Mint will always be my favorite flavor to pair with chocolate. I can never get enough of those girl scout cookie Thin Mints(I really need to start stock piling those….when is it girl scout cookie season, again?) or mint chocolate chip ice cream, or Green & Blacks mint chocolate bars. ANYTHING mint chocolate.
These babies only feed the obsession:
MINT CHOCOLATE MINI CAKES
Mint Chocolate. Good.
Miniature sized. Even better.
I baked these cakes in a jumbo muffin tin. They make the perfect sized dessert.
These cakes are rich and dense with the perfect hint of mint. My favorite part of making them? Eating the hot cake tops left over from leveling the cakes just after they come out of the oven. Amazing is all I can say.
After the cakes have cooled they have a rich, chocolatey ganache draped over the top that has the perfect hint of mint. A pile of whipped cream is swirled on top and it is garnished with chocolate shavings and a mint leaf.
A tip for making chocolate shavings:
Microwave your chocolate bar for a few seconds(you may need to do this several times) until is just softens slightly, but is not melty. The slightly softened chocolate will form curls much easier as you run a potato peeler down the sides of it. Hard chocolate will usually just form chocolate shards or flakes.
MINT CHOCOLATE MINI CAKES
4" spring form pans may also be used. If using spring forms, you will get about 10 mini cakes.
Serves: Makes about 16 mini cakes
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE CAKE:
1 C. Hot Water
1 t. Instant Espresso Powder
1 C. Cocoa Powder
½ C. Sour Cream
½ C. Heavy Cream
3 C. Flour
¼ t. Salt
1 t. Baking Powder
1 t. Baking Soda
2¼ C. Sugar
1½ C.(3 sticks) Butter, softened
4 Eggs
1 T. Vanilla
1 t. Mint Extract
FOR THE GANACHE:
2 C. Chocolate Chips or Chopped Chocolate(preferably 60% cacao)
1 C. Heavy Cream
2 T. Butter, softened
½ t. Mint Extract
TOPPINGS:
4 C. Stiffly Whipped, slightly sweetened Whipped Cream
Chocolate Shavings
16 Mint Leaves
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 2½ jumbo muffin tins( I only have 1 pan, so I only do 6 at a time).
Place the instant espresso powder and the cocoa in a mixing bowl. Whisk in the hot water until smooth. Add the sour cream and ½ C. heavy cream and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add the vanilla and mint extracts and mix in.
Add the flour in three additions, alternating with the liquid cocoa mixture. After the last addition of flour, scrap the bowl down and mix just until combined.
Add the batter to the prepared pans, filling them about ⅔ full.
Bake in preheated oven for 14-16 minutes, or until tops spring lightly back when touched but are firm.
While cakes are still in the muffin tin, cut the domed tops off with a serrated knife to level. Eat immediately.
Remove cakes from pan and cool on a wire rack.
FOR THE GANACHE.
Place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Pour the whipped cream over the top of the chocolate chips and microwave at 30 second intervals, until the chocolate is melted. Whisk the cream and chocolate together until smooth and silky. Add the butter and mint extract and whisk in until melted and smooth.
Pour a spoonful of ganache over the top of each cooled cake(bottoms up, cut sides down) and smooth over the tops until the chocolate just drips over the edges. Place in the fridge and chill until ganache is firm.
Pipe a swirling of whipped cream on top of each cake, sprinkle with chocolate shavings and top with a mint leaf.
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