Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

My children are at the age where birthdays are a big deal. As they are my children, the cake is the biggest deal of all. Past cakes and cakes at other parties are discussed and compared until eventually a decision has been reached.

I will point out that it does not have to be their own birthdays for this to occur. This past weekend was my husband's birthday and they went completely overboard in their plans. Eventually I had to put my foot down. 

No, we are not putting Legos on Daddy's cake or buying him Ninjago balloons. 

The three of them could discuss cake flavors and I would bake whatever they decided on…I knew my husband loved mint chocolate, but the boys insisted it be mint chocolate chip. So I improvised! 

I took old favorite recipes and tweaked them just a little so the mint flavor came through in both the cake and the frosting. Then to up the ante on texture and flavor I added mint chocolate chips in between cake layers. I was afraid it might be a little much but my husband (who does not have a sweet tooth in the slightest) ate TWO slices. All the grownups and kids present ate every bite…so much so that this is all we were left with after dinner. That's a hit in my book! 

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

For the mint chocolate cake: 

I adapted our favorite chocolate birthday cake 

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk 
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp mint extract
3/4 cup hot coffee (I used decaf coffee but use whatever you prefer)

PLUS 3/4 cup mint chocolate chips during cake assembly
Preheat oven to 350 degres and prep two 8 inch round cake pans. Either butter the pans and then flour, or use a non-stick cooking spray (I like Baker's Joy)
Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt together and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment mix slowly until they are all combined. In a separate bowl, stir together all the liquid ingredients except for the coffee.

Slowly pour the bowl of wet ingredients into the dry in the mixer and mix on low speed to combine. Pour the coffee in and use a spatula to stir together.

Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. 

Cool in the pan for 20-30 minutes and then finish cooling on a rack. Wait until completely cool before frosting.

Mint Buttercream Frosting: 

adapted from Joy the Baker Cookbook

1 cup unsalted butter, softened 

4 cups powdered sugar

2-3 tablespoons heavy cream

1 tsp mint extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Put the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat for approximately 2 minutes until it is fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the powdered sugar. Begin beating again but on low to start. As the butter and sugar start to incorporate raise the speed to medium and add in the cream and the extracts. 

Beat on medium-high for 4-5 minutes, adding cream or powdered sugar to adjust the consistency. You want it to almost look like it's whipped cream towards the end. This will give you that nice light and fluffy frosting. 

To assemble cake: 

Place one cake round on your plate or platter. Spread a layer of frosting across the top of cake and then sprinkle the 3/4 cup of mint chocolate chips over it. Place the second layer on top of that and frost the top with the rest of the frosting. If you want, roughly chop a few ounces of dark chocolate and sprinkle on the top of the cake as a garnish. Mint leaves or more chocolate chips would be great too! 

Ice Cream Pie....with Ninjas

In retrospect, rolling in from a weekend away straight to Ben's birthday might not have been our best idea. We had planned on doing a small party over the following weekend, but we quickly realized while we were traveling that Ben was having a rough time with the trip. Sometimes we forget just how much our little guy has gone through in his first few years of life and for whatever reason the trip set off a lot of anxiety. I'm not sure if it was the airplane ride, or just the amount of people around, or something else entirely. No matter what, it quickly became clear that by the time we returned home he would be a complete wreck if threw a large birthday party. 

Between adoption and the military we are experts at changing things up at the last second. We gave him a family party on his actual birthday instead. No crowds. Just pizza and cake. Heck, I didn't even make the pizza. (It's hard to remember when we are hyper-focused on getting the kids what they need, but Mama needs to take the easy road sometimes too. I might prefer my homemade pizza, but I know the kids are just as happy to have takeout. This is not something I am good at remembering.) 

Ben really wanted a Ninjago cake, so since I knew there was no way I could make and decorate in the time I had so I went a different route. What's more refreshing in the summer than ice cream cake? It was fast, easy, and delicious....and I could pop a few Ninja figures on the top and be good to go. Thankfully, it was a hit with kids and grownups alike!

Of course, I couldn't resist fancy-ing it up a bit :)  The caramel sauce and homemade whipped cream add a rich touch, and if I had been making this for grownups only I would have made it salted caramel sauce. It would be so easy to change up the flavors of this cake. Cookies and cream ice cream with an oreo crust? Strawberry and vanilla with a chocolate sauce layer instead of the caramel? So many options! 

And because I can't resist a cute picture of the birthday boy...here's an action shot!

Ice Cream Pie

adapted from Nigella Christmas by Nigella Lawson and The Joy the Baker Cookbook by Joy Wilson

Ingredients

For the crust: 

12 oz graham crackers (about 21/2 sleeves from a box)

1 stick butter, room temperature

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the Filling:

1 pint chocolate ice cream, slightly softened

1/2 caramel sauce

1 pint vanilla ice cream, slightly softened

For the topping:

1 1/2 heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

To make the crust:

Put graham crackers, butter and chocolate chips in a food processor and blitz until they are completely combined. Press into pie plate so that there is an even layer on the bottom and sides. My pie plate is on the small side and I didn't need quite all of mixture, so don't worry if you have extra. Place in the freezer for at least an hour until the crust is solid. 

To make the topping:

Meanwhile, using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk together the cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Set aside. 

Assembly:

Take the crust out of the freezer. Scoop chocolate ice cream into crust and smooth into an even layer (about 1-2 inches deep). Pour caramel sauce over chocolate ice cream and even it out as well. Pop in the freezer for a minute or two so it hardens up a little. Scoop the vanilla ice cream and mold into another 2 inch layer. Add the whipped cream to the top and smooth out so that it completely covers the pie. If you want, drizzle some chocolate or caramel sauce over the top of the pie. Freeze for another hour until solid. 

I used a warm knife and was able to cut straight from the freezer, but you could also just take it out a few minutes before you plan to serve it. 

Dinosaurs, Power Rangers and Superheroes..oh my!

A few months ago, my baby turned 5. I have no idea how this happened, because I could swear it was only yesterday that he was learning to walk. I blinked and he's learning to read.

The thing about turning 5 is that you REALLY care about your birthday party. Last year we threw together a quick Star Wars party by making some pool noodle light sabers and cupcakes and we were good. This year though, the birthday was the talk of the family for months. The theme! The cake! The venue! Piñata or no piñata? There were days that I spent more time discussing the merits of various Power Rangers as cake toppers than I did on our wedding!

In the end he couldn't decide on a theme. We narrowed it down to the dinosaurs, Power Rangers and Superheroes. He requested a chocolate cake. After that I had to cut him off until the day before the party and then he could decide what he wanted on the cake. As you can see from the picture he chose dinosaurs. (Stegosaurus, of course!) I could swear that there was no persuasion on my part, but I was dino-crazy as a kid and I'm having waaaaaay too much fun being dino-crazy as a Mom to not try to sway him :)

The cake itself is one of my standbys. It's a slightly adapted version of one of the Barefoot Contessa's chocolate layer cakes. I chose not to use the frosting she recommends and instead went for a creamy chocolate buttercream from Joy the Baker. Neither recipe is overcomplicated, and the taste of the chocolate shines through. Don't be off-put by the coffee in the cake recipe. I usually use decaf in case anyone is avoiding caffeine but don't worry that it will taste like coffee. It just greatly enhances the flavor of the chocolate. You won't notice that it is there, but you will notice if it's not.

This is a worthy party cake, but not one that is too fancy for a casual get-together. Don't wait too long to try it!


Chocolate Cake
slightly adapted from The Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk 
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup hot coffee (I used decaf coffee but use whatever you prefer)

Preheat oven to 350 degres and prep two 8 inch round cake pans. Either butter the pans and then flour, or use a non-stick cooking spray (I like Baker's Joy)
Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt together and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment mix slowly until they are all combined. In a separate bowl, stir together all the liquid ingredients except for the coffee.

Slowly pour the bowl of wet ingredients into the dry in the mixer and mix on low speed to combine. Pour the coffee in and use a spatula to stir together.

Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. 

Cool in the pan for 20-30 minutes and then finish cooling on a rack. Wait until completely cool before frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream frosting
slightly adapted from the Joy the Baker Cookbook

3/4 c unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), room temperature
1/2 unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 c powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c heavy cream
1/3 Ovaltine powder

Using the stand mixer with a paddle attachment again, cream the butter, cocoa powder and salt together. Add in the powdered sugar and scrape down the sides before mixing on low. Immediately add in the milk and vanilla. Keep beating at a medium speed until it's smooth, stopping to scrape the sides as needed.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cream and Ovaltine. Pour into the mixer (still on medium speed) and mix until smooth. If the consistency is too thick or thin, adjust it by adding more milk or more powdered sugar until it's what you are looking for. Chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes before frosting.

To assemble the cake:
Place one cake on the cake stand and frost the top. Place the second cake on top of it. Using an offset spatula, frost a very thin layer around the entire cake (this is called the crumb layer and it will keep the crumbs from showing through the main layer of frosting). Proceed in the same way to do a thicker layer  of frosting over the whole cake. I prefer to make this cake a little bit messy looking, rather than aiming for a totally smooth look, but it's really your preference.