Frosted Mint Chocolate Cake
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Mint Chocolate Cake has the perfect balance of sweet and refreshing flavors. Creamy, minty buttercream frosting is layered with the most tender, moist chocolate cakes and topped with chopped Andes mints. Make this easy box cake mix recipe for a festive treat in 40 minutes!
Mint Chocolate Cake
There’s no reason you can’t take a few shortcuts and still create a homemade dessert that tastes as incredible as it looks!
Start with a boxed cake mix and put the extra effort into a delicious buttercream and edible decorations.
Add a little green food coloring and you have a gorgeous Andes chocolate mint cake worthy of a St. Patrick’s Day celebration!
For more of this dynamic flavor combination, try a Mint Oreo Cookie Trifle or my creamy homemade fudge that’s loaded with cool and refreshing candy pieces.
And if this choco mint cake recipe isn’t chocolatey enough for you, sink your teeth into these fudgy frosted brownies!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Box Cake Mix – Use your favorite brand — I typically use Better Crocker for this mint chocolate cake recipe.
You can experiment with double chocolate or Devil’s Food mixes if you’d like, but I find that classic chocolate provides the best balance with the mint frosting. - Oil, Eggs & Water – Use whatever ingredients and amounts are listed on the back of your boxed mix.
Vegetable or canola oil is the best option, though melted (and cooled) coconut oil works too. And it helps if your eggs are room temperature! - Butter – Salted butter helps balance the sweetness in the buttercream. If all you have are unsalted sticks, add ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt when creaming.
- Powdered Sugar – Also known as confectioner’s sugar, this is a staple in any good frosting or icing recipe.
You can also make your own by blending 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 cup of granulated sugar until soft and powdery (so you’ll need to triple those amounts for this mint chocolate cake recipe).
Use a high-speed blender or food processor. - Heavy Cream – This helps the buttercream whip up extra fluffy and creamy. You’ll need some for the chocolate drizzle too.
Feel free to use milk instead, but start with just a few tablespoons since it’s a lot thinner. Add more as needed until you achieve the right consistency. - Peppermint Extract – Pay close attention to the label — you need peppermint and not mint or spearmint if you want to achieve that classic Andes flavor.
Start with ½ teaspoon, then taste the frosting. You can always add a little more if it doesn’t seem strong enough. - Andes Mints – This is one ingredient you don’t want to substitute — nothing else tastes like these candies!
You can, however, leave them off if you can’t find them and decorate your chocolate mint cake with buttercream swirls instead. - Semi-sweet Chocolate – Melt baking chips or chunks with a little heavy cream for an easy ganache.
You can also use milk or dark chocolate if you prefer the drizzle to be sweeter or less sweet.
Tips and Tricks for Making Andes Chocolate Mint Cake
- Grease your cake pans well to prevent sticking.
There’s nothing worse than tearing cake layers… except when they won’t come out of the pan altogether!
Not all cake pans are the same, and some need a little more help than others.
Dusting the greased pans with flour can help, but you’ll get a white film on chocolate cake layers if you do that. Instead, dust with cocoa powder!
Or, cut a round of parchment to fit in the bottom of each pan. Place it on after greasing, then spray it again. There’s no way your cakes will stick to the bottom.
- Avoid overmixing the batter.
Here’s why your eggs should (ideally) be room temperature and not fresh from the fridge: They blend into batters so much faster, easier, and smoother than when they are still cold.
That means less mixing, which means less gluten — and that means tender, fluffy cake layers that are perfectly moist!
Gently combine everything together until you can no longer see streaks of powdered cake mix, then divide into the greased pans.
- Ensure your cakes come out perfectly level.
You can find Bake Even Strips in the pastry decorating aisle or use cut-up terry cloth rags. Soak the strips in cold water and wrap them tightly around each pan before baking.
These help to insulate the sides so the batter cooks evenly and doesn’t dome in the center. And that means there’s no need to trim the cakes before stacking!
Prep Ahead
- Make frosting
- Chop Andes mints
Kitchen Tools You Will Need
- 8” Cake Pans – It helps if they have high sides so the batter rises evenly.
- Stand Mixer or large mixing bowl with Hand Mixer for whipping up the mint frosting.
- Wire Rack – Great for cooling all kinds of baked goods.
- Microwave-Safe Bowl – Not only does it make melting chocolate easier, but you can use it to quickly steam vegetables too!
Storage and Freezing
It’s fine to store Andes chocolate mint cake on the counter for 2 to 3 days, as long your kitchen doesn’t get warmer than about 80°F.
Otherwise, keep it in the refrigerator and enjoy within 4 days of making it.
Either way, you’ll want to keep the dessert covered or in a sealed container so it doesn’t dry out!
If you plan to make your mint chocolate cake ahead of time, add the toppings just before serving so they don’t harden in the cold temperature of the fridge.
Or, wrap the cake layers tightly in several layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator, then assemble, frost, and decorate the day of!
Chocolate Mint Cake Decorating Tips
- Use room-temperature dairy. The butter should always be softened when creamed, but removing the chill helps create a silky smooth texture as well.
Same goes for the heavy cream! - Add some festive green color! Without food coloring, the buttercream will be a very pale yellow or cream color.
But 2 to 3 drops of gel coloring will easily transform it to a minty green hue without affecting the consistency. - Don’t have piping bags? Using one makes it easier to apply the frosting, but you can transfer it to the mint chocolate cake with an offset spatula instead.
Or, create your own by filling a disposable storage bag and snipping off the bottom corner. - Tip for easier drizzling: Instead of a spoon, use decorating squeeze bottles. They are less messy and give you better control over how much you apply at a time.
Mint Chocolate Cake Recipe FAQ
You bet! Use any recipe that makes two 8-inch round cakes — I have one that would be perfect for this choco mint cake recipe, actually!
Sure! Prepare the boxed mix as directed for a 9×13 baking pan, then spread the buttercream evenly over the top once fully cooked.
Top your mint chocolate cake with chopped candies and ganache too!
While it has the best consistency when it is freshly made, mint buttercream can be kept in the refrigerator for up to one week in an airtight container.
Just let it come to room temperature on the counter, then whip it again before spreading it on the chocolate mint cake.
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Frosted Mint Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box chocolate cake mix- plus ingredients listed on back
Frosting
- 3 sticks salted butter, room temperature
- 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- Green food color, optional
Toppings
- 12 Andes mints, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate
- 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 eight-inch cake pans with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Prepare the cake according to the directions on the back of the box. Distribute evenly between the two cake tins and bake according to instructions on box.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool in the tins for about 10 minutes and then flip them onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
- Prepare your buttercream by placing the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with a paddle attachment.
- Cream butter on high speed for 4-5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Reduce speed to low and slowly add in powdered sugar and mix until well combined.
- Add in the heavy cream and mix on high speed for another 4-5 minutes until the frosting is fluffy.
- Add the vanilla extract and food color and mix until just combined. Add to a large piping bag with a large flat or round tip.
- Roughly level each cake layer by using a cake knife to cut the domes off the top. Place one layer on a cake stand or board and top with about half of the frosting and smooth.
- Repeat with the other layer of cake.
- In a microwave save bowl, combine the chocolate and heavy cream and heat in the microwave for 30 second increments until melted and smooth. Place in a squeeze bottle or use a spoon to pour the chocolate around the sides and on top of the cake.
- Top with chopped mints and serve.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published February 2021, updated and republished January 2025
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I love anything mint and chocolate! This cake is the prefect mix!