Celebrate sweet summertime with this ice cream inspired Vegan Mint Chip Layer Cake! Mint-kissed cake is studded with mini chocolate chips and layered with vanilla mint buttercream and a decadent chocolate ganache drip.
Happy Friday, my beautiful friends! I am so excited to be sharing a fun, summery recipe with you guys today. This gorgeous Vegan Mint Chip Layer Cake combines chocolate chip cake flavored with a kiss of mint, and is enveloped in a vanilla mint buttercream. A decadent chocolate ganache drip and crown of frosting finish off this lovely creation! If you're a fan of mint chip ice cream, you've gotta give this cake a try.
Now, you might think of mint as a more winter-oriented flavor... and I don't blame you! I have shared my fair amount of minty Christmas recipes, like these Candy Cane Rice Krispie Treats, this Peppermint Crunch Bundt Cake, and these Peppermint Bark Madeleines. However, mint chocolate chip ice cream is a summertime staple, and I thought a cake version of the quintessential frozen treat would be perfect for this time of year! You may remember that I am a brand ambassador for Rodelle, and their peppermint extract worked perfectly for this mint chip layer cake recipe.
What do I need to make this vegan mint chip layer cake?
- Rodelle Peppermint Extract: of course, you need mint extract to make mint chip cake! The Rodelle extract has a pure, clean flavor that delivers that perfect kiss of mint without tasting like toothpaste.
- Rodelle Vanilla Extract: while mint is the star here, vanilla is a must in any kind of white cake for that sweet creamy flavor.
- Mini chocolate chips: mini chips work perfectly in this cake! That way you get a little bit of chocolate in each bite. Enjoy Life makes the best vegan mini chocolate chips.
- Ground flaxseed: out of all the egg replacers that are out there, flaxseed is my favorite for cakes! It doesn't add any flavor or gritty texture to the cake, but it makes it nice and sturdy for stacking.
- Nondairy milk: use your favorite nondairy milk here! Unsweetened cashew, almond, or oat all work great.
- Vegan butter & oil: I use a blend of both vegan butter and oil for the best texture! It makes the cake moist and fluffy without being heavy. Not greasy and not dry. The perfect balance!
- Nondairy yogurt: yogurt is one of my secret ingredients when it comes to cakes – it also helps make the cake super fluffy and sweet.
- Sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt.
- BONUS: Cake combs! It's what I used for the super fun striped effect on this cake. I also used them recently for my "puffy" berry cake - they are so handy!
I hope you guys will give this vegan mint chip layer cake a try! It's fluffy, soft, and perfectly minty. The combination of chocolate and mint are a perfect match. Let me know what you think of it!
Check out these other yummy summer cakes!
- Vegan Hummingbird Layer Cake
- Vegan Orange Poppyseed Bundt Cake
- Vegan Coconut Layer Cake with Passionfruit Curd
- Vegan Lemon Pistachio Bundt Cake
- Vegan Mango Coconut Snack Cake
vegan mint chip layer cake
Ingredients
- *for the cake*
- 2 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 6 tablespoon water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup vegan butter at room temperature
- ⅓ cup nondairy yogurt
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon Rodelle peppermint extract
- 1 tablespoon Rodelle vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup nondairy milk
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
- *for the frosting*
- 1 cup shortening
- 1 cup vegan butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon Rodelle vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Rodelle peppermint extract
- 1-2 tablespoon of nondairy milk as needed
- pinch of salt
- food coloring as desired
- *to decorate*
- ½ cup vegan dark chocolate chips
- 1-2 tablespoon nondairy milk as needed
- additional mini chocolate chips for garnish
Instructions
- First, make the cake. Preheat oven to 350F and spray three 6" round cake pans with nonstick baking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flaxseed with the water and set aside to thicken.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
- Add in the vegan butter, and beat on low until it's incorporated and has a sandy texture.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, flaxseed mixture, nondairy yogurt, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract, and add them to the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Pour in the nondairy milk, and beat on medium-low until smooth and creamy. Finally, gently fold in the chocolate chips.
- Divide batter evenly among the 3 pans, and bake for 30-35 minutes until cake is set in the center and a toothpick comes out clean.
- When the cakes are completely cooled, you can make the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the shortening, vegan butter, and vanilla extract together until completely smooth and creamy. Add in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until a thick frosting forms. Add in the salt. It is normal to need to add 1-2 tablespoon of milk to get the right consistency.
- If you want to make the striped effect, transfer about ⅓ of the frosting to a separate bowl so that it can stay white. Color the rest of the frosting mint green - I used 1 drop of teal food coloring to 2 drops of leaf green coloring.
- To assemble the cake, trim off the top of the cakes if needed to make sure they are level and flat.
- Place one cake on your cake stand or platter, and spread some white frosting on top. Repeat with all.
- Next, cover the cake with a layer of frosting for the crumb coat. Cover the cake, being sure to fill in any gaps between the layers. Use a bench scraper to remove any excess (remember we want this layer to be pretty thin).
- Let the cake chill for 15-20 minutes so the crumb coat can solidify, then you can frost the "final" frosting! Cover the cake with mint green frosting, and use a stripe comb to remove the excess. This layer does not have to be perfect. Chill once again until solid.
- Finally, place your reserved white frosting in a piping bag and pipe it into the indentations to create the stripes.
- Use the bench scraper and gently remove the excess frosting until the sides and top of the cake are nice and smooth.
- Place the cake back in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before adding on the ganache.
- To make the ganache, place about ½ cup of dark chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Add in a splash of nondairy milk, and microwave in 20 second intervals until smooth and creamy. Add more milk and keep stirring if the mixture is too thick.
- Decorate your chilled cake with the ganache - I just use a spoon for an easy drip. Place the cake back in the fridge for a few secondsbefore decorating the top with frosting as you want the ganache to solidify.
- Use any extra frosting to decorate the top (or make another half batch). I used a 1M tip and piped in a circular motion to get the crown of frosting around the edge. Finish the cake with mini chocolate chips on top!
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