Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes


Apologies for the long hiatus! I spent a glorious 4-day weekend in New York City and just returned this week. I walked so much, ate so much, and laughed so much with friends that I'm still recovering. It was wonderful; each time I go to the city I discover new places. I'll be posting more about the delicious desserts I stuffed myself with, a little later on. I was particularly enamored with a lemon souffle tart from the amazing Balthazar Bakery...I'm totally looking forward to perfecting my own version!

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these mint chocolate chip cupcakes I made a few weeks back for my Sauce article :)




Although I’ve had mint and chocolate in many forms, I hardly ever put the two together in a cupcake. The flavors are so prevalent in candy bars and ice cream that I neglected to consider them when it came to baking.
But this past week – with the onset of spring and Easter – I had an idea to make a green cupcake. And when I think of green, I immediately think of mint.

I whipped these up in a hurry to finish the rest of my buttermilk, and they couldn’t have come out any softer. The frosting is minty and fresh; the cake practically melts in your mouth when eaten slightly warm. I added some semisweet chocolate chips to the cake and also ground up some of the chocolate chips and added them to the frosting so it would resemble the famous ice cream flavor.
All in all, these were a hit and a great treat to make with kids or to keep around for a Sunday afternoon.


Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Makes approximately 14 cupcakes

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
1¼ cups cake flour
½ tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1/6 cup buttermilk
1/8 cup canola oil
1 tsp. peppermint extract
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Beat the butter and sugar with an electric beater until fluffy.
• Keep beating while you add the egg.
• Add the rest of the ingredients except the chocolate chips and frosting, and beat until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
• Distribute evenly in a cupcake pan with liners, and bake for about 15 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean (or with a few crumbs).
• Let cool completely, then coat with Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting (recipe follows).

Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting
Adapted from this recipe 

1 stick butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, plus additional as needed
2 Tbsp. milk, plus additional as needed
Green food coloring
1 tsp. peppermint extract
¼ cup ground semisweet chocolate
• Combine all of the ingredients except the chocolate in a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth. If the frosting is too thin, add more sugar. If it’s too thick, add more milk.
• Stir in the ground up chocolate bits.

Note: These cupcakes are best eaten at room temperature. If refrigerated, heat them in the microwave for 10 seconds; the cake gets warm and the frosting stays relatively cool. They last up to 1 week in the fridge in an airtight container.


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