Name: Mint Chocolate Old School Cake
Prep time: 90 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 255 min
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar; 1 cup dark cocoa powder; 1 Tablespoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon salt; 4 whole eggs; 1 cup vegetable oil; 1 cup buttermilk; 1 cup brewed coffee; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 4 teaspoons mint extract; 20 ounces (or 3 cups) chocolate chips, semi-sweet; 10 ounces (or 1 1/2 cups) heavy cream; 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature; 1/8 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon mint extract; 3/4 cup + 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted; 1 teaspoon heavy cream or whole milk, if needed; 1 ¼ teaspoons (or 1/2 packet) powdered gelatin; 1 1/2 Tablespoons cold water; 1 cup heavy cream, cold; 1/4 cup powdered sugar sifted; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 Tablespoon mint extract; Fresh mint leaves

Learn how to make this Old School Mint Chocolate Cake!

Let’s talk about mint and chocolate. The combination is perfect together as the mint is bright and fresh, and the rich chocolate is a little sweet and bitter. The two complement each other perfectly and make it a delicious transition from winter to spring. This mint chocolate cake is ready for St. Patrick’s Day.

This Mint Chocolate Old School cake is made with mint chocolate cake layers, mint whipped cream filling, and rich chocolate ganache. The cake is topped with a bit of mint buttercream for the retro old school swirls.

The classic Ding Dong cream-filled cakes inspired this cake. The fun twist adds a hint of mint to freshen it up and, of course, making it into a bigger cake. I love that this old school cake still captures the fun times of childhood. I hope you have as much fun making this cake as I did. Below I’ve listed some tips for success before you begin and what tools you may need!

Tips for Success:

Read through all the ingredients and instructions so you can get a better idea of how much time and what you need to make this cake.
A single batch of this cake recipe makes three, 6-inch round cake layers or two 8-inch round cake layers. Double the cake recipe to make enough cake batter for three, 8-inch cake layers.
In this cake recipe, you need 1 cup buttermilk; if you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, you can easily use 1 cup whole milk mixed with 1 Tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar to make your own.
The dark chocolate cake recipe uses 1 cup of brewed coffee. The coffee enhances the chocolate flavor, but if you’d like to remove the coffee, replace it with 1 cup of hot water. The hot water will help you achieve the same results.
You can bake the cake layers ahead of time. Wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and freeze for up to one month.
You can make the ganache several days ahead of time and refrigerate for up to one month. Then take them out to come back to room temperature. If the ganache is still too cold, then soften in the microwave for 15-30 seconds. Mix with a rubber spatula.
You can make the stabilized whipped cream a day ahead and refrigerate it overnight. Keep cold until ready to use.
Serve the cake at room temperature and enjoy!

What Tools You’ll Need to Make This Cake:

5-quart, Stand Mixer with mixing bowl, paddle & whisk attachments
3, 6-inch cake pans or 2, 8-inch cake pans
Offset spatula
8-inch or 10-inch white cake board
Serrated knife or cake leveler
Turntable
Cake scraper or bench scraper
Whisk or sifter
Rubber Spatula
Non-Stick Cooking Spray and Parchment Paper
Ice Cream Scooper with Trigger Release (for dividing cake batter evenly)
Piping Bags (I use reusable silicone bags)
Plastic coupler (for small piping tip only)
Ateco #800 Round Tip or Wilton #6 Small Round Tip
Mixing bowls (small & medium)
Measuring cups & spoons
Cake Stand, optional

Here’s how to make this Mint Chocolate Old School Cake!

Let’s Get Baking!

How to Make Dark Chocolate Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Spray three 6-inch round cake pans or two 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray, line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper, and spray again. Set aside.
In the stand mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment, stir together the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Add the eggs and the vegetable oil on low until well incorporated.
Pour in the buttermilk and add brewed coffee. Mix on medium for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Evenly distribute the cake batter among the three cake pans and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
Remove cakes from the oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks to cool completely — wrap cakes in plastic wrap and place in the freezer to chill for 30 minutes.

Rich Chocolate Ganache

Add semi-sweet chocolate chips to a small microwavable bowl. In another small microwavable bowl, heat the heavy cream to a light simmer for about 1 minute.
Pour hot, heavy cream over chocolate chips. Allow chocolate to melt for 1 minute. Use a whisk or rubber spatula to mix the chocolate and cream. Mix until it’s velvety smooth. If chocolate is still not melted, heat in the microwave in 15-second increments.

How to Make Mint Buttercream

In the stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment (or mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer), beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Turn the mixer to low and add the salt and mint extract.
Next, gradually add powdered sugar (followed by the heavy cream if needed). Mix on medium-high speed for about 25 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Place buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a small #6 round piping tip with a plastic coupler.

How to Make Mint (Stabilized) Whipped Cream

Place a stand mixer bowl and whisk attachment into the refrigerator or freezer for 10 minutes to keep heavy cream cold while whipping.
In a small microwaveable bowl, place the powdered gelatin and pour cold water over the top. Allow gelatin to bloom for 2-3 minutes. After the gelatin has bloomed and softened, melt in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. Set aside to cool.
In a stand mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the cold heavy cream and powdered sugar together at high speed. Whip for 3-5 minutes until you get a soft peak.
On medium, slowly pour in vanilla extract and melted gelatin mixture. Whip on high for 15 seconds to incorporate gelatin, don’t overmix. Remove from the mixer bowl and place into a small bowl.

Putting It All Together

Remove the cake layers from the freezer and unwrap the cake layers. Next, use a serrated knife to cut off the cakes’ dome to make the layers flat and even.
In one chocolate cake layer, use a 4-inch circle cutter to cut out the center of the cake.
Add a small amount of whipped ganache onto the center of the cake board. Layer one cake layer, cut side up onto the cake board. Spread a thin layer of ganache with an offset spatula to smooth over the cake layer’s top.
Place the cake layer with the hole on top of the ganache. Then fill the hole with the mint whipped cream. Pack in the hole to make sure there are no air bubbles.
Add a layer of ganache, the whipped cream over the top, and spread thin.
Place the last cake layer cut side down over the top — Crumb coat with ganache and freeze for 30 minutes.
Add a thicker layer of chocolate ganache to the cold cake. Use an offset spatula and cake scraper to make the sides and the top as smooth as possible.
With the piping bag filled with mint buttercream, pipe a series of connected circles. How to do it: squeeze the bag and, with consistent pressure, swirl your wrist in a counterclockwise motion. Pipe the first circle, then pipe the next circle overlapping the edge of the previous loop. Repeat until there’s a straight line of connected circles on top of the cake.
Serve the cake at room temperature and enjoy!

Happy Decorating!

P.S. Hey, if you liked this tutorial, you really should check out Cake Decorating for Beginners, my online cake program. I coach you on everything I teach on these cake tutorials so that you can uplevel your baking and decorating skills. We 10x it so you get the results you want most. Like any new skill, it’s essential to learn from the ground up to build a foundation so that you can take on any cake challenge. It is an investment your future self will thank you for. Check it out at XOKatieRosario.com/online-cake-course. I will see you there!

Watch The How-to Video Below:

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