Girl Scout cookies are delicious and it’s difficult not to cave and buy a bunch of boxes when you are staring you down as you’re walking into the local super market. Even though all of them are delicious, people have their favorites. Personally, my favorite is Samoas. I know that seems contradicting since the cake is thin mint, but I don’t like coconut that much (again contradicting).

Anyways, it was my 22nd birthday a few weeks back and I wanted to make a cake for everyone to enjoy! I love chocolate and mint so a thin mint cake seemed like the perfect fit! The only downside to this cake is that you (kinda) really need to real deal thin mints, not the store bought. The store bought ones are fine, but they’re really not the same (trust me, I compared them). It won’t taste bad with the store bought, but if you have the real deal, use it!

Please do not judge this cake on it’s appearance! I was rushing to get to the restaurant and I couldn’t let the chocolate ganache set fully so I said screw it and put the frosting on top and left. The frosting was also not coming out of the tip because of the thin mint chucks do I had to just squirt it on.

Ingredients

Cake*

• 1 3/4 c all purpose flour
• 3/4 c cocoa powder (I use Hershey brand)
• 1 3/4 c granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 c vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 c sour cream
• 1/2 c buttermilK
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 c strong coffee

Frosting

• 14 Thin mints, crushed
• 1 1/2 c unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 1 1/2 tbsp milk
• 3-5 c powder sugar, sifted**
• Green food coloring

Chocolate Ganache

• 1/2 c heavy cream
• 3/4 c milk chocolate chips

*Note: This is the same chocolate cake I made for the Reeses Cake.

**Note: Scoop and measure the powder sugar and then sift it to remove all the clumps.

Directions

Cake

1. Allow all ingredients to get to room temperature before starting
2. Preheat the oven to 350°
3. Prep two 9″ cake pans:
   • Rub an even coating of butter around the edges and bottom
   • Sprinkle some flour in the pan and spread it around the pan so it’s completely covered
   • As an extra precaution, you can put some parchment paper on the bottom of the pan as well
4. In a large bowl or bowl of stand mixer, whisk together: flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt
5. In a medium bowl, mix together: vegetable oil, eggs, sour cream, buttermilk and vanilla.
6. Combine the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until fully combined
7. Slowly add in the coffee with the mixer running
8. Separate the batter into the two prepared pans
9. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean
10. Allow the cakes to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes
11. Transfer the cake from the pan to the wire rack and allow it to cool completely
    • If you are going to let it sit in the fridge overnight, cover the cake on the wire rack loosely with plastic wrap before putting it in the fridge

Frosting

1. Crush the thin mints using a food processor or smashing them in a zip-lock bag
2. In a stand mixer, beat butter on medium until light a fluffy
3. Add in vanilla, peppermint and milk. Scrape down the sides to make sure everything is well mixed
4. Add in 3 cups of powdered sugar, slowly to prevent it from puffing out of the stand mixer. If it looks too thin, add more powdered sugar (I used 4 cups). Once mixed, beat on high for 3 minute straight
5. Scrape down the sides to make sure everythig is well incorporated. Beat on high again for 1-2 minutes.
6. Using a rubber scraper, fold in the crushed thin mints and food coloring
   • I would just add a few drops of food coloring and then mix it and check the coloring. Add more depending on how green you want it!

Ganache

1. Using a double boiler:
   • Heat the water till it’s boiling
   • Place an equal ratio of chocolate and heavy cream in a bowl and place it on top of the pot
   • Cook the chocolate mixture until it is completely melted
   • Allow the chocolate to cool for 5-10 minutes, until it’s slightly thickened before putting on the cake
2. Using the microwave:
   • Heat the chocolate/heavy cream mixture in the microwave in 20-second increments, stirring after each time until it is completely melted
   • Allow the chocolate to cool for 5-10 minutes, until it’s slightly thickened before putting on the cake

This cake was absolutely delicious and although I wasn’t super happy with the appearance, the taste made up for it!

Test Kitchen: Opinion and Changes

I got the frosting recipe from YourCupOfCake.com. I didn’t make many changes, but I did have to increase the amount of frosting because the original amount wouldn’t have covered the cake.

Happy Baking!