I know I’ve mentioned this about a thousand times over the last couple of months, but I’m having a really hard time staying inspired when it comes to blogging. There are a ton of things that I genuinely want to make and get excited about, but then when I think about baking, cleaning, taking photos, cleaning, editing photos, writing the post, and staying active on social media…it’s kinda like the room starts spinning Mr. Krabs-style and I lose all my energy.
And now here we are with this lil mint chocolate chip cake. Ah, mint chocolate chip. The flavor everyone turns to when they need to eat their feelings. Which is okay every once in awhile. 😉
I’m still thinking of sharing some healthy things here on the blog, I just probably shouldn’t have attempted a complete 180 all at once. We’ll just have to see what happens next. 🙂
MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE
Ingredients
mint chocolate chip cake layers
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup canola oil
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 tsp green gel food coloring
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
peppermint frosting
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 cup crisco shortening
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp green gel food coloring
chocolate ganache
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions
for the cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray three 6-inch cake pans, or two 8-inch cake pans, with nonstick spray. Line inside bottom of cake pans with parchment paper and spray again.
- In one bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In another bowl, combine sugar, oil, 1 egg, 2 egg whites, and peppermint extract. Mix on medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, along with half of the milk. Mix until ingredients are mostly combined. Repeat with remaining flour and milk.
- Stir in food coloring. (Feel free to add more if you want a more vibrant color!) Fold in chocolate chips.
- Divide batter evenly among cake pans and bake for 25 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.
- Let cake layers cool in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire wrack to cool completely.
peppermint frosting
- Cream butter on medium-high speed with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. With mixer running, add shortening by tablespoons until completely incorporated.
- Add peppermint extract and mix well.
- Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing well and scraping the sides of the bowl after each, until frosting is smooth and fluffy.
- Add food coloring and mix until completely blended.
chocolate ganache
- Place chocolate chips in a heat-safe bowl.
- Heat cream in a small sauce pan on medium head until almost simmering, do not boil.
- Pour cream over chocolate chips and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Whisk until chocolate has completely melted and mixture is smooth.
assembly
- Place one cake layer on a plate or cake stand. Spread frosting over the top; repeat with next two layers. If you're going for the naked cake look, spread frosting around the outside of the cake and scrape off any excess, leaving the layers a little exposed. If you're not going for the naked cake look, there should be enough frosting to cover the whole cake.
- Place cake in the freezer for about 20 minutes. (I find that this makes it easier to smooth the ganache over the top and coax it down the sides of the cake.)
- Transfer cooled ganache to a squeeze bottle or piping bag with a small tip cut off. Pipe drips around the outside of the cake. Place a spoonful or two of ganache on top of the cake, in the center. Use an offset or rubber spatula to spread it towards the edges. Add more ganache if necessary.
- If you have any remaining frosting, you can pipe swirls around the top edge. Fresh mint leaves, mini chocolate chips, and crushed chocolate cookies are great garnish options as well.
Notes
Recipe from bethcakes. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without permission. If you would like to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.
I love little baby 6-inch cakes 🙂 so cute!! I’m always impressed by your gorgeous cakes, and this one is no exception. I don’t make cakes nearly enough, but this cake has me wanting to make one!!
thanks as always for your sweet comments, Rachel! I love 6-inch cakes, they’re the perfect size! Plus there are so many cute cake stands for that size too 🙂
Beautiful!!!
thank you!! ♥
I just love your new website design Beth and this cake – what stunner! All those gorgeous mint choc flavours. And your frosting work is out-of-this-world! Pinned!
Thanks so much for the sweet comment, Jess! 🙂
Hi Beth! How tall is this cake?
hi there, going to make this for a kiddos gradu cake! although, i don’t see where you describe the chocolate on the outside of the base layer? is that crushed, chocolate cookie, pulsed & then pressed on? can’t tell exactly…
curious!
thanks!!
hi! it’s number 4 under “assembly”! it’s just crushed cookies pressed onto the outside of the frosting! 🙂