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It’s my birthday!!!

Honestly, I’m not really big into birthday celebrations. I’m going to go to work, where I’m sure they’ll have something crazy planned for me because that’s the kind of people my coworkers are. But I’ve never really been more “meh” about my birthday than I have this year. I just genuinely haven’t had time to think about it, and I just don’t think it’s a huge deal. I’d rather have a pain-free knee than some random 27th birthday celebration.

{Intensive physical therapy is no joke, my knee just gives out now}

So I might not be much of a birthday person, but I am a baker. Obviously I had to bake a birthday cake to sort-of celebrate my birthday. After those chocolate mint bars I posted last week, I decided I want to create a kind of mint chocolate chip cake.

This. is. it.

The chocolate cake recipe is from my girl Joy the Baker and it’s basically the greatest chocolate cake of all time. Don’t fight me. It is what it is. This is the only chocolate cake recipe you need. We should all count our blessings that Joy shared it with us. She’s some kind of wonderful.

You know what else is wonderful? This cake.

Really, you don’t need more than a tiny slice. It is rich, chocolatey, minty, and sweet. I’m that weird baker that actually isn’t particularly fond of sweet things. Whatever, I’m weird. If you want to use all of the frosting this recipe calls for, you can. I didn’t. I kind of prefer the almost naked look of a cake and being able to see some of it through the frosting. And I really don’t like frosting that much so the less of it on my cake, the better.

So basically this is a semi-naked cake. Best ever chocolate cake, minty frosting, plenty of mini chocolate chips, and a chocolate drizzle because it looks cool. We’re all about aesthetics here. The best thing about a drip cake is that they can be a little messy and no one cares. Go crazy!

Now I’m going to enjoy my birthday. I’ll be at work, but at least I have the best coworkers!

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

August 22, 2017

by Bryony

Category Cakes & Cupcakes

Ingredients

Cake:

3 cups cake flour
3/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. instant espresso powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
2 cups buttermilk

Frosting:

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
5-6 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. peppermint extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy cream
Mini chocolate chips, for sprinkling

Glaze:

2 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
2 oz. heavy cream

Instructions

Cake:

Put oven racks in the centre and upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 9-inch round baking pans.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and instant espresso powder, if using.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add half of the flour mixture, and beat until flour mixture is incorporated. Add the buttermilk in a slow stream and beat until thoroughly combined. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and finish stirring with a spatula. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared cake pans.
Bake until golden brown on top and a wooden pick inserted in the centre comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 20 minutes before inverting onto wire racks to cool completely before frosting.
If you're not frosting the cake right away, double-wrap in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. Will last up to 7 days in the freezer. When ready to frost, remove from the freezer, unwrap and frost frozen!

Frosting:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until soft, about 1 minute. Add 2 cups of the confectioners' sugar, the salt, peppermint extract, and vanilla. Beat on low speed until the sugar is well incorporated. Add another 2 cups sugar and the cream. Add remaining two cups of sugar as needed to thicken the frosting. Beat on medium speed until the frosting is smooth and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

Glaze:

Put chopped chocolate and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 20 seconds, stir, then heat for 10 second increments, stirring, until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool and slightly thicken.

Assembly:

Place first layer on cake stand and spread some of the frosting over the top. Cover with mini chocolate chips.
Place 2nd layer on top of 1st and add more frosting/chocolate chips. Place 3rd layer on top and repeat.
Scrape out the rest of your frosting and put it on top of your top cake layer. Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting, pushing it off the cake onto the sides. Spread the frosting around the sides of the cake, pushing more off the top if needed. Smooth the frosting using a bench scraper or large offset spatula.
Once frosted, use your hands to grab handfuls of mini chocolate chips and press gently into bottom of frosting. Chill cake. Use remaining ganache to cover the top of the cake, smooth using an offset spatula. Cover the top of the cake with chocolate chips, and serve.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake