This Mint Chocolate Chip Cake is a mint lover’s dream! Layers of decadent chocolate cake topped with a silky mint chip buttercream.
Did you know that there is only one Olive Garden restaurant in Vancouver? It’s not really even in Vancouver, it’s in a suburb called Langley about 40+ mins outside of the city. Further research tells me there is actually only ONE Olive Garden in all of BC. Meanwhile, just south of the border it seems like there’s one every few blocks.
The one location we do have is about 20 mins from where we live, and always has at least a 1 hour wait. With such high demand, you think they’d expand to more locations?! So, I think I’ve only been to Olive Garden two or three times in my entire life. Sad, right??
One of these times was actually just a few weeks ago, when Ryan and I spontaneously decided to go there for a late dinner. Very out of character for us — both the spontaneous Olive Garden trip and the late dinner. The wait was only 45 mins this time. It was worth it though — we got a great table and the food was delicious. Those breadsticks and dipping sauces (five cheese marinara, omg yum) and I finally got to try the infamous Zuppa Toscana. Maybe only infamous to me though. As a food blogger I see that recipe everywhere. Now I see why. I could happily have had free refills of that as my dinner and been content. Well, that and the breadsticks.
Anyhow, you’re probably wondering where I’m going with this, and what on earth it has to do with this Mint Chocolate Chip Cake. Well, I had forgotten that at the end of the meal they give you these Andes Chocolate Mints and omg they are GOOD. I love the combo of mint and chocolate (hello After Eights ♥), but these mints are honestly the best. The BEST. Someone tell me where I can get these in Canada! I was hoping I’d find a giant tub of them in Costco, but no luck. I need these in my life, and my once-in-a-blue-moon trips to the Olive Garden aren’t going to cut it.
So, inspired by the delicious Andes Chocolate Mints, and in an attempt to recreate this flavor and try to satisfy my craving, I bring you this Mint Chocolate Chip Cake!
For the cake layers, I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe. It truly is the best if you like a rich, chocolatey flavor. I debated putting mint extract into the actual cake batter, but I stuck with vanilla. I wanted the frosting to contrast with the cake, and didn’t want the mint flavor to be too overpowering.
The frosting is a classic Swiss meringue buttercream but with mint extract instead of vanilla, some green color gel, and chopped chocolate added in. I recommend using good quality chocolate for the chips and the ganache. It really makes a difference! I use Callebaut, but you can use any good quality chocolate that’s available to you. If you’re limited to a grocery store, Lindt is your best bet.
To me, this cake tastes just like those delicious Andes Chocolate Mints, but in cake form. A worthy substitute until I can get my hands on some. If you love mint chocolate candy, ice cream, or any other form, you will love this cake!
Tips for this Mint Chocolate Chip Cake:
- To enhance the chocolate flavor of the cake, you can use strong hot coffee instead of hot water.
- Use good quality chocolate if you can. I use Callebaut, but Lindt will do if it’s easily available to you.
- I used Kelly Green color gel to color the frosting.
- For the ganache, I let mine set overnight (with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface). It will be too thick at this point, so I microwave it for 5-10 secs and stir it until it’s the right consistency.
- The drip technique works best on a chilled cake so that the drips set quickly.
- Be sure to check my Swiss Meringue Buttercream post for tips and troubleshooting.
- To help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, see my Flat Top Cakes post.
Mint Chocolate Chip Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder sifted
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 3/4 cup hot water
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Mint Chip Buttercream:
- 5 large egg whites
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter cubed, room temperature
- 1 tsp mint extract
- 3 oz good quality dark chocolate chopped
- green color gel
Ganache:
- 2 oz good quality dark chocolate finely chopped
- 2 oz heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F, grease three 6″ round baking pans and dust with cocoa powder. Line bottoms with parchment.
- Place all dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Stir to combine.
- In a medium bowl whisk all wet ingredients (pour hot water in slowly as not to cook the eggs).
- Add wet ingredients to dry and mix on medium for 2-3 mins. Batter will be very thin.
- Pour evenly into prepared pans. I used a kitchen scale to ensure the batter is evenly distributed.
- Bake until a cake tester comes out mostly clean. A total of 30-35mins.
- Cool 10 minutes in the pans then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Mint Chip Buttercream:
- Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.*
- Place bowl over a hot water bath on the stove and whisk constantly until the mixture is no longer grainy to the touch (approx. 3mins).
- Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch — approx. 5-10mins).
- Switch to paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth. Add peppermint extract.
- Stop the mixer. Dip a toothpick into the green color gel then dip it into the frosting. Whip until smooth and evenly green. Add more color gel if desired.
- Fold in chopped chocolate.
Ganache:
- Place chopped chocolate and cream into a microwave safe bowl. Stir to combine. Microwave for 20 seconds, stir. Microwave in 10 second intervals, stirring in between, until ganache is smooth and silky. Set aside to cool completely and thicken slightly before using on cake. See notes.
Assembly:
- Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving dish. Top with about 2/3 cup buttercream. Repeat with remaining layers. Frost and smooth the outside with a thin crumb coat. Chill for 20mins.
- Frost the top and sides of the cake.
- Using a small spoon, place dollops of ganache around the top edges of the cooled cake, allowing some to drip down. Fill in the top of the cake with more ganache and spread evenly with an offset spatula.***
- Top with fresh mint if desired.
Notes
** The buttercream may look like it’s curdled at some point. Keep mixing until it is completely smooth.
*** You may have some ganache left over. For the ganache, I let mine set overnight (with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface). It will be too thick at this point, so I microwave it for 5-10 secs and stir it until it’s the right consistency.
CRBean says
When bringing this to a party, can you leave it out on a table or should it be kept in the refrigerator? Curious because of the egg whites in the frosting and cream in the ganache. Thanks!
Olivia says
Hi there! It can be left out no problem for a few hours.
Bev says
Hi, Olivia! Do you think I can replace the chopped chocolate in the buttercream with crushed Oreos instead?
Olivia says
Hi Bev! I think that would work great 🙂
Lorna Cochrane says
Hi Olivia, was going to have a go at this fab looking cake. I’m in the uk, and wanted to check the ratio for converting the ganache recipe – is it simple 1:1 (equal measures of chocolate and double/heavy cream) Thanks lots, Lorna
Olivia says
Hi Lorna! Yes, it’s 1:1 by weight for both for dark. White and milk chocolate is 2:1 chocolate to cream.
Erin says
I made this cake for my mom’s birthday this year (also Christmas). She is obsessed with anything mint chocolate. I remember when I was a kid she used to talk about withdrawals from York Peppermint Paddies (to this day she believes they add something addictive.) It was amazing! HUGE hit. The chocolate cake is so moist and rich, and the buttercream frosting is smooth and buttery with the perfect amount of minty-ness! She has been talking about it all week, saying it is the best cake she has ever eaten!
We only had 9-inch cake pans, so instead of 3 6″x2″ layers, I did 4 9″x1.5″ layers. Using the conversion table linked in the comments, this meant multiplying the recipe by three. Of course that meant nothing fit in my mixer, so I did it in two batches.
We used an entire box of the dutch cocoa powder and 3 bars of Ghirardelli because of the tripling of the recipe (no complaints here!) but we were actually short on chocolate for the buttercream and added a bit of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Also, we only had food coloring liquid. We had to use a couple drops instead of the toothpick dip. It was still amazing and looked just like the picture!
Overall, amazing recipe that will now be a holiday tradition! Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Erin! So glad this cake was a hit and that you mom loved it – huge compliment from her! Thanks so much for your feedback re: converting the recipe AND for reading the previous comments to see that link 🙂
Ikue says
When my 3-year-old son asked for “Mint Chocolate Chips” cake for his birthday, my research began and I came across this recipe. I needed to try this recipe.
My cake came out just like the photo, which I was very pleased. I love the frosting. The mint isn’t too overpowering yet not too subtle.
The only thing is I felt the frosting was a bit too much- the somewhat thick layer of frosting made the cake too rich and we ended up not being able to eat all the frosting used in the cake. If I make this cake again, I would make it as a naked cake and drizzle the chocolate ganache. I think that would be perfect.
Olivia says
Hi Ikue! Glad to hear that you like it! I can appreciate wanting less frosting too 🙂
Ellen.Wve says
Hy, your cakes look amazingly delicious 😍
I need to do this recipe in one 13×9″ pan. It’s ok if I double the quantities for the chocolate cake ? Or I have to triple them ?
I will try to do a 3D LION 🦁 cake, and I need the layers not to be very thin.
Thank you very much !
Olivia says
Hi Ellen! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here’s a site I use as a guideline: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
Jessie says
Hi, will it be ok if I prepare the mint buttercream the day before as well?
Olivia says
Hi Jessie! Yes, this will be fine. I would refrigerate (not critical if only 1 day) then bring to room temp and rewhip before using.
Monique Escudier says
Hi what depth do the cake pans have to be? I’ve got 8inch but only 3.5cm deep… if not I can use a spring form if that will work? Thanks 🙏🏽
Olivia says
Hi Monique! Mine are all 2″ deep and the cakes rise right to the top. I’ve never used a spring form, but imagine it would work ok. Let me know how it turns out!
Noreen says
Hi Olivia,
Party City here in St. John’s, Newfoundland, has the Andes Chocolate Mints.
They are sold individually in large bins by the cash register.
I cannot get them anywhere else.
Hope you have a Party City close to you and can find them on your end of the country.
I’m going to make your cake this weekend for my family.
Noreen
Olivia says
Hi Noreen! Thanks for the tip!! We do have Party City here so I will check that out. I hope you like the cake!
Noreen says
Let me know if you find the Andes Mints. Good luck !!!
Jen says
I made this cake for my moms birthday this week and it was BETTER than my favourite salted caramel cake (from Oprah’s website) which is the highest compliment I could give. I wasn’t sure about so many things while making it, would I like the chocolate in the icing, should I use oil instead of my usual butter in the cake, does it need ganache? It was perfect, I’m so glad I trusted you and I can’t wait to buy some freeze dried fruit for your other recipes!
Olivia says
Hi Jen! Wow that is high praise indeed! I am so happy to hear that it was better than you expected!!
Kerri says
I was really excited about making this recipe but the icing was super runny. I even tried to make the icing twice! The meringue was definitely stiff when I stopped whipping it and I even made sure the butter was a bit colder the second time around. It seemed like the meringue wasn’t even phased when I added the butter in. Any advice?
Olivia says
Hi Kerri! It sounds like maybe the meringue was still too warm when you added the butter, which can make it soupy. Next time, try sticking the whole bowl into the fridge for 20mins and then rewhipping. Repeat until it comes together (it should!).
Sierra says
Hi! I just tried this cake today. My buttercream was extremely runny as well unfortunately. I believe it may be the ratios. Next time I’ll try the 1-2-3 method which always works for me. 1/2 c whites, 1 c sugar, and 1 1/2 c butter. Thank you! Great flavor. Beautiful cake.
Olivia says
A Swiss meringue becomes runny for one of two reasons: meringue is too warm when butter is added, or the butter is too soft. Either way, it’s saveable with some time in the fridge. Glad you liked the flavour!
Patrycja says
Do you think I could bake one chocolate cake at a time and leave the rest of the batter out or in the fridge? I have a really old oven that doesn’t bake very evenly and can’t handle more than one thing a time.
Olivia says
Hi Patrycja! Ideally the cake layers should be baked right away.
Gemma says
Hi, I want to make this cake for my boyfriends birthday but he can’t have cream…. could I do the gnash with out the cream and just chocolate ? Would that still work ?
Olivia says
Hi Gemma! If you did it that way it would crack when you cut into it. I’ve heard you can do a ganache with water instead (though I’ve never tried it), so maybe take a look for that??
Michelle says
Hi,
Can I divide this recipe between 2 nine inch pans?
If so, how does the baking time change?
Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Michelle! I think the layers would be too thin in two 9″ pans. The recipe as is will work for two 8″ pans.
Tsakane Maluleke says
Hi Olivia,
This looks divine!!!
If I were to double the ingredients, more or less how many cups of batter would I have and would it be enough for a 3 layer 8 inch cake?
Olivia says
Hi Tsakane! If you double it it will be enough for a three layer 8″ cake 🙂
Tsakane Maluleke says
Thank you for the response!!!
Your cakes always look divine!
Thank you for this page… It really gives us very good recipes to try out!
Olivia says
Thanks so much Tsakane!! 🙂
Maya says
Was there extra buttercream? I wanted to do some piping work and I wanted to know if I should increase the amount. The recipe sounds AMAZING! Can’t wait to make it! 😁
Olivia says
Hi Maya! My recipes don’t usually have a ton of buttercream left over. If you like you can increase the egg whites to 6 and the butter to 2 cups 🙂
Emma says
Hi Just making this cake & I am a complete novice with baking! How long will the cake keep for once made?
I am making the cake 4 days before I need it so should I freeze it or not?
Thank you, can’t wait to try it
Olivia says
Hi Emma! Ideally serve cakes the same day or the next. If you need to store it, freeze it and take it out for a few hours day of serving.
Shirley says
I made this cake for a fundraiser benefit. I had trouble with the buttercream frosting. I couldn’t get it to become creamy. I followed the directions. As a was beating it the frosting became runny. I frosted the layers and chilled the rest overnight. Today I’ll frost the sides. It is really a bumpy frosting and I’m hoping it will look ok. Hope it tastes good. The cake batter was delicious!
Olivia says
Hi Shirley! Was the meringue nice and stiff before you added the butter? If so, I suspect that the butter was maybe a bit too soft which can cause the buttercream to become runny. It’s totally saveable though! Just pop it into the fridge for 20min intervals, rewhipping in between, until it comes together 🙂
Manuela says
I made this cake for my girlfriend’s birthday. She is Celiac, so I replaced the all-purpose flour with a GF flour blend and the cake came out great! She really loved it. Thank you so much for posting this great recipe 🙂
Olivia says
Hi Manuela! So happy to hear that you both liked it, and glad the GF flour blend worked well!
Erin says
This cake was amazing! I don’t have a 6″ pan so I did 2 – 7″ layers. We do not do artificial food coloring so we didn’t make it green. I used peppermint essential oil in one of the layers of cake as well as the icing and ganache. I will definitely make this again and I am not a baker – in fact this was my first try at a layer cake and with buttercream icing! It was a HUGE hit with everyone who tried it!
Olivia says
Hi Erin! Yay! So happy to hear that everyone liked it 🙂 Thanks for your tips!