Rich chocolate cake soaked in a mint simple syrup and slathered in a creamy chocolate and mint buttercream. Decadent and delicious it’s perfect for any chocoholics celebration.
For the cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. instant coffee
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. sweet mint extract
- 4 oz. good quality chocolate, melted*
- 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups whole milk, at room temperature
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and spray with baking spray, set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and instant coffee, set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer), cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy, about five minutes. Scrape down the bowl before adding the eggs, one at a time. After each addition, scrape the bowl again to be certain everything is fully incorporated. Stir in extracts.
- In a smaller, separate bowl, stir together the melted chocolate and the sour cream. Add to the butter/egg mixture, once again scraping down the bowl to ensure everything is fully incorporated.
- Working in three batches, add the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk, being sure to (you guessed it) scrape down the bowl after each addition. It may be best to stir in the final batch of dry ingredients by hand to avoid over-mixing the batter.
- Divide batter evenly among the prepared pans and bake in preheated oven for 25 – 30 minutes, until edges begin to pull away from pan and the top has risen and bounces back when lightly touched.
- Remove from oven and cool on rack for 15 minutes before turning out of pans and cooling completely.
- While cake cools, prepare simple syrup and frosting.
For the simple syrup:
- ½ cup pure honey
- ¼ cup water
- 1 package (¾ oz) Ernessi Farms Mint
- In a small saucepan, bring the honey and water to a simmer. Add mint leaves and simmer one minute. Remove from heat and allow to steep for 20 minutes. Discard mint leaves and pour into a small glass jar with a lid.
For the frosting:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 8 oz. (1 block) cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 2 pounds (1 bag) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. mint extract
- Pinch of salt
- 4 – 6 Tbs. whole milk
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large mixing bowl with a handheld mixer) cream together the butter and the cream cheese until smooth. Add in the cocoa powder, powdered sugar (start with just half of the bag, we’ll add more in a bit), extracts, salt, and 4 Tbs. of milk.
- Working ever so slowly, begin to whip the ingredients together, increasing speed as ingredients are incorporated, adding more powdered sugar or milk until desired consistency is reached. Beat on medium-high until frosting is light, airy, and easily spreadable.
To assemble cake:
Once cake is cooled, slice off any uneven tops to leave you with three level layers. Using a pastry brush, soak cakes with mint simple syrup before frosting and layering the cake.
- Place one layer on a cake board and frost with a thin layer of frosting. Top with another layer of cake and repeat process of soaking and frosting.
- To crumb coat the cake: Place the third cake on top and soak with syrup. Cover in a generous portion of frosting, pushing over the sides to thinly cover the entire cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes so frosting sets.
- To finish, cover the cake in whatever frosting remains, spiraling the top. Garnish with chocolate drizzled mint leaves and chocolate shavings if desired.**
*To melt chocolate: Chop finely and place in microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring well between each, until smooth.
**To make garnish: Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place mint leaves right side up. Melt two more ounces chocolate and drizzle lightly over leaves. Spread remaining chocolate on paper and place in fridge for ten minutes to set. To create chocolate shards simply break apart chilled chocolate.
