Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

My husband’s birthday is this week, and mint chocolate chip ice cream is one of his favorites.  Plus St. Patrick’s Day is approaching, so I thought a Mint Chocolate Chip Cake would be perfect for either.

When I first met my husband, his favorite ice cream was regular chocolate chip, which I thought was kind of booooring.  I was always a mint chocolate chip girl, and one day he tried mine and realized he’d been an ice cream loser for all of his born days, and immediately converted.

Which just goes to show that he was lost without me and it’s probably a good thing for him that we got married.  He would have spent his entire life eating the wrong ice cream, and he wouldn’t get picked on on a blog that tens of people read, and plus, I’m fairly convinced that any other wife would just buy him a cake at the stupid supermarket.

Supermarket cakes don’t have magic in them.  Just lots of shortening.  Fact.

I’m not normally a homemade cake person.  I’ve tried both homemade and mixes, and find a lot of homemade recipes to be dry, and fairly expensive to make.  I’ve heard good things about the Hershey Perfectly Chocolate Cake though, and the recipe is simple enough, so I decided to give it a whirl with just a few minor changes.

It’s amazing.  So rich and chocolatey and not dry in the slightest.  It’s a gorgeous almost black color, which contrasts perfectly with the mint chocolate chip buttercream.  It’s one of my favorite cakes I’ve ever made, and I hope you try it and love it too!!

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

**cake portion adapted from Hershey

INGREDIENTS

• Cake:
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened, Dutch process cocoa powder (I used Hershey Special Dark)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• Frosting:
• 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, slightly softened
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tsp mint extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Drop or two of green food coloring
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Grease and flour 2 eight or nine inch pans.

2.  In the bowl of a mixer, combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Whisk together until fully combined.  Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Scrape the sides of the bowl, then slowly stir in the boiling water.  Pour batter evenly into prepared pans and bake for 30 -40 minutes, until tops of cakes spring back when you lightly touch in the center.

3.  Remove cakes from oven.  Allow to cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then remove to finish cooling on wire racks.

4.  Prepare frosting:  In the bowl of a mixer, beat butter, cream, and both extracts on medium speed until smooth.  With mixer speed on low, slowly add powdered sugar and mix until just combined.  Add food coloring and increase speed to medium high and beat for about minute, until frosting is light, smooth, and fluffy.  If frosting is too thick, add another Tablespoon or two of cream and beat for 30 more seconds.  Add chopped chocolate and mix on low until incorporated.  Frost cooled cake.

Notes:

Refrigerate cake until serving.

Do not sub chocolate chips for chopped chocolate in frosting — it will make the cake very difficult to frost.  I used bakers chocolate, but feel free to use your favorite dark chocolate bar.

To make frosting the cake easier, wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and or refrigerate for an hour or two before frosting.  It will make the cakes more firm, which is easier for handling.  Bonus — it also makes your cakes more moist.

Have a happy Monday, everyone!!

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