Thursday, May 5, 2011

Mint Slice Cake

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At the risk of being a one-cake-gimmick wonder, I'm posting yet another biscuit-inspired cake. Think of it as a thank you cake for the amazing response to my Tim Tam Cake. I seriously didn't expect it but I guess everyone loves Tim Tams/chocolate cake so it's not too unbelievable. This Saturday is my best friend Asian Gaga's birthday. You might remember that for her last birthday I attempted my infamous Lady Gaga Cake, the photos of which make me cringe but she loved it. This year she asked if I could make the Tim Tam Cake for her, but could I make it smaller and mint flavoured? So I thought, why not just make a Mint Slice Cake? The Mint Slice (it doesn't have its own wiki page, aww.) is basically a chocolate biscuit with a thick layer of peppermint icing on top and the whole thing is covered with a layer of dark chocolate. It might not be as popular as the Tim Tam but it's always been a favourite of mine, thanks to my love of dark chocolate and peppermint and the awesome ratio of icing to biscuit.
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Originally I wasn't going to blog about it but I liked how the photos turned out. My blog was pretty quiet this week and I didn't want to leave it neglected for the whole weekend too! So I'm going to keep this short and sweet - the cake uses the same sponge cake and ganache recipe as the Tim Tam cake, which are both halved in quantity, and the chocolate in the butter icing filling is replaced with peppermint essence so that it's fluffy, white and minty. It was actually harder to make this one resemble the biscuit, the Tim Tams had those recognisable ripples on their surface but the Mint Slice is completely smooth. I suck at keeping ganache smooth. I did my best. The important thing is it tastes great! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASIAN GAGA!!! I love you, crazy lady.
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Mint Slice Cake
(adapted from my Tim Tam Cake, sponge recipe from Gourmet Traveller)
2 large eggs
55g (¼ cup) caster sugar
32g cornflour (cornstarch)
17g Dutch-process cocoa
2 tsp plain flour
½ tsp cream of tartar
¼ tsp bicarb soda
25g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the mint icing:
100g butter, removed from the fridge 30 minutes before starting
3 cups icing sugar, sifted
2 tsp milk
2 tsp peppermint essence
Optional: Mint Slice biscuits to hide in this layer, I only hid one for fun so it's definitely not needed

For the chocolate ganache topping:
150ml pouring cream (min. 35% milk fat pure cream)
200g dark chocolate (I used 60% cocoa)

Grease and line one 20cm round cake tin. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Whisk eggs and sugar in an electric mixer until thick and pale (5-6 minutes). Sift over cornflour, cocoa, flour, cream of tartar and bicarb soda, fold in with spatula. Fold in butter, spoon into prepared tin. Bake in centre of oven until cake springs back when lightly pressed (10-12 minutes). Turn onto baking paper covered wire rack and cool completely.
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Prepare the mint icing; beat butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy, then add mint essence and milk and beat until smooth. Spread over the top of cake and smooth with a spatula. To make the ganache, place cream in a small saucepan on low heat. Just as it starts to come to the boil, remove from the heat and cool for a couple minutes. Pour hot cream over chocolate and set aside 10 minutes to allow chocolate to melt. Mix cream and chocolate together until smooth using a whisk, then cool (I placed mine in the fridge for about 10 mins) until it reaches room temperature and thickens. Pour over the top of the cake, using a spatula to ensure the ganache covers all the top and sides of the cake (the excess will drip off everywhere so make sure you lay down some baking paper to catch the drips). Chill in the fridge until the ganache sets, then peel off the bottom baking paper and serve cake at room temperature.
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57 comments:

  1. That is too awesome! I love the dark photography going on here!

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  2. This looks so good. Mint slice is one of my hubby's favourite biscuits. He would love this cake, thanks for the recipe :)

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  3. Amazing, it's like a giant took a bite out of the Mint Slice. Wish I was that giant!

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  4. Now any mint lover will want to eat the entire cake:P Great job here.

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  5. This looks awesome! Your best friend is pretty lucky! ;)

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  6. amazing. you can too honey jumbles next! or tiny teddies!

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  7. mint slices were my ultimate fave! giving them up was hard. the ratio of crispy biscit to filling and chocolate was perfection. i will have to put this on my list.

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  8. OH MY GOODNESS! This tops the tim tam cake for me because mint slice is my favourite! I love the thick layer of fluffy white peppermint. This is heaven for me. A must make! Thanks for sharing!

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  9. I have a feeling this one is going to go viral. :D

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  10. Wow, wonderful, I love the taste of peppermint and chocolate!..

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  11. OHHH LOOKS so yummy !!! this is the perfect cake!!!

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  12. This is fantastic! I will be trying this soon! Thanks :)

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  13. mouth.is.salivating.uncontrollably

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  14. AMAZING!!! is there anything better than the combination of mint and chocolate?... ps i completely love your cake plate.

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  15. Wow! I was going to say you will be putting a certain biscuit manufacturer out of business with your yummy creations! This looks great. I can nearly taste it.

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  16. wow looks like the really thing! and yummier looking!

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  17. LOVE this giant version! :)

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  18. OMFG Steph! That looks like massive mint overkill deliciousness!

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  19. my hubby would love this, he loves mint slice! it looks so perfect, very impressed

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  20. I don't even like mint, but I think the mint lovers in my life deserve to be made this cake. Looks fantastic.

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  21. Mint Slice are pretty much my favourite biscuit ever. The cake looks brilliant. I am a little concerned because it also looks a lot like the Coles Chocolate Mint Supreme.

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  22. Mark - ROFL thanks for the Friday morning lulz :)

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  23. I have a weakness for mint. Funnily enough I was checking out a mint cake in a WW book at my sister-in-law's yesterday. It was more of a loaf cake with a strip of frosting along the top (not covering the entire cake). I remember looking at it, almost licking my lips. But THIS is a mint cake. DELICIOUS!!!! Well done.

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  24. i love that innards shot to see the fluffy icing layer hee its so fluffy im gonna dieeee

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  25. I adore mint slices! This might hit a real sweet spot on my sweet tooth.

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  26. OMGolly you are a freak! (in the best possible way :)). I was bowled over and truly impressed by your iced vovo and tim tam cakes, but this one definitely takes the cake (pun intended!).
    Love your work.

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  27. Your cakes are amazing! This is one I would love because I am the type of person that puts extra frosting on my cake...so the icing to cake ratio on this one works perfect for me!

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  28. This looks wonderful!!!! Just the type of pick me up a homesick Australian living in the US needs :) Thank you!!!!

    Sandra

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  29. Another amazing creation Steph!! Mint Slices are totally up there with Tim Tams for me! Happy Birthday Asian Gaga ;)

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  30. hello! i am so happy i stumbled on your fabulous blog. your photos are stunning and the recipes are right up my alley. can't wait to stay posted on what you're up to.

    a new melbourne food blogger and your newest follower :)

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  31. Wooow! this looks so good I could eat the whole cake and not feel guilty!
    K and B
    http://kitchenandbakery.blogspot.com

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  32. Oh, my, gosh O___O

    You have no idea how delicious this looks. I've never covered a cake with ganache before, so I've very tempted to try this for my first one :D Not to mention the combination of mint and chocolate is always welcomed in my belly~

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  33. I have just made this, it's sitting in the fridge waiting for the ganache to set :) After tasting each individual part I can't wait for the whole...

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  34. Thank you so much for sharing this. I hadn't seen your tim tam cake and upon clicking the link, my face lit up and the lustful feelings of gluttony came creeping in. You're definitely one to watch!

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  35. I'd love to make this cake, but am struggling with the conversion of grams and ml to American equivalent of cups, tablespoons, etc. Unfortunately we have not adopted the metric system like the rest of the evolved world!

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  36. Anonymous - I know this recipe is a little harder to convert than others, since it uses specific gram weights. Perhaps you could replace the chocolate sponge recipe I use with a chocolate sponge recipe that has US measurements from somewhere else? Next time I make this cake I will try to measure out the ingredients and note down the conversions.

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  37. Also, I would definitely recommend investing in a digital scale for your kitchen. I couldn't live without mine!

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  38. Oh my goodness this looks amazing!!!! What fabulous inspiration!
    http://incurablelibertine.tumblr.com/

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  39. I made this yesterday for my son's birthday - he doesn't like cake but loves Mint Slice biscuits. I made a more biscuity-style base instead of the sponge and included a layer of mint slice biscuits on top of the mint icing layer and it turned out pretty good. Didn't look as good as yours but tasted pretty good. Thanks for the recipe, might have to try the Tim Tam cake next!

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  40. I am so going to have a go at making this! Love your work

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  41. I love that I found this recipe! I spent a year in Australia and became madly addicted to Tim Tams! :) Now that I'm back in the states, I crave them all the time. I'll be making this cake this week!

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  42. Is caster sugar white granulated sugar? Bicarb soda = baking soda? Is icing sugar confectioner's powdered sugar? The recipe sounds divine but I'm trying to make sure I correctly convert your Sydney ingredients to my Bristol, TN, USA ingredients.

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    1. Google is your friend! Caster sugar is white superfine sugar, using regular white sugar is fine as well. Yes, baking soda is bicarb soda and icing sugar is confectioner's sugar.

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  43. Is peppermint essence an extract or an oil?

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    1. It's an extract in alcohol, use extract if you can't find essence specifically.

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  44. me encanta tu blog, tus preparaciones maravillosa, lo ingeniosa que eres, enhorabuena me a alucinado, saludos

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  45. I am so excited to have found your site! Seriously this is my favorite packaged cookie and the are darn hard to find in the states!! I can't wait to make it!

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  46. My son's bday next week and he asked for a choc mint slice biscuit cake. Have been to a couple of bakeries with no luck. Chanced upon this recipe and it's perfect. I''ve had some disasters with cakes in the past so i hope i can pull this one off!

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  47. Your cake looks truly devine!!! My little sister is turning 15 and she wants a choc mint cake... I'm definitely going with your recipe! Just hope it looks as good as yours!!

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  48. Hi Steph, this looks absolutely amazing and I will be trying it this weekend for a birthday next week! Do you know if it freezes well (without the ganache and doing this once thawed maybe?) or how long it will keep (refrigerated or room temperature?) I would need to make it about 4 days in advance and am unsure what to do? Thanks so much! Galina.

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    1. Hmmm that's tricky. You can probably keep it in the fridge but I'd be worried about it drying out. If you need to make it that far in advance I'd recommend trying a heavier, moister chocolate cake for the base, like a devil's food cake (http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/08/devils-food-cak/). That way it will keep better in the fridge in advance and won't be so dry.

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    2. if it was only for the night before would it be okay to keep it in the fridge or should it be left out?

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    3. Definitely keep it in the fridge! xx

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