Mint chocolate fans will go crazy for this Easy Mint Chocolate Cake! An easy, melt and mix mint chocolate cake topped with whipped chocolate ganache and decorated with mint chocolate sweets!
My no bake mint Aero slice is one of the most popular recipes on my site. I first published the recipe way back in 2008 on my old blogger blog – remember blogger?
The good old days when I would basically use my site as a food diary – I would ramble on about what I did that day then randomly type out a recipe along with a very poor quality photo, taken under my harsh cooker light with my very old Olympus point and shoot. With the camera flash on. In the middle of the night. How times have changed!
Mint Aero bubbles were a pretty new thing back then. My kids were crazy for this no bake Malteser traybake, so I thought a mint Aero bubble traybake would be just as popular. Guess what? It was!
I still make it to this day for Birthdays, parties and just when an easy sweet treat is needed. Which let’s face it, has been very often this year!
why i love this mint chocolate cake recipe
- Easy to make – it’s a “melt and mix cake” – no creaming butter and sugar together – you melt butter, cocoa powder and water together and pour this into the dry ingredients along with eggs and buttermilk.
- Topped with chocolate ganache – To make the ganache, you simply pour hot cream over finely chopped chocolate, leave until the chocolate has melted and stir until glossy and smooth. You do need to chill the ganache until it is the consistency of soft buttercream – then you whip it until it is light and smooth (see the recipe card below for detailed instructions)
- Topped with mint chocolates – I used a chopped mint Aero bar, mint Aero bubbles and mint Matchmakers.
- Great for parties and Birthdays – just like this retro school dinner cake with sprinkles
- Lasts for 4-5 days in the fridge – the buttermilk keeps the cake nice and moist
commonly asked questions
Can i freeze this cake?
Yes, the cake can be frozen without the ganache topping. Bake the cake, allow to cool completely then double wrap in cling film/plastic wrap and a layer of tin foil. Freeze for up to 3 months.
can the cake be made in advance?
Yes you can make the cake up to 2 days before you need it. I wouldn’t make the ganache too far in advance – if it has been chilled for too long, it’s more likely to split and turn grainy when you whip it. I usually make the ganache about 2-3 hours before I intend to serve the cake.
I don’t like mint chocolate – can I use a different flavour instead?
Of course! You could make a chocolate orange version or even do away with the flavourings and make a good old plain chocolate cake instead and decorate with your favourite sweets, sprinkles or marshmallows. The options are pretty endless!
love mint chocolate? Try these chocolate peppermint cookies!
looking for more easy celebration cakes?
more traybake style cakes
did you make this recipe?
I really hope you loved it! Let me know how you got on with the recipe by leaving your comment below.
Easy Mint Chocolate Cake
Mint chocolate fans will go crazy for this Easy Mint Chocolate Cake! An easy, melt and mix mint chocolate cake topped with whipped chocolate ganache and decorated with mint chocolate sweets!
Ingredients
- 200g butter
- 240ml cold water
- 50g cocoa powder
- 1/2 tablespoon instant espresso powder (optional)
- 300g plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 280g caster sugar
- 150ml buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE TOPPING]
- 150ml double (whipping) cream
- 50g dark chocolate, finely chopped (50-70% cocoa solids)
- 100g milk chocolate, finely chopped (30-40% cocoa solids)
- 15g butter
- FOR DECORATION
- Any mint flavoured sweets/chocolate - I used peppermint Aero, Aero bubbles and mint matchmakers
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160Fan/350F/Gas mark 4. Grease and line the base and sides of a 9x13inch traybake tin.
- Place the butter, water, cocoa powder and espresso powder (if using) in a saucepan and gently heat, stirring until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool a little.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda. In another bowl, beat together the sugar, buttermilk, eggs and mint extract until the mixture is smooth.
- Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk mixture, followed by the melted butter mixture. Using a wooden spoon, stir until you have a smooth batter, making flour all the dry ingredients are incorporated. Take care not to overmix.
- Pour this minty chocolate batter into the prepared tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cake is pulling away from the edges of the tin and a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake emerges clean(ish) - the sponge cake is quite moist, so a couple of sticky crumbs are ok, but not raw cake batter!
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before carefully turning out to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
- To make the ganache topping, place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Place the cream in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. The second the cream comes to the boil, remove from the heat and pour over the chopped chocolate. Leave for a few minutes before gently stirring until the chocolate has completely melted and the mixture is lump free and shiny. Allow to come to room temperature before chilling in the fridge for around 60 minutes or until the ganache is the consistency of buttercream frosting.
- When you're ready to decorate the cake, remove the cooled ganache from the fridge and using an electric mixer, whip the ganache for a minute or two until smooth, shiny and lighter in colour. Do be careful not to overwhip it or the ganache can turn grainy. If you worried about this, you can give it a good stir with a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula instead.
- Spread the whipped ganache over the cold cake and decorate with your choice of mint sweets.
Notes
For an extra hit of peppermint flavour, add 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract to the chocolate ganache when adding the cream to the chocolate.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 14 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 328Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 201mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 2gSugar: 24gProtein: 4g
Calories and nutritional information are provided by a third party application and should be used as indicative figures only.