My most delicious chocolate mint cake is here just in time for St Patrick’s Day. My chocolate mint brownie cake is inspired by one of my favorite BYU desserts: the classic BYU Mint Brownie!

BYU MINT BROWNIE

If you’re a BYU Alumni, or even know one, surely you know about the classic BYU mint brownie they have available on campus in various locations. It’s a thick chocolate brownie with a layer of mint buttercream on top. That’s not all, though! There’s a luscious layer of chocolate ganache or chocolate buttercream right on top, too! It’s heavenly the way it all melts in your mouth together. I knew it needed to be a delicious cake. With my chocolate mint brownie cake here, I know you’ll be taken straight back to BYU campus, or hey, just have a tasty St Patricks Day treat to enjoy this week :).

My freshman dorm (what used to be Heritage Halls), shared a parking lot with the Creamery on 9th (a little grocery store/creamery right on the corner near campus). I remember visiting there for dates while getting ice cream and stocking up with groceries. They sometimes had a few mint brownies there, and they were pretty hard to resist! You could almost always count on a BYU Chocolate Mint Brownie being available at just about any BYU event, concert, recital, etc on campus. It was a classic, and I still can taste how decadent that simple, but classic, dessert was!

Making it into a cake

To make the BYU Chocolate Mint Brownie into my Chocolate Mint Brownie Cake, I knew I needed to have the three classic elements that made up that tasty dessert.

First, we needed to have a really fudgy-dense (but still moist) base. I know I can’t compete with a brownie, but my chocolate cake was a perfect match to begin with. I added a touch of mint to the cake batter. Not too much, because we all know that mint desserts can go from mint to toothpaste too quickly if you’re not too careful.

If you have my Cake Confidence cookbook (make sure to grab the updated NEW second edition!), you may notice that the cake and filling are very similar! That’s because they are :). I used my Chocolate Mint Cake recipe from there, and then added on an entire layer of chocolate ganache around the outside.

Instead of my usual 6″ three layer cakes, I decided on a more simple 8″ cake round x2. I thought it would keep the focus a little closer to the classic Chocolate Mint Brownie look. You could still make this into a 9×13 dish and just slather on the other two components, too. OR you could always go back to our usual 6″ 3x layer cake, too. It’s up to you! My cakes can be made into anything you’d like them to be. I love that.

I have my chocolate cupcake recipe with my Coconut Chocolate Cupcakes here if you’d like to use that recipe instead for mint cupcakes!

Mint Buttercream Filling

This filling is stunning! My chocolate mint brownie cake needed to have that classic mint buttercream inside. I halved my usual mint buttercream recipe, and piled it all into the center of this cake (saving a little bit for the crumb coat, of course). To get the soft mint color, I added in just a touch of mint green gel coloring (you don’t need any more than maybe a tip of a toothpick dipped in to get this soft green color).

Ganache all around

Normally for my cakes, you’ve noticed a drip made from chocolate ganache. This time, we’re letting the ganache cool a bit, whipping it up for a fluffier texture, then slathering it all around the entire cake!

There’s a couple things to remember when using ganache around an entire cake.

Ganache Tips

1- The ganache needs to cool enough. It will start out soupy, then as it cools at room temperature, it will thicken, and thicken, and thicken until it holds it’s shape a little more (like a thin-consistency buttercream).

2 – After it cools, add it back into the stand mixer with the paddle attachment. This will add a lot of air into the ganache, lighten the color, and lighten the texture. It should look a lot more like buttercream at this point.

3 – Hand beat-down the ganache to get out some of the air bubbles. With this whipped ganache, you’re going to have a bit of air bubbles to deal with. If it were buttercream, you’d be able to hand-stir it all out. With this, not as much, but as you spread it on your cake and the ganache changes texture again (to a more hard one), you’ll be able to smooth it out beautifully.

4 – As you smooth out the ganache on the chilled cake, it will harden quickly, so work quickly! Spread it on, smooth it out, and don’t pamper it for longer than maybe 10 minutes.

5 – If you have a few pesky spots, you can heat your metal cake scraper with hot water, dry it off, and smooth it out.

That’s it! Isn’t she a beaut!? We LOVED this cake so so much. And with feedback from friends, neighbors, and family members, it sounds like it’s a winner all around.

That’s it! We hope you enjoy my newest cake inspired by the Chocolate Mint Brownie treat we can’t stop dreaming about.

As always, if you make a Baking with Blondie inspired creation, we’d love to see it! Make sure to tag me @bakingwithblondie or #bakingwithbondie so we can all join in on the tasty fun in the kitchen together.

xo and happy baking,

Mandy

Get the Recipe: Chocolate Mint Brownie Cake

5 from 1 vote
Thick chocolate cake layers with mint buttercream frosted in chocolate ganache. Tastes just like the classic BYU Mint Brownie dessert!
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Ingredients
 

2-layer 8" Chocolate Cake

  • 3/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
  • 3 whole large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 large egg white , room temperature
  • 2/3 cup sour cream , room temperature
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon mint extract
  • 1 15.25oz Box Cake Mix – Dark Chocolate Fudge or Devils Food Cake, I used Duncan Hines brand for the best taste and texture, but whatever brand you find will be similar.

Mint Buttercream Filling

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter , Left out at room temperature for 10 minutes to slightly soften
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon mint extract , Start with 1/2 teaspoon, then taste it. If you'd like it to be more minty, add in the other 1/2 teaspoon.
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 5 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tiny drop of leaf green gel coloring

Chocolate Ganache

  • 4 cups quality chocolate candy melts , I used ghirardelli melts
  • 3 cups heavy cream

Garnishes

  • fresh mint sprigs

Instructions
 

Chocolate Mint Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees (Convection bake. If you're doing convention bake, you may just need to leave them in the oven longer is all). Prep two 8" cake rounds with a swipe of shortening and a dust of flour. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together all the cake ingredients except for the cake mix. Sift in the cake mix and gently fold it in (don't overmix!). Divide the batter between the two prepared cake rounds. Bake for 27-30 minutes.
  • Flip the cakes carefully out onto a wire rack to cool completely, wrap up in plastic wrap, and store in the freezer until the cake layers are nearly frozen.

Mint Buttercream Filling

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip up the butter until it's light and fluffy. Add in the salt, mint extract, vanilla, and heavy cream and beat again until it's uniform. Slowly add in the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time with the mixer speed on low. Add in a touch more heavy cream if needed.
  • Turn the mixer on high speed and whip up for about 2 minutes until the buttercream is lighter in texture. Add a small amount of green gel coloring and whip up again.

Chocolate Ganache Coating

  • In a large glass bowl, stir together the chocolate melts and heavy cream. Microwave for 1 minute and stir. Heat it again for about 30 seconds and stir again. Repeat until the ganache is smooth when stirred. Let cool for about 30 minutes (stirring occasionally) until the ganache is "spreadable", then add to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Whip up for about 1 minute until the ganache is lighter in color and texture.

Assembly

  • Add a little buttercream to the center of a cardboard cake round placed on a cake turntable. Place down the first cake layer.
  • Spread on a good amount of mint buttercream filling, then add on the next cake layer. Crumb coat the cake with whatever mint buttercream is left. Place in the freezer to chill for about 2 minutes.
  • With a wooden spoon, beat out as many air bubbles as possible in the ganache, then, working quickly, slather on the chocolate ganache on the chilled cake. Using a cake scraper, make clean edges on the sides and top of the cake. As you work, you'll notice the color darken and the texture start to solidify.
  • Add on a few mint leaves as garnish, Enjoy!