I have always been a fan of all things mint. As kids, we always had the option of having Mint-Choc or Fudge, and when you’re the kid that doesn’t like chocolate, Mint-Choc was always welcome.
The smell and taste of mint has and always will leave a nice and refreshing taste in your mouth. Your house is guaranteed to smell wonderful as well.
My mint chocolate cake was actually my brothers idea. I bought the Pradip Peppermint Flavour once and just shelved it. While making a chocolate cake for the house, my brother decided to put just a hint of the flavour to see what would happen. The result was c’est magnifique to say the least. So why not share the recipe with you to try it for yourselves. You’re guaranteed to love it.
The beauty of the Pradip Peppermint Essence, is that it is strong enough for you to just need a drop. It is also clear which means you can use it in a wide array of recipes, without having to alter the intended outcome.
Ingredients
- 250 grams margarine
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/8 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk/mala
- 4 eggs
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa
- 1/2 teaspoon Pradip peppermint flavour
To Decorate
- 2 Cups whipping Cream
- 1/4 teaspoon Pradip Peppermint Flavour
- Green food colour
- 100 grams lightly crushed oreos (can add or reduce to your liking) – Optional
- Strawberries/Oreos to garnish – Optional
Method
Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and dust your baking tins.
In one bowl, sift together the cocoa, bicarbonate, baking powder and flour. (refer to this for the importance of sifting them together). It is really important to sift the cocoa because it has loads of lumps in it and they harden in the oven.
In a second bowl, soften your butter or margarine with your mixer or spatula. Add the sugars and mix until well incorporated.
Add your eggs one at a time to the butter mixture, until incorporated.
Add the Peppermint. You can add or reduce the quantity by 1/4 teaspoon to suit you. The flavour is however quite strong so be careful.
Slowly add your flour mix and buttermilk into the butter and eggs mix. This should be done alternating so as to incorporate air into the batter and make your cake lighter as opposed to dense. Starting and ending with flour.
Once everything is well incorporated, pour the batter into your prepared baking tin(s) and bake for 50 minutes (if baking in two tins, bake for 28-35 minutes).
Let the cake cool for at least 3hrs before icing it.
Add a drop or two of food colour to your whipping cream, and 1/4teaspoon of Peppermint flavour. Whip the cream to preferred stiffness and add Crushed oreos to it (the Oreos are completely optional).
Decorate the cake as desired and serve.
This cake is genuinely delicious. Someone stole the slice that I gave to my bestfriend and we cried about it for 20 minutes. 😦
