White Chocolate & Mint Cake Recipe
White Chocolate & Mint Cake recipe from Tea at the Palace by Carolyn Robb.
This eye-catching green-and-white cake with white chocolate–mint buttercream has a wonderful freshness to it.
Tea at the Palace was published to tie-in with the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Written by Carolyn Robb, the Former Personal Chef to TRH the Prince and Princess of Wales.
“The simplicity of the decoration of mint sprigs, which always transports me back to the walled garden at Highgrove. It was a treasure trove of interesting mint varieties, each one with its own particular appearance, aroma and taste. My favourite varieties include peppermint, spearmint, apple mint, pineapple mint, penny royal mint, Corsican mint and Egyptian mint, to name but a handful, but the most extraordinary variety of all is chocolate mint, which really does taste of chocolate and is perfect for this cake.” Carolyn Robb
Ingredients
Cake:
- 340g butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing
- 350g caster sugar
- 6 free-range eggs
- 340g plain flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- Pinch of sea salt
- 3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4–6 drops green natural food colouring
Buttercream:
- 200g white chocolate chips
- 225g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 225g icing sugar, sifted
- 5 drops pure peppermint oil
- (see Chef’s Note) Milk, if needed
Decoration:
- 1 small bunch fresh mint, preferably chocolate mint
- Icing sugar, for dusting
Method
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 180°C (Gas mark 4). Butter the sides of three 20-cm round cake tins and line the bottom of each pan with nonstick baking paper.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and caster sugar on high speed until light and creamy.
Add 3 of the eggs and beat until fully incorporated. Sift 30g of the flour directly into the bowl and beat on medium speed until well mixed.
Add the remaining 3 eggs and continue beating until fully incorporated. Sift together the remaining 310g flour, the baking powder and the salt directly into the bowl and, using a metal spoon or a rubber spatula, fold in just until mixed. Lastly, mix in the yogurt and vanilla.
Spoon one-third of the batter into a prepared tin. Stir 2 drops, or more if required, of the food colouring into the remaining batter to create a pale green. Spoon half of the pale green batter into a second prepared tin.
Add a few more drops food colouring to the remaining batter to create a deeper green and then spoon the deep green batter into the third prepared tin. Using an offset spatula, smooth the surface of the batter in each pan, then make a small hollow in the centre so the top is flat when the cake layer emerges from the oven.
Bake the cake layers for 20–25 minutes until the tops spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the centre of each cake comes out clean.
While the cake layers are baking, make the buttercream. Put the chocolate chips into a small heatproof bowl over (not touching) barely simmering water in a saucepan and heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate melts and is smooth. Remove from over the heat and leave to cool completely.
In a bowl, using the electric mixer, beat the butter on low speed until creamy. Gradually add the icing sugar while continuing to beat on low speed until fully combined, then beat in the peppermint oil. Pour in the cooled chocolate and continue to beat on low speed until the buttercream has a soft, spreadable consistency. (Be sure the chocolate is completely cool before adding it, or the buttercream will melt.)
If the buttercream is too thick, add a few drops of milk to make it softer. Cover and reserve until needed.
When the cake layers are ready, leave to cool in the tins on wire racks for 5 minutes, then invert the tins onto the racks, lift off the tins, turn the layers right side up and leave to cool completely.
To assemble the cake, trim the tops of the cake layers so they will sit flat, if necessary. Place the white layer, top side down, on a serving plate. Spread with a generous layer of buttercream, extending it to the edge.
Top with the pale green layer, spread with a generous layer of buttercream and then top with the deep green layer. Spread a generous layer of buttercream on the top of the cake and a thin layer of buttercream around the sides, finishing the top and sides smoothly and neatly.
To decorate, place the bunch of mint in the centre on the top of the cake, then dust the top lightly with icing sugar. The mint may wilt if the weather is warm; to prevent this, put it in water in a tiny glass container before setting it on the cake. If you have mint growing in the garden, you can also clip the pretty flowers on the plants and use them to decorate along with the leaves. Serve at once.
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