Mint Chocolate Cake

This mint chocolate chip cake recipe features a moist and fluffy chocolate cake layered with a creamy mint frosting! Made with NO eggs or dairy, it’s one of my family’s favorite holiday desserts.

Looking for more cake recipes? Try my tiramisu cake, honey cake, or applesauce cake!

Table of Contents

1. Why I love this recipe
2. Key Ingredients
3. How to make a mint chocolate cake
4. Arman’s recipe tips
5. Mint Chocolate Cake (Recipe Card)
6. More impressive cake ideas

If there is one flavor combination I could eat for the rest of my life, it would be peppermint and chocolate. This is why my mint chocolate cake is one of my absolute favorites. The peppermint flavor is mellow, and the balance of dark chocolate and mintiness meshes perfectly, making for a richer, deeply flavorful cake everyone will love. 

Why I love this recipe

• It looks impressive. Like Biscoff cake, no one (literally, no one) will be able to resist this impressive layered cake. With bold green frosting, it has a wonderful color that’s equally matched by its delicious flavor. 
• Simple ingredients. Whether you bake rarely or often, I guarantee you’ll have nearly everything you need on hand.
• The BEST texture. The cake is super moist and fluffy, and the frosting is rich and creamy. Honestly, don’t be surprised if this cake doesn’t last long!

Key Ingredients

• All-purpose flour. I tried this both with plain flour and also gluten-free all-purpose flour, and both worked very well. If you do use gluten-free flour, make sure it has xanthan gum added to it. 
• Cocoa powder. Dutch-processed cocoa powder or dark cocoa powder. Regardless of which you use, be sure that it is 100% unsweetened. 
• Sugar. I used white sugar, but brown sugar, coconut sugar, or sugar-free substitutes can all be used. 
• Baking soda. Leavening agent to give the cake some rise and fluffiness. 
• Salt. Brings out the sweetness of all the sweet ingredients.
• Vinegar. This reacts with the baking soda to bind everything together (without needing eggs!).
• Vanilla extract. A must for any good cake! 
• Oil. Any neutral oil can be used, like canola, safflower, or vegetable oil. 
• Water. Combines everything together to form a smooth batter. You can use milk if you prefer, but I tested both and didn’t notice a big texture difference. 

For the mint buttercream:

• Butter OR vegan butter. Use vegan butter to keep this cake vegan. Your butter should be softened but not melted. 
• Powdered sugar. Sift your powdered sugar first to ensure there are no clumps!
• Peppermint extract. NOT mint extract. Only a little will be added, as the flavor is VERY overpowering.
• Milk. I used unsweetened almond milk, but any will do.  
• Green food coloring. Optional, but gives the frosting that lovely green color.

How to make a mint chocolate cake

I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Prep. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C and grease 2 8-inch cake pans. 

Make the cake batter. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth.

Bake. Distribute the cake batter between the two cake pans. Bake the cakes for 25-27 minutes or until a skewer comes out mostly clean. Let the cakes cool completely.

Make the frosting. Add the softened butter to the mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar until combined. Add the peppermint extract and green food coloring. If the frosting is too thick, add extra milk until it reaches your desired texture. 

Assemble. To layer the cake, slice the two cakes in half. Place the first cake layer on a flat surface and add a ¼ portion of the frosting. Repeat until all the layers have been used. Add the remaining frosting on top, then refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes. 

Arman’s recipe tips

• Make a peppermint mocha cake. Omit the green frosting and add one teaspoon of espresso extract to the batter. 
• Make a single-layer caked. Simply halve the ingredients. 
• Refrigerate the cakes before slicing. I find this makes them a bit sturdier and easier to slice without crumbling. 
• Add a crumb coat. A ‘crumb coat’ is a thin layer of frosting that’s added to secure the crumbs to the cake. Add the crumb coat, then refrigerate the cake for 15 minutes before adding the rest of the frosting. 
• Garnish the cake. When I want to go the extra mile, I’ll top the finished cake with a sprinkle of crushed chocolate mints, chocolate shavings, or a drizzle of melted white chocolate with green food coloring added.

More impressive cake ideas

• Chocolate peanut butter cake
• Chocolate raspberry cake
• Chocolate tart
• Snickers cake

Originally published November 2020, updated and republished December 2024