Mint Chocolate Birthday Cake

Wow, it has been quite a long time since I have made a post.  My last post was back in July before my third daughter was born.  I had three kids 4 and under for about a month until my 4 year old turned 5 in August.  Needless to say, I have been super busy not only with the kids, but with baking too!  I have a ton of things to post, but I decided to start with this sweet little cake.

I made this cake for little girl's first birthday.  Her parents are huge fans of chocolate and mint, so I came up with this delicious combination.  I started with my regular chocolate cake.  I decided to throw some Andes candies chips into the batter.  It made the cake slightly minty and extra moist and chocolatey.  I didn't want to make the cake too minty/toothpastey, so I decided not to cover the whole cake in mint buttercream.  However, I did make a standard buttercream with some mint extract for in between the two layers of cake.  I have a recipe for an icing that I call chocolate satin frosting.  It is almost like a ganache, but not quite, and it is not super sweet.  I thought it would be the perfect pairing for this cake.  (Actually, I think it was my hubby's idea.)  I used simple fondant numbers and letters with polka dots for the decorations.  All in all, I thought this cake looked sweet and was delicious.  Even my husband who is not a huge fan of chocolate and mint enjoyed this cake.

The National Confectioners Association has declared February 19 "Chocolate Mint Day".  So next year on February 19, celebrate with some chocolate mint candies, mint chocolate chip ice cream, or whip up and cake like this for yourself.  Or better yet, save yourself the mess, and order one from me!