This is my all time favorite dessert…  Growing up we spent a lot of time with friends because all of my relatives lived on the East coast.  My Mom’s best friend, Barb, is an amazing cook. She used to make me this dessert every year for my birthday.  I have had part of the recipe for years, but never actually tried to make it until yesterday… I’m really not sure why either, because it’s awesome and really not that hard.  The part of the recipe that I didn’t get from Barb was the fudge layer, I just always forgot to ask her for that… I just used a fudge frosting recipe I had on file, so I’m sure if you have a favorite one you could use it, as well.  I chose to make this yesterday because I thought it would be fun for St. Patty’s Day… I mean it’s fun any time, but because of the green I thought maybe it would attract those crazy leprechauns.  This recipe calls for Creme De Menthe, but if you prefer mint extract you can probably use that, as well…  Here is the scoop:

Barb’s Famous (at least to me :)) Creme De Menthe Cake

Prepare a white cake mix as directed on package EXCEPT replace 1/4 cup of the water with 1/4 cup of Creme De Menthe.  My Creme De Menthe was not green so I also added a couple of drops of green food coloring to the batter.  If your Creme De Menthe is green then you would not need the food coloring.  If you don’t want to use Creme De Menthe, I would just make the cake as directed on the package and in addition add a teaspoon of mint extract to the batter.  The alcohol does bake off so it’s safe for little people :).

Fudge Layer

I obviously made a round cake with a fudge layer both in the middle and on the top.  You can also make a rectangle cake and just do a fudge layer on the top, what ever you are comfortable with…

For the frosting:

• 12 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

Place the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chips are completely melted. Off the heat, add the corn syrup and vanilla and allow the chocolate mixture to cool to room temperature. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the chocolate mixture and softened butter on medium speed for a few minutes, until it’s thickened.  Spread the frosting evenly between the layers of the cake as well as on the top of the cake.  Let it set.

Whip Cream Frosting

The frosting on this cake is just a simple whipped cream…

• 1 pint heavy cream
• 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons Creme De Menthe (optional) OR 1/2 teaspoon mint extract (optional)
• a couple drops of green food coloring (optional)

Mix the heavy cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.  Add the powdered sugar, creme de menthe (if using) and food coloring.  Continue whipping the cream until it is thick.  Spread evenly on top of the entire cake.

**  I added chocolate curls just for fun…  To make them I melted three squares of semi sweet chocolate with one tablespoon of shortening.  I spread the melted chocolate on a cookie sheet in a very thin (very very thin) layer on a cookie sheet.  I popped it in the freezer for a couple minutes and then used a spatula to make the curls.  If the chocolate is too cold it will not curl so just give it a couple seconds…  Literally a couple seconds 🙂  ENJOY!

Tags: creme de menthe, creme de menthe cake, mint cake, mint dessert, St. Patrick's day dessert, St. Patrick's Day Party