In thinking back, I do have a number of posts with flavors of mint chocolate. However, when it comes to all the types of mint chocolate candies, I will have to say that peppermint patties and andes candies are by far my favorite. Because of that, I definitely made sure that I bought more candies than this recipe calls for.
The cake delivers the exact flavor of a peppermint patty and is very dense and rich. This particular recipe had several toppings, but I only opted for the cocoa fudge sauce. In reading the part about the ganache, the recipe stated it would take several hours to thicken so I declined to make it. The mint syrup topping required 2 cups of packed mint leaves. That is a lot of mint if you are buying it. No doubt, if you were trying to use up a lot of leaves from your mint plant, this would be the recipe to go to.
The only real problem issue with making the cake is dealing with dicing the candies. I tried to dice them after freezing, but they still were soft in the center. After cutting a few candies I did re-freeze, hoping that the pieces would not melt together. When putting the candies into the batter, I made sure to sprinkle small pieces all around instead of tossing the big clumps in. Since the batter is warm when you add the candies, it does help distribute the diced candy bits more evenly.
Peppermint Patty Cake
adapted from Sweet Dreams
Ingredients/Cake
1 cup diced peppermint patties (kept frozen until ready to use)
14 oz of semisweet chocolate (chips or chopped bar)
6 eggs, separated
1 cup butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs cream
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
Ingredients/Cocoa Fudge Sauce
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup of butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup brown sugar
Pepare a 9 1/2-10 inch springform pan by buttering the interior. Also, line the bottom with parchment paper and butter the side facing up. Then dust with flour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Fill the lower part of a double boiler 1/4 full of water. Place the other pot on top and fill with butter, chocolate pieces and cream. Place over medium heat and let contents melt together and stir until smooth. Remove double boiler from heat and separate the two pots, setting both aside to cool.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add egg yolks and sugar. Beat on medium speed until mixture reaches a frothy, pale yellow color. This should take about 5 minutes. Then pour in the melted chocolate mixture and stir until all is blended. Mix in vanilla extract.
In another bowl, sift together flour and salt. Fold into chocolate batter until no white streaks remain. Sprinkle in 1/4 of the peppermint patties into the mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until evenly distributed. Repeat process until all candy pieces are blended in.
Pour the egg whites in a medium bowl and beat. Once the whites are at the soft peak stage, add 1/3 of them to the chocolate batter. Take care to fold the whites gently into the batter. Then empty all the egg whites into the mixture and fold in.
Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and smooth the top. Place in oven and bake until center is set and hairline cracks form around the edge of cake. This should take about 45-50 minutes. Remove and place pan on cooling rack. When completely cool, invert onto cake round and remove parchment paper.
To make the cocoa fudge sauce, melt butter in a saucepan. Add cream, cocoa and sugar and still with a wire whisk until smooth. Let mixture simmer over medium temperature for about 10 minutes, checking and stirring about every three minutes. The blend will get thicker as it simmers. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Let cool and spoon over cake slices when sauce reaches room temperature.
**LAST YEAR: Chocolate Pumpkin Layer Cake