Go Back
+ servings
Close up of chocolate mint cake garnished with flowers.
Print Recipe
5 from 2 votes

Chocolate Mint Cake

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 in cake form. 
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Worldwide
Servings: 16
Calories: 662kcal

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

Cake Tins
Use the correct-sized tins. You’ll need either three 8-inch sandwich tins or four 6-inch cake tins. The quantities listed are enough to make 3 layers in 8-inch tins or 4 layers in 6-inch tins.
If, like me, you only have cake tins in pairs, the mixture is fine to sit for the time it takes for the first 2 cakes to cook. Once baked, remove the cakes from the tins as soon as possible. Wash, dry, grease & line the tin/s as before and bake the remaining cake/s.
For a smaller version, halve the ingredients then you’ll have sufficient batter to make a 2 layer cake in 6-inch cake pans.
 
Tips
  • 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.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 662kcal | Carbohydrates: 83g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 231mg | Potassium: 199mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 63g | Vitamin A: 992IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 3mg