercream
- Put the icing sugar, cream and butter into a large bowl and beat until smooth.
- If using colouring, add very small amounts of the gel (using the end of a cocktail stick or small knife) mixing well after each addition until you reach a shade that you are satisfied with.
- Next, add the peppermint extract. The strength of the peppermint flavour does vary across brands, so do taste as you go.
- Finally, fold the chocolate into the icing until evenly distributed.
Assemble the cake
- Lay one of the layers of cake onto a board and spread a couple of spoonfuls of the icing on top.
- Add another layer of cake and spread an equal amount of icing over the top.
- Add the third layer of cake.
- Once the final layer of cake has been added, carefully spread a thin layer of icing all over the top and sides of the cake.
- Add half of the remaining icing in the next layer, followed by the rest in a final layer.
- Move your cake onto a serving plate and let it stand for 5 minutes.
- Use a palette knife to put a neat pattern onto the cake: gently pull the knife from the bottom to the top of the cake all around the sides to give a subtle line effect all around. On the top, pull the knife from the centre to the edge in a wide arch.
Expert tips
- If you include chopped chocolate in the peppermint buttercream then it will be difficult to pipe as the pieces of chocolate may block the nozzle.
- Always use digital kitchen scales and measure your ingredients using grams. It’s THE most accurate way to measure baking ingredients. I do not support the use of cup measures EVER as they are just not accurate.
- Use the correct-sized tins. You’ll need either three 8-inch sandwich tins or four 6-inch cake tins.
- Always grease your sandwich tins and line the base with baking paper to make the cake easy to remove.
- The chocolate cake mixture is quite thin, so use classic sandwich tins without loose bottoms and don’t use springform tins, as they could leak.
- Use baking strips to help the cake bake evenly.
- Make sure the cake is completely cold before applying the buttercream. If the cake is still warm then the buttercream will melt.
Frequently asked questions
The precise amount of peppermint extract needed to flavour your buttercream will depend on two things: the strength of the extract you are using (all brands do vary) and your own taste preferences. Begin with 1 teaspoon and add more in gradually from there until you are happy with the taste.
The best thing to do is to make a fresh quantity of buttercream without adding any peppermint extract to it. Now add some of the peppermint buttercream, to the fresh batch until you are happy with the flavour. You will end up with excess buttercream to store, but it keeps well in the fridge for around a month.
Yes, you can freeze this mint chocolate cake. Either freeze the layers of cake without adding the buttercream, freeze the entire cake when decorated or freeze slices of the cake. Defrost the cake at room temperature before eating it.
Keep the cake in an airtight container and store it at room temperature. Once cut cover the exposed edges of the cake with foil or food wrap to keep it fresh. Don’t be tempted to keep it in the fridge as it will make the cake dry out faster.
If you halve the ingredients then you’ll have sufficient batter to make a 2 layer cake in 6-inch cake pans.
Alternative ways to decorate your mint chocolate cake
- Omit the chunks of chocolate from the buttercream to give a smooth covering around the cake. This can also allow a chocolate drip to be added.
- Decorate the edge of the cake with mint Matchmakers or Elizabeth Shaw Mint Chocolate Flutes.
- Decorate the top of the cake with Aero Peppermint Bubbles or After Eight mints.
Have you made this fun chocolate mint cake recipe? I’d love to hear from you to find out how you got along. Please do leave a comment and/ or recipe rating.
📖 Recipe
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Chocolate Mint Cake
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cake
- 225 g Unsalted butter softened
- 350 g Dark muscovado sugar
- 2 Eggs large, free-range
- 3 tablespoons Cocoa powder
- 75 g Dark chocolate melted
- 150 ml Buttermilk
- 350 g Plain flour all purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of soda Baking soda
- 275 ml Water just boiled
For the Mint Choc Chip Buttercream
- 325 g Butter – softened
- 90 ml Double cream heavy cream (48% fat content)
- 625 g Icing sugar
- Green food colouring gel look for mint green
- Peppermint extract to taste
- 100 g Dark chocolate chopped fine
Instructions
Make the Chocolate Cake
- Put some water on to boil in the kettle and preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F/ GM 4.
- Grease and line 4 x 6-inch tins or 3 x 8-inch tins* see notes.
- Melt the chocolate either in the microwave or using a bain-Marie.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together using electric beaters until they are lighter and fluffy in texture. This will take approximately 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well between each addition.
- Mix the cocoa powder and 3 tablespoons of the water from the recently boiled kettle together to form a smooth paste. Add this to the cake batter and beat until well combined.
- Pour in the melted chocolate and mix again.
- Sieve the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl.
- Pour half of the buttermilk into the cake batter mix and mix in in.
- Add half of the flour mixture and mix it in briefly.
- Repeat with the remaining buttermilk and flour
- Add 275ml recently boiled water and stir until it is just combines.
- Pour equal amounts of batter into the cake tins and put them into the over the bake. This will take around 25-30 minutes for the 6-inch cakes and 30-35 minutes for the 8-inch cakes.
- Check that the cakes are cooked by inserting a metal skewer into the centre – it should come out clean. Once cooked, take the cakes out of the oven and let them stand for 2 minutes, before removing them from the tins and allowing them to cool on a wire rack.
Make the Buttercream
- Put the icing sugar, cream and butter into a large bowl and beat, with electric beaters, until smooth.
- If using colouring, add very small amounts of the gel (using the end of a cocktail stick or small knife) mixing well after each addition until you reach a shade that you are satisfied with.
- Next, add the peppermint extract. The strength of the peppermint flavour does vary across brands, so start by adding in 1 teaspoon, taste and increase the quantity used as necessary.
- Finally, fold the chocolate into the icing until it is vevenly distributed.
Assemble the Cake
- To assemble the cake lay one of the layers of cake onto a board and spread a couple of spoonfuls of the icing on top. then add another layer of cake.
- Add an equal amount of icing, spread it out and add the third layer of cake. If you are making the 4-layer 6-inch cake, repeat with the final layer of cake.
- Once the final layer of cake has been added, carefully spread a thin layer of icing all over the top and sides of the cake – a palette knife is good for this. This thin layer gives a good base to add the rest of the icing.
- I found that adding about half of the remaining icing in the next layer, followed by the rest in a final layer produced a good end result.
- Move your cake onto a serving plate and let it stand for 5 minutes. Then use your palette knife to put a neat pattern onto the cake – I gently pulled my knife from the bottom to the top of the cake all around the sides to give a subtle line effect all around. On the top, I pulled the knife from the centre to the edge in a wide arch
Notes
- Always use digital kitchen scales and measure your ingredients using grams. It’s THE most accurate way to measure baking ingredients. I do not support the use of cup measures EVER as they are just not accurate.
- Always grease your sandwich tins and line the base with baking paper to make the cake easy to remove.
- The chocolate cake mixture is quite thin, so use classic sandwich tins without loose bottoms and don’t use springform tins, as they could leak.
- Use baking strips to help the cake bake evenly.
- Make sure the cake is completely cold before applying the buttercream. If the cake is still warm then the buttercream will melt.
- If you include chopped chocolate in the peppermint buttercream then it will be difficult to pipe as the pieces of chocolate may block the nozzle.
- The precise amount of peppermint extract needed to flavour your buttercream will depend on two things: the strength of the extract you are using (all brands do vary) and your own taste preferences. Begin with 1 teaspoon and add more in gradually from there until you are happy with the taste.
- Keep the cake in an airtight container and store it at room temperature. Once cut cover the exposed edges of the cake with foil or food-wrap to keep it fresh. Don’t be tempted to keep it in the fridge as it will make the cake dry out faster.
Freshiah
This cake is amazing. Love love. Baked it three times and decided to use it for my Facebook page Just Fresh 2nd year birthday. Amazing
Jane Saunders
Hi Freshiah. Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me you not only like my cake but you’ve made it. Please do let me see your picture when it’s on Facebook. 🙂 🙂
Lynn | The Road to Honey
What a special cake to celebrate your special day. I’m partial to mint anything so I bet the combination of mint and chocolate was divine. BTW. . .I feel the chocolate crumbs in the mint frosting add something to the cake. It reminds me of mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Jane Saunders
Thanks Lynn. You’re right about the chocolate pieces, they stop the icing being too sweet and add a nice bit of texture both visually and whilst eating; and you’re spot on comparing it to the ice cream as that’s what I was aiming for (hence why I couldn’t resist using food colouring).
June Burns
Mmmm that looks fabulous! Can’t go wrong with mint + chocolate 🙂
Jane Saunders
Glad you like it June, I agree, it’s a classic combination for good reason.