Chocolate Cake with Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting {Crazy Cooking Challenge}

Chocolate Cake with Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting

Rich cholate cake and refreshing mint frosting combine to make the most outrageous Chocolate Cake with Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting.

When Tina from Mom’s Crazy Cooking informed us that this month’s challenge was chocolate cake, I was a tad concerned. This will be shocking and slightly disheartening to many of you but I am not a chocolate cake fan. Please hold back your judgement, disgust and gasps. It’s just too rich for me.

But I didn’t want to miss out on the fun so I decided to bite the bullet and see if I could find a chocolate cake that we would truly enjoy. I thought the frosting could really make a difference for us so I went for one that I knew we would love.

After lots of searching, I came across this chocolate cake made by Aimee at Shugary Sweets and I knew I had found it! After reading that the frosting tasted like mint chocolate chip ice cream I thought I might die.

That’s my favorite flavor so it had to find out for myself…and she is totally right.

DSC_08Chocolate Cake with Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting

he frosting was amazing and so was the chocolate cake. The coffee in the cake batter really enhanced the richness of the chocolate.

Layer Cake Tips

Although I don’t make layered cakes too often, I have learned a few tips when it comes to icing them. The first is to place strips of wax paper under the first cake layer on the cake stand/plate so that you don’t get any frosting on it. After frosting the cake, all you have to do is pull out the wax paper and you have a perfectly clean cake stand.

Chocolate Cake with Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting

Another tip I have learned is placing the top cake layer upside down so that the bottom of the cake will be the top of the cake. This provides a nice, flat surface on the top of the cake to frost.

Chocolate Cake with Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting

I passed along some of the cake to friends and also got rave reviews from them so you definitely need to give this a try!

Make sure to check out Aimee’s other amazing eats and treats here…umm, Pumpkin Pound Cake with Caramel Walnut Sauce? Sign me up!

Rich cholate cake and refreshing mint frosting combine to make the most outrageous Chocolate Cake with Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting.
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Cake with Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting

Rich cholate cake and refreshing mint frosting combine to make the most outrageous Chocolate Cake with Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting.
Prep Time45 minutes
Active Time25 minutes
Cooling Time2 hours
Total Time3 hours 10 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Chocolate Cake with Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting
Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

For the Chocolate Cake:

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 cup brewed coffee, cooled
  • 1/2 cup whole milk

For the Frosting:

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 8 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
  • 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. milk
  • 11 oz. dark chocolate chunks
  • green food coloring

For the Ganache:

  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
  • 1/4 tsp. peppermint extract

Instructions

  • In medium bowl, sift cocoa with flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder, set aside. In measuring cup, mix coffee and milk together. Set aside.
  • In mixer, beat butter and sugar for about 5 minutes until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Slowly add in dry ingredients alternating with the coffee/milk blend (about 3 additions of each).
  • Pour cake batter into two prepared pans (two 9inch cake pans lined with parchment paper and then greased and floured). Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Remove and allow to cool about 10 minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely before frosting.
  • For frosting: in food processor, pulse dark chocolate until small bits (not powder). Set aside. In mixer, beat butter, powdered sugar and milk (slowly add the milk, you may not need it all) for 3-5 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Add in extract and food coloring gel. Mix until fully blended. Add more milk if necessary to desired consistency. Fold in chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips.
  • Frost first layer of cake, then top it with second layer. Completely frost sides and top of cake.
  • For the ganache, heat 3/4 cup heavy cream in saucepan. Bring just to a boil and remove from heat. Place chocolate chips in a bowl then slowly add in hot cream and extract. Stir until smooth and completely combined. Allow ganache to cool then pour over chocolate cake.

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112 comments

  1. Wow what a beauty! I don’t like mint really but this is gorgeous! I love the mint filling, coating on the outside, and the chocolate coating. What a beauty!

    http://steaknpotatoeskindagurl.blogspot.com/2012/02/chocolate-carrot-cake-crazy-cooking.html

  2. I’m pinning this one so I can make it FOR SURE! YUM!

  3. this looks amazing! mint chocolate is my favorite combination ever!

  4. Wow, this looks amazing! I’m not actually a huge fan of mint chip ice cream, but I think I would like it better in cake form. Looks delicious.

  5. Beautiful cake, Meg! Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream is a favorite of mine too. I love coffee and chocolate, they are a great combination.

    Neat idea sharing some Tips and Tricks for layer cakes.

    I am a CCC participant too.

  6. This looks absolutely delicious!

  7. THIS LOOKS AWESOME!! Yumm I will try this out for sure. Check out my cake #56 on the linky party have a great day 🙂

  8. Mint and chocolate is one of my FAVOURITE combinations – I can’t wait to try this!

    Jenny (CCC#59)

  9. OOOOOOOOOOOO

    Oh yes, you have my attention! YUM YUM YUM!

  10. This is so funny – we used a really similar recipe for this month’s CCC!! Yours looks fantastic! I love the green colour you got in your icing. I used cheap grocery store colouring so my green wasn’t nearly as vibrant.

  11. Looks delicious! I’ll have to make this for my sister one day. She’s a huge mint chocolate chip fan.

  12. YUM! My hubby hates mint so I never get to try stuff like this out, but I would love it, I’m sure!

    1. Hates mint? That’s just wrong. It was so good!

  13. So glad you enjoyed the cake!!! It’s truly fabulous 🙂

    1. Is there anything I could substitue for the coffee? I’m just not a fan of the coffee flavor in the slightest. Or do you think I could leave it out altogether?
      Thanks~

      1. I am not a coffee fan either and I truly couldn’t taste it in the cake, it just gives a depth to the chocolate. But, you could just sub in the same amount of water for the coffee and it will still taste great!

  14. This is just the prettiest cake. It made me think of mint chocolate chip ice cream even before I saw the name. Beautiful!

  15. Ok, this does sound amazing with that frosting!! Does it taste anything like a Thin Mint cookie, because that’s what it reminds me of!! Looks fab!

    http://kaylasmalltownlife.blogspot.com/2012/02/black-magic-cake-with-pb-frosting.html

  16. Chocolate, mint and more chocolate…WOW, looks delicious!

    If you haven’t already, I’d love for you to check out my Crazy Cooking Challenge entry: Double Chocolate Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake

    Lisa~~
    Cook Lisa Cook

  17. Oh wow this looks so good!! The frosting looks just like mint chocolate chip ice cream. I love the combination of mint and chocolate. Stopping by from CCC #45.

    Alyssa

  18. My sister in law would pass right out if she saw this one. She’s a huge mint chocolate chip fan. Great recipe. Really spectacular cake.

  19. I just love your combination of the Mint and chocolate, a winner every time! Thanks for sharing and hope you have a wonderful week!
    Miz Helen
    #7

  20. […] Chocolate Cake with Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting […]

  21. This looks SO good!! Mmm!
    Jen #79

    1. I’m making this cake for my soon to be step daughters 21st birthday!! So hoping its a success:) thanks for a great recipe!

  22. Looking forward to trying this recipe! My kids love mint chocolate chip. One question… It says (8) cups of powdered sugar for the frosting. Must be a typo. What is the correct measurement? Thx 🙂

    1. Not a typo, haha! It’s a very sweet and sugary frosting and it makes a ton. I didn’t use the whole amount of frosting if that makes you feel any better!

  23. I have never made a cake from scratch so I am wondering, would this work with a boxed cake mix?

    1. You could totally bake up a boxed cake mix then whip up the mint frosting for it.

  24. Might have to try this for Father’s Day on Sunday.

  25. I don’t drink or eat coffee so I was wondering if there was some kind of substitution that you could think of? Thanks for this post, it’s so beautiful!!! I really love mint so I can’t wait to try it!

    1. You can just replace the coffee with water. The coffee just deepens the flavor of the chocolate and since coffee is just flavored water it will work perfectly. Thanks for stopping by and for such a nice compliment! I hope that you enjoy this cake as much as we did!

  26. Perfect summer treat!

  27. made this today with a Duncan hines chocolate cake mix- tasted good at room temp, a ton better cold…. so delicious! even with a box mix.

  28. I am currently in the process of making the frosting & it is separating what can i do to fix?

    1. Here are a few tips to fix a separated frosting. The butter may have been too warm which can cause it to separate. I hope this helps fix it! http://www.ehow.com/how_8755905_fix-separated-buttercream-frosting.html

      1. I made this cake tonight and everyone loved it. Thank you for posting this delicious recipe. I also had issues with the frosting. It was too runny. Not sure what I did wrong but I am sure I will be making this cake again, so I will follow those tips you added. Even with the runniness this was still devine!

  29. I’ve made this twice and each time I do it the cake falls apart

    1. I made this tonight and the cake totally fell apart into mostly crumbs. There was no way to frost it because it was so crumbly. I watched it close and it is still moist so I know I didn’t over cook it. So disapointed!

  30. Just wanted to let everyone know that I made this cake and it was AWESOME!!! 🙂 My hubby and 4 year old daughter LOVE green ice cream ( that is what my daugther calls it) My hubby is not a big fan of chocolate…so because the cake was made for him for his b-day and the cake was already choc. I left off the ganache…the frosting REALLy does taste like mint choc.chip ice cream.

  31. […] I thought I hated mint. Turns out, not so much. Mint makes me happy! Although this recipe from Meg’s Everday Indulgence looks a little tough, I’m pretty sure the hard work is worth every little minty, happy bite! […]

  32. […] here for recipe from Meg’s Everyday Indulgences ( I omitted the chocolate ganache in this […]

  33. The frosting is more like icing. It’s going all over the place I had to freeze it just to be able to put it on the cake. I should of just bought frosting and added the peppermint and green to it.

    1. I’m sorry it’s not working out for you. Perhaps your butter was a bit too soft? Or maybe don’t add the additional 2 Tablespoons of milk next time?

    2. Found this through Pinterest! I’m a cake decorator, and I think I see the problem with the icing recipe. Standard buttercream uses 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter to 1 lb (4 cups) powdered sugar and 1-2 tbsp TOTAL liquid, just enough to help it smooth and thin to a spreadable consistency. Your recipe uses 2 sticks butter (1 cup) to 2 lbs powdered sugar (8 cups), but adds a whole 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp milk AND another tsp or so of liquid flavor/color – entirely too much liquid. I suggest beating the softened butter and sugar together, add your flavorings, then add only as much milk as needed to get the consistency you want. Shouldn’t be any more than 1/4 cup total liquid. Hope that helps!

  34. I want to make this but rather than a cake, I want to do cupcakes– looks like a lot of frosting, should I just halve the ingredients?

    1. Yeah, it does make a ton of frosting so half would probably be enough for cupcakes.

      1. Great– thanks for the quick reply!

  35. I think I will try crushed Andes mints instead of choco chips. This just might send me over the edge. Can’t wait .

    1. Oooh, what a good idea! Hope you enjoy it!

  36. Yum! Thanks, made this today for my mint choc loving sister’s Birthday. Swapped dairy ingredients for non dairy, halved the peppermint icing, flagged the choc chips, its still decadent, easy to make and looks great.

  37. Holy crap! I made this cake for my roommates birthday yesterday. It was ridiculously good! Definitely making this again.

  38. The recipe for the cake was amazing. The frosting? AWFUL. It ran everywhere. I looked up other frosting recipes that call for only 1/3 cup butter, 2 tbs of milk, and maybe 3 cups of sugar. I don’t know if you typed something on wrong, but I followed the directions and it was separating and dripping everywhere. I don’t see how freezing it will help, at some point it will go back to room temperature and be watered down again. Ugh!

    1. I’m sorry that the frosting did not come together for you. It is written correctly and I didn’t have any problems as well as others but some people have commented on it being runny for them. If you try making it again, I would suggest making sure the butter isn’t too soft and start by adding maybe just 1/4 cup milk and go from there.

    2. Hi Hannah – see my reply to Sarah above!

  39. I made the mint frosting tonight and it’s to die for! I got tired so I’m going to make the ganache in the morning. I’m wondering though, do I let the ganache cool to almost room temperature before pouring on top of the mint buttercream frosting? Seems like since I’m supposed to heat up the cream to almost boiling the ganache will be very hot and will melt the buttercream if poured on right away. Just wondering how long you waited before adding the final frosting. So excited to taste the final product!!!

    1. I would wait about 20 minutes before pouring it on top. So glad you love the frosting! It is deliciously sweet! Hope you enjoy the whole thing together, we sure did!

  40. Made this for my daughter’s 9th birthday sleepover and it was a hit! I did use a boxed cake mix and the frosting separated (I now realize how to fix that after reading the comments!). But, even with the melty frosting the girls loved it!

  41. Rats. I should have listened to myself. I thought to myself, “I should really cool the ganache before pouring it on the cake.” but the instructions didn’t say to do that, so I didn’t. Now I have a melted icing/ganache disaster. *sigh* I’m sure it will taste amazing, but it doesn’t look happy.

    1. Oh man I’m sorry! I will update the recipe to state to cool the ganache.

      1. Cooling the cake might work, too, now that I think about it. I live in a hot area, so I bet my cake was already on the edge of melting. Humidity might make a difference, too. So many factors to consider with this sort of thing!

        I haven’t cut into the actual cake, but I’ve been snacking on the leftover icing and it’s pretty awesome. 🙂 My husband is going to wonder if I got in a fight with the cake when he sees it. LOL!

        1. Well, I’m glad the frosting is delicious…I love the stuff! The cake tastes so yummy that the looks won’t even matter! Hope you enjoy it!

  42. I have a question about the ganache~did it harden up or stay fluid on the cake?

    1. It hardened up somewhat but not to the point of magic shell. It wasn’t runny at all. If you want it to harden completely, you can keep the cake in the fridge (we did this with about half of it and I really liked it cold but I prefer cold cake).

      1. I made the cake yesterday and must say I’m overwhelmed how great it turned out! It is really easy to make and just delicious. However I have to admit that I couldn’t bring myself to use as much powdered sugar as described (seriously: 8 cups of sugar is almost frightening! 😉 I did it with 4 cups only and really found it more than sweet enough…

  43. Since I was taking it to a potluck, a couple of hours away, I made this cake in a 9×13 dish. I also cut the mint buttercream in half and it was the perfect amount when you leave the cake in the dish. Didn’t cut the ganache recipe in half though. The leftover ganache was delicious over ice cream! 🙂

  44. How long should these bake to make cupcakes?

    1. I would start at about 15 minutes then if they aren’t done, keep a close eye on them and check them every couple minutes.

  45. I made this tonight for my husband’s birthday.
    It was a HUGE success! So tasty and decadent.

  46. i made this tonight for my moms birthday and it was the most amazing cake ever! mint chocolate chip is her favorite and she just about died when she tasted this. i completely and totally recommend everyone to make this!

  47. This Cake was AMAZZIINNGGG!! I made it over the weekend for my friends Birthday!

  48. This cake was very good but very rich. I think it could be baked in a 9 x 13 pan and the mint ganach drippled over the top. would also be easier to frost. A box cake mix would work. I didn’t use all the frosting so made cake (brownie) balls with the frosting and some brownie crumbs I had saved in the freezer

  49. Yay so gonna bake this cake for my boyfriend’s 20th birthday! 😀

  50. […] Chocolate Cake with Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting Extra Crispy Spicy Fried Chicken Sweet Cornbread Cheesy Bread Whole Lemon Blueberry Walnut Muffins Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes Mexican Chicken Salad with Chili Lime Vinaigrette Salted Pretzel Caramel Bark Skinny Bang Bang Shrimp Lasagna Cupcakes […]

  51. This cake is a real beauty, too beautiful to eat… naaahhh!

  52. I’m drooling! Can’t wait to try this.

  53. Still don’t know how to use pin it so writing down on cards,Im learning this slowly on my own but I know I have at least 2 of my daughters who would love this I love to bake and when I figure this stuff out I will try to share some of my own successful recipes

  54. Reblogged this on My Blog and commented:
    I want this cake, and I shall have it

  55. This was wonderful! Very sweet, rich and chocolatey. You do not need 8 cups of powered sugar. Had lots of green frosting left over.

  56. I want to make this in an 8×8 pan, any idea on how to vary the baking time? Just don’t want to screw it up.

    1. I would start with 15 minutes then check it every few minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

  57. […] Read all the details and recipe on megseverydayindulgence.wordpress.com […]

  58. This is my all time favorite cake! My mom would make it for my birthday when I was younger, but I haven’t had it since and have been trying to track down the recipe. This is exactly like I remember it! Can’t go wrong with chocolate mint cake…even better than chocolate mint ice cream 🙂

  59. Is there anything different for the recipefor high altitude locations?

    1. I’ve never had to bake in high altitudes so I don’t have any experience but I did a little searching and found an article that has some good information (I provided the link at the end of the comment). If you’re below 3,000 feet you don’t need to make any changes but if you are above that, they suggest some changes.

      Adjustment for 3000 feet:
      •Reduce baking powder: for each teaspoon decrease 1/8 teaspoon.
      •Reduce sugar: for each cup, decrease 0 to 1 tablespoon.
      •Increase liquid: for each cup, add 1 to 2 tablespoons (eggs are not considered liquid).
      •Increase oven temperature by 25 degrees F.

      Adjustment for 5000 feet:
      •Reduce baking powder: for each teaspoon, decrease 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon.
      •Reduce sugar: for each cup, decrease 0 to 2 tablespoons.
      Increase liquid: for each cup, add 2 to 4 tablespoons (eggs are not considered liquid).
      •Increase oven temperature by 25 degrees F.

      Adjustment for 7000+ feet:
      •Reduce baking powder: for each teaspoon, decrease 1/4 teaspoon.
      •Reduce sugar: for each cup, decrease 1 to 3 tablespoons.
      •Increase liquid: for each cup, add 3 to 4 tablespoons (eggs are not considered liquid).
      •Increase oven temperature by 25 degrees F.

      Hope this helps!
      http://allrecipes.com/howto/high-altitude-cake-baking/

  60. I found this on Pinterest and finally made it yesterday to take to work for a co-worker’s birthday. This cake got RAVE reviews. I altered the frosting a little, I used andes mint pieces instead of chocolate chips. I also used less powdered sugar and milk. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe. It was absolutely delish!

  61. This cake was amazing! Each time I’ve made it, the people could not stop talking about it. The cake was so moist and the frosting tastes just like the ice cream. The combination of frosting and ganache is perfect!!!! Thank you for the recipe!

  62. Tried this cake for Father’s Day- it was delicious! I served it with Mint Chocolate Blue bell ice cream- flavor was spot on. I did add more Peppermint extract to the icing- that may have been because of the extract brand. Also I did not use a full cup of butter on the icing- I cut the butter and powdered sugar. I am not a huge fan of icing. I used 2/3 cup butter and 5 cups of powdered sugar for the recipe. I recommend this recipe! Try it 🙂

    1. Sorry, we didn’t like this cake at all. Too much chocolate. Any one of the three layers would’ve been wonderful with another combination but three layers of that rich chocolate was way too much and I come from a chocolate loving family. We will never make this again

      1. Sorry you didn’t like this. It is very chocolate-y indeed….not for the faint of heart.

  63. […] on Pinterest to bake something myself for one of the many celebrations. This time, I opted for this amazing looking cake that I’m sure you’ve probably come across before, but since it was for a Father’s […]

  64. […] This recipe is mostly slightly adapted from Meg’s Everyday Indulgence. […]

  65. […] that it will be a great thing for him. When the day finally arrives, I’m going to need a big slice of cake or a cookie the size of my […]

  66. I made this cake today for my Daughters birthday. YUM! The Frosting was the perfect consistency following the recipe as written (added a pinch of salt). I did add more peppermint than suggested but I used all organic ingredients I and it believe the peppermint oil I used was not as potent as the conventional option. I will definitely use the cake recipe for other chocolate cake variations In the future as it is the best chocolate cake I have ever made!! Thank you for sharing 🙂

    1. So glad you enjoyed it! I’m not a huge fan of chocolate cake but I can totally get behind this one!

  67. Would love to make this i love these flavors . or though I not a great chocolate fan. Thank you

  68. […] reasonable idea to me. However, my sister just told me that she was going to attempt to make this cake and I am 100% cool with […]

  69. […] Herb Pullapart/Orange Pound Cake/Chocolate Celebration Cake Chicken San Choy Bow/Valentines Cookies/Choc Mint Cake/Healthy Banana Muffins/Banoffee Pie Chicken Taco Chilli/Bliss Balls/Curried Lentil Soup/Oat Banana […]

  70. […] recipe for this cake can be found here.  The only change I made was to do 3 layers as I used a smaller cake pan and the batter fit in […]

  71. […] third recipe was just some basic Thin Mint brownies. I had wanted to make the To DIE For Thin Mint Brownies […]

  72. I’m making this right now for my daughter’s birthday, she LOVES mint chocolate chip and this looks divine, I’m excited to try it! So many other great recipes on your site, looking forward to following along!

    1. Awesome, so glad to hear! Let me know what she things of it. And thank you for the sweet compliment!

      1. It was a huge hit! Definitely a keeper. I’ll do a post on my blog soon and link back to yours! Thanks again!

  73. […] you’ll ever make and quite possibly the most delicious one you’ll ever eat.  And then Meg’s finishing touch with the rich mint chocolate chip frosting and drizzled with a silky smooth dark […]

  74. I’m wondering if you’ve ever used another icing with this cake recipe. I made it with the mint chocolate chip and my husband loved it! I’m not a fan of mint, so I wanted to try another icing recipe. Maybe chocolate chocolate. Best chocolate cake ever!

    1. I haven’t tried the cake recipe with different frosting but I’m pretty sure it would be amazing with anything spread on it! I personally think a peanut butter frosting would be amazing but I’m a sucker for that combination. I made a different chocolate cake with chocolate frosting recently (haven’t blogged it yet) and the frosting was incredible. Light, fluffy yet still rich. Here’s a link to it: http://www.barefeetinthekitchen.com/2014/10/fluffy-chocolate-frosting-recipe.html. If the peanut butter frosting sounds good, try this one: http://www.megseverydayindulgence.com/2015/06/24/patriotic-peanut-butter-frosted-brownies/ (if it seems too thick, you can thin it out a bit with some milk). If you try something different, come back and let me know how it turned out. Glad your husband loved the cake!

  75. […] major similarity). Last year for my birthday, she made me a mint chocolate chip birthday cake (this mint chocolate chip cake, minus the ganache, to be exact). And it was delicious and the heavens opened up and we sang the […]

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