Chocolate Mint Cake

Chocolate Mint Cake
by Dan Swartzman

My mother used to make this for every birthday celebration in our house.  It was my father’s favorite.  I think she got the recipe from a Pillsbury Bake-Off in the 1950's.  The interesting part of the recipe is that you make the frosting, and then you convert half of the frosting into the rest of the cake.  Plus, anything with a brick of cream cheese in it can’t be all bad!

I didn’t make this case for 25 years, just kind of forgetting about it.  When I finally made it again, it was so popular with my family that Arlene was angry with me for withholding it from them for so many years.  This recipe makes a layer cake, but I have also done it as a sheet cake.  Sami usually makes it as cupcakes.  Never tried that, but I bet they would be great.

Ingredients

1 package (8 oz) of cream cheese
½ lb of butter, room temperature
½ t of vanilla
½ t of peppermint flavoring
6 cups (about 1.5 lbs) of powdered sugar
1/4 c hot water
4 squares (4 oz) of unsweetened chocolate
1/4 c of butter, room temperature
3 eggs
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1½ t baking soda
pinch of table salt
3/4 c milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the cream cheese, ½ lb of butter, vanilla and peppermint flavoring in a mixer.  (Don’t be tempted to add “just a bit more” of the mint extract.  A little goes a long way.  I tried the recipe using spearmint flavoring once.  Don’t do that.)  Set aside.

Put the chocolate in a double boiler and melt completely.  Cool slightly.

While the chocolate is melting, sift the powdered sugar into a large bowl.  Add half of the sugar to the cheese mixture and mix gently.  Then add the rest of the powdered sugar and the hot water into the mixer bowl, alternating between the two (using the standard approach: 1/3 dry, ½ of wet, 1/3 dry, ½ of wet, 1/3 dry).

After the chocolate has cooled a bit, add it into the mixing bowl and mix until the chocolate and the rest of the mixture is homogenized, scraping the side of the bowl when needed.

The result is the frosting for the cake.

However, you now take half of this mixture and put it into a bowl and set it aside.  (I usually eyeball this, but it causes some anxiety to do so, and I keep promising myself I will divide it by weight or by volume.  I recommend that, but I haven’t ever done it.  If you leave too much as frosting, the cake will be small.  If you take to much for the cake, there will not be enough frosting.  Either measure or do what I do – live on the edge!)

Into the half of the mixture that is left in the mixer bowl, add in the 1/4 cup of butter.  Then beat in each egg, one at a time until it is thoroughly mixed in.  (About a minute.) 

Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Add into the blender, alternating with the milk.  (Follow the standard approach, above.)  Do this on low speed. 

Mix until everything is combined, scraping the sides as necessary.  You have now made the batter.

Put the batter into two 9" cake pans.  Bake in center of the oven for about 25 to 35 minutes.  Use the toothpick method to see if it is done.

Let cool for 10 minutes, then take out of the pans and put on a cooling rack.  When completely cooled, ice as a layer cake.  (Don’t try to ice it before it is cooled, or the frosting will break into a terrible mess.)  Keep it in the refrigerator if it is going to be a while before you serve it or if it is especially hot out.

This cake freezes very well.  Cut into slices and place on a sheet pan.  Freeze solid.  Wrap loosely with wax paper, and then place in a freezer bag.  Defrosts in seconds. 

The whole house will smell of chocolate and mint.  One of the side benefits of this recipe!