Mint Chocolate Cake

A rich velvety chocolate cake coated in minty fresh frosting, drizzled with chocolate ganache, topped with mint filled Ghirardelli chocolate.

When I turned 24,  the Spork (read: boyfriend) surprised me with this lovely cake. I was meeting him for lunch after taking some finals, and was kind of surprised he offered to cook lunch since it was the middle of a work day.

Preface, the Spork has never baked before! He’d seem me decorate a number of cakes on my weekend baking escapades, but so far his expertise has been in taste testing cake flavors, and dish washing. Since he had no baking materials or ingredients of his own, he snuck into my apartment (my roommate was his accomplice) while I went home for the Thanksgiving holiday and made it while I was gone, froze it in his freezer, and surprised me on my actual birthday a week later,

The Spork and I had dinner with our friends that night and the compliments for his cake came showering in during dinner. Needless to say, the Spork was very pleased with himself.

The Spork’s sister is a very talented baker and gave him some tips over the phone to make sure the workflow of decorating was correct. He used my mocha espresso cake recipe as the basis for the chocolate cake, and made his own frosting recipe. Here is the complete recipe for the mint chocolate cake!

Mint Chocolate Cake

Savoring Spork

5 from 5 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 2 hours hrs

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Servings 22

Ingredients

  

Dry

• 4 1/2 cups flour
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 1/8 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet

• 3 cups canned coconut milk light
• 1 1/2 cup canola oil
• 6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons vanilla extract

Frosting

• 2 cups non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup water add 1 tablespoon at a time to achieve desired consistency
• 3-4 teaspoons peppermint extract
• 4 drops green food coloring one drop at a time, to achieve desired shade of mint green

Chocolate Ganache

• 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk or almond milk
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips dairy free
• 2 teaspoons canola oil

Instructions

 

Cake

• Preheat oven to 350F. Grease three 9" cake pans and line with parchment paper (cut a circle the size of your cake pan bottom).
• Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl until evenly mixed. Give coconut milk a good shake, and then mix all wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add wet to dry mixture and mix until just incorporated. Immediately pour batter into pans and bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out with just a few crumbs.

Frosting

• Cream room-temperature shortening in a large bowl with a hand or stand mixer.
• Add powdered sugar, peppermint extract, and cream.
• Add water 1 tablespoon at a time to achieve desired consistency of frosting. Add food coloring to achieve desired shade of mint green.

Ganache

• Whisk all ingredients in a sauce pan except the oil, and stir at medium heat till combined and smooth. Stir in the oil, and then pour onto frosted cake. Use a spoon to brush ganache to edges so it drips down the sides of the cake.

Like Cake? Here are some more!

Maple Walnut Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Mocha Espresso Cake