This Mint Chocolate Chip Layer Cake is a mint lover’s dream come true! Chocolate cake layers with chunks of Andes mints and mini chocolate chips, plus a silky-smooth mint buttercream with lots of flecks of mint chocolate chips.
I don’t have a favorite dessert, but I would say that my favorite flavor combination is chocolate and mint. My go-to birthday pick is always warm brownies with mint chocolate chip ice cream, and I can positively murder a bag of Andes mints if I’m left unattended with them.
So obviously, given my love of chocolate + mint ANYTHING, this cake is my jam. It’s made with moist devil’s food cake that’s studded with pockets of chopped Andes mints and and miniature chocolate chips. But the frosting is the REAL star here–it’s a smooth, luscious, refreshing mint frosting flecked with LOTS of chips of dark chocolate.
My secret to getting the perfect chocolate chippy-ness in that frosting? A box grater! Yes, the humble cheese shredder can shred so much more than just cheese. It can also shred chocolate like a pro, giving you a fabulous assortment of small chocolate flecks–small enough to make the cake easy to slice, but big enough so that you get a good crunch of chocolate in every bite.
This poor cake barely lasted two days in our house. First of all, I obviously ate this entire huge slice during the course of photographing it. Obviously. Then afterwards, I would invent ridiculous reasons to go into the kitchen (“I need more tinfoil for this hat of mine! Off to the kitchen I go!”).
Three or four slivers of cake later, I’d leave and promise myself I was done….only to come back 20 minutes later and repeat the whole process.
In this season of Thin Mints and green everything, I think you need this Mint Chocolate Chip Layer Cake in your life. It’ll make you say “Thin Mint who?”
NOTE: I originally made a smaller version of this recipe, using 7″ pans and 3 layers of cake, and that’s the cake in the photographs. I’ve updated and revised the recipe to make a larger batch that uses 9″ pans and produces 4 (slightly thinner) layers of cake, and that is the recipe below.
Mint Chocolate Chip Layer Cake
This Mint Chocolate Chip Layer Cake is a mint lover's dream come true! Chocolate cake layers with chunks of Andes mints and mini chocolate chips, plus a silky-smooth mint buttercream with lots of flecks of mint chocolate chips.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1/2 cup + 1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 oz cake flour (1 1/2 cups)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 4 oz unsalted butter at room temperature
- 10.5 oz granulated sugar (1 1/2 cups)
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1/2 cup water at room temperature
- 1/2 cup whole milk at room temperature
- 6 oz miniature chocolate chips (1 cup)
- 1 cup Andes mints chopped, plus additional for decorating
For the Mint Chocolate Chip Buttercream:
- 4 oz dark chocolate
- 9 egg whites at room temperature
- 14 oz granulated sugar (2 cups)
- 1 lb butter at room temperature
- 2 tsp peppermint extract
- Green gel food coloring
For the Ganache Topping:
- 3 oz heavy cream
- 3 oz semi-sweet chocolate (about 1/2 cup), finely chopped
Instructions
To Make the Chocolate Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and spray them well with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk or sift together the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking soda. In the bowl of a large stand mixer, combine the butter and the granulated sugar. Beat them together on medium-high speed for 4-5 minutes, until they’re light, fluffy, and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat until they’re fully incorporated.
Combine the water and the milk. With the mixer running on low speed, add about a third of the sifted dry ingredients to the bowl. When they are almost completely mixed in, pour in half of the water-milk mixture, and let it mix together
Add half of the remaining drys, then when those are mixed, add the remaining wet ingredients. Finally, finish off by adding the last of the drys. Stop when the streaks of flour are almost completely gone. Add the miniature chocolate chips and chopped Andes mints, and stir everything together by hand, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure the batter is well-mixed.
- Divide the cake batter evenly between the pans and bake at 350 F for 22-25 minutes, until the tops spring back lightly when touched and a toothpick inserted into the center comes our clean. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then invert from the pans and let cool completely.
To Make the Mint Chocolate Chip Buttercream:
- Using a box grater, grate the dark chocolate until it is in small chunks or shards. Set aside for now.
Combine the egg whites and the granulated sugar in the bowl of a large stand mixer, and whisk them together. Choose a small saucepan that lets you fit the base of the stand mixer snugly into the top of the saucepan—this is your makeshift hot water bath. (Alternately, you can use a different bowl or an actual bain marie and then transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl once it’s heated.)
Add an inch of water to the bottom of the saucepan, and bring the water to a simmer. Place the mixing bowl on top of the saucepan, making sure that the bottom isn’t in contact with the water, and heat the egg white mixture. Whisk frequently so that the egg whites don’t cook. Continue to heat the whites until they are hot to the touch, and when you rub a bit between your fingers, you don’t feel any grittiness from the sugar.
Once the whites are hot, transfer the mixing bowl to your mixer and fit it with a whisk attachment. Beat the whites on high speed until they are no longer warm to the touch—feel the outside of the bowl, and make sure that it is around room temperature.
Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the room temperature butter in small chunks, a tablespoon at a time, making sure to wait in between additions. It may separate or look a little gloopy at this point—fear not. Once all of the butter is added, increase the speed again and whip until it comes together and is light and fluffy.
Add the mint extract and a few drops of green food coloring, until you get a nice light mint green. (A drop or two of yellow might help as well, depending on your food coloring.
- Stir in the shredded chocolate by hand. The buttercream can be made in advance and kept at room temperature if you’re going to use it the same day, or refrigerated. If it’s been chilled, let it sit at room temperature until it softens, then re-whip it to get the fluffy texture back before you use it.
To Make the Ganache:
Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour the cream into a small saucepan, and heat it over medium-high heat until it simmers and is just under a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for one minute to soften the chocolate.
Whisk the cream and chocolate together until the chocolate melts and the ganache is smooth and shiny. Set aside until it is warm and still fluid, but not hot. This can be made in advance and re-warmed in the microwave before assembling the cake. You will probably have some ganache left over after decorating the cake, and you can either serve it with the cake, or chill it and roll it into balls to make truffles.
To Assemble the Cake:
- Chill the layers—I like to wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in the freezer for about 30 minutes, until they are cold but not rock-hard. When they are slightly frozen they are sturdier and easier to cut and move without crumbling.
Use a long serrated knife to cut the cakes in half. Place one half on a cardboard cake round, and spoon about a cup of frosting on top of it. Use an offset spatula to spread the frosting evenly across the top, going all the way to the sides of the cake.
Place another cake round on top of the frosted one, and make sure the sides line up evenly. Add more frosting to this top round, and continue to layer the cake and spread frosting. Once all the layers are stacked, use a spatula to spread more frosting on the top and sides of the cake. This frosting won’t ever get super-smooth, due to the chocolate chip bits, so you don’t have to worry about getting the sides perfectly even.
Spoon the remaining frosting into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe rosettes around the border of the cake, making sure they touch each other.
Warm up the ganache, if necessary, until it is pourable and smooth. Pour a thin layer into the center of the cake and spread it to the inside edges of the rosettes. Top the cake with more Andes mints if desired.
Chill it to set the ganache, for about an hour, then bring it back to room temperature so that the frosting is soft and supple. For the best taste and texture, serve this cake at room temperature.
What a gorgeous cake! Your layers are absolutely perfect. I’m such a fan of mint chocolate chip ice cream during the summer, with hot fudge (of course), so this cake is right up my alley. This would be perfect for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration I’m attending. (But, do I really have to share? 🙂 haha)
What a gorgeously executed, and DELICIOUS looking cake! I always enjoy mint and chocolate together, but I don’t always go out of my way for it (I find the chocolate component is often under-done). But I think you’ve put together a serious gem of a dessert, and a real show-stopper. I love the way you plated that sliced with the chocolate swirl. Fantastic work. The box grater tip is amazing too – don’t know that I would have thought of that! Cheers!
Wow!!! This looks super delicious!!! I’m such a dessert person, I’d be all over this in a flash!
Thanks for sharing
Julie
This looks fabulous! I love mint chocolate chip anything. If I can convert this to gluten free and have it come out as beautiful and delicious as this, I’ll be a superstar!
What a stunning looking cake. I’m like you, chocolate and mint are my flavour combination jam! Love the box grated idea too.
Elizabeth!
I’m impressed that the cake lasted THAT long! Awesomeness all the way around! You’re on a roll!
MaryO1230
San Pedro, CA
Probably a silly question- but are there only 3 layers in the picture and 4 layers in the recipe? Just trying to make sure I got all the deets before I attempt this
Not silly at all, and I’m sorry for the confusion! This is a re-write of an old post, and I originally made a smaller batch in 7″ cake pans. But I got some feedback that many people don’t have 7″ cake pans, so I enlarged the batch, called for larger cakes pan, and added an extra layer. 🙂 I liked the original photos so much, I didn’t end up re-taking them. I’ll add a note to the post because I agree, it is confusing!
The cake is delicious,BUT I think I failed on the frosting, bigtime! I don’t think I allowed the eggwhites to heat enough but the gritiness was gone. the frosting won’t harden up. I added confectioner’s sugar, to thicken, but that adds sweetness too. next time I’m sticking with a buttercream and adding the peppermint and chocolate shavings, you need to know what you are doing for this frosting. I have been licking fingers during cleanup, and all good, but will get to enjoy the compiled cake in a few hours.
Add on to my other comment. About the frosting and my consistency not working. On another site it says to whisk eggs over hot water til peaks, maybe this will help someone else. I’m just going to pretend its ice cream instead of frosting since its melty.
Hi Sandy! I’m glad that you enjoyed the cake, but sorry to hear that the frosting didn’t work out for you. I have an illustrated tutorial for making this kind of frosting (called Swiss Meringue frosting) that might help:
http://www.sugarhero.com/swiss-meringue-buttercream-recipe/
It’s not necessary to whip the whites to peaks over the hot water, although it doesn’t hurt either. If you’d like to attempt it in the future and would like me to troubleshoot further, please feel free to send me an email with more details!
Do you use salted or unsalted butter in the frosting? Just said 1 pound but didn’t specify . Can’t wait to try it
Hi Deb, I always use unsalted and then add salt to taste! I find it’s much easier to control the salt level that way–salted butter can vary quite a bit in salt content. 🙂
Thanks for this recipe! My boyfriend requested mint chocolate cake for his PhD defense this week and I chose this one bc it looks most excellent! I had the same problem as Sandy with the frosting though – I thought I fully followed the directions but it turned out quite runny. I don’t think it helps that I don’t have a stand mixer (yet ;-)) or whisk attachments for a hand beater, so I was doing all the beating/whipping with a regular hand mixer, which probably wasn’t enough. I may attempt to whip it up some more today (but I already added the chocolate shavings, so not sure how it will affect them), or perhaps add some powdered sugar. I saw the link to the full instructions for the swiss meringue buttercream in the comments, but not until I was already finished and wondering what my problem was – I’m sure it’d be helpful to others following this recipe if you were able to link to it in the main text. Can’t wait to taste this cake!!
So sorry to hear you’re having problems with the frosting! Feel free to email with any questions if you would like help trouble shooting! Congrats to your boyfriend on the PHd!
This cake was so much fun to make! As a teen, my favorite treat was the mint Oreo Blizzard and this answers my longing for that taste combo. I did make a mistake by making only a half recipe of your modified Swiss meringue buttercream so I didn’t have much filling between layers and my rosettes weren’t as impressive as they should have been, but it was still delicious. The ganache was excellent and next time I make this I may try to find a way to incorporate more of it…somewhere. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes! Thank you, Elizabeth.
Glad this recipe could fulfill your nostalgia! Thank you so much!
Oh my goodness, oh my goodness! I actually made meringue buttercream frosting and it turned out amazing! I was super worried about wasting 9 eggs and a lb. of butter but wanted to try something new. Your other tutorial you linked to above was absolutely perfect and now I have a delicious bowl of SUPER creamy frosting waiting for my daughter’s birthday cake. Thanks so much for the helpful turorial!
Hi I dont eat eggs what can be used instead ?
Same issue with the frosting it is liquid. 1lb of melted butter seems like a lot plus instructions are not clear whether you should turn this into a merigue