One of my most favorite summer treats is a really good mint chocolate chip ice cream cone, so when this cake showed up in my email from America’s Test Kitchen I just had to try it. The cake itself is flavored with a little mint extract, studded with mini chocolate chips, and dyed a cool mint green. The chocolate buttercream is just what a chocolate buttercream should be–smooth and chocolatey. I was supposed to garnish the sides of the cake with more mini chocolate chips, but I didn’t have enough left over (I ate them). I did, however, have chocolate sprinkles!
This dessert begins with a white cake base. White cakes and yellow cakes are made using the creaming method (creaming sugar and butter until fluffy). The difference between a white cake and a yellow cake, however, is that a white cake contains cake flour instead of all-purpose, and egg whites instead of whole eggs.
The chocolate buttercream is a basic American-style buttercream. Butter, a little salt, vanilla extract, and melted chocolate are mixed until combined, and then powdered sugar is slowly poured in. In order to get the buttercream to a lovely smooth texture it is important to mix on medium-high for about 3 to 5 minutes.
Of course, we know that chocolate and mint pair well together. What’s nice about this cake is that neither flavor overpowers the other.
Yes, I wish I hadn’t eaten most of the mini chocolate chips, but using chocolate sprinkles for decoration looked great too, and evoked my ice cream cone of choice.
- 5 Large Egg Whites
- 3 cups (384 g) Cake Flour
- 1 TBS Baking Powder
- ¼ tsp. Salt
- 2 sticks (226 g) Unsalted Butter, softened
- 2 cups (400 g) Granulated Sugar
- 1 and ½ tsp. Mint Extract
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 and ½ cups Mini Chocolate Chips, divided
- 5 to 10 drops Green Food Dye
- 8 oz. (226 g) Bittersweet Chocolate Chips, melted and cooled
- 2 and ½ sticks (283 g) Unsalted Butter, softened
- 1/8 tsp. Salt
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 2 cups (250 g) Powdered Sugar
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Line pans with parchment paper and then grease the parchment. Set aside.
- Using a standing or hand-held mixer, whisk the egg whites until stiff. Set aside.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt three times. Set aside.
- In a bowl connected to a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until lighter in color, and fluffy (about 7 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix in the mint extract.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternately with the milk. Be sure to begin and end with the dry ingredients.
- Mix in a cup of the egg whites to lighten the batter, and then gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Stir in a cup of the mini chocolate chips. Finally, add a few drops of the green food dye and mix. Keep adding a few drops at a time until you get the color you want.
- Divide the batter among the two pans and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack for about 10 minutes, and then remove cakes from pans and set aside to cool completely.
- In a bowl connected to a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, melted (but cooled) chocolate, vanilla extract, and salt until combined. Reduce the speed to low and slowly pour in the powdered sugar. Mix until combined then increase the speed to medium, and mix until smooth (about 3 to 5 minutes).
- Place one cake on top of a cake plate or stand. Evenly spread about ¾ cup of buttercream on top. Place the second cake on top of first cake. Continue to frost the entire cake. When finished, press the chocolate chips onto the sides of the cake.
- Sifter
- Standing mixer with paddle and whisk attachments
- Hand-held mixer (optional)
- Two 9-inch round cake pans
- Parchment paper
- Green food coloring
- Wire racks
- Off-set spatula
