Thin Mint Girl Scout Chocolate Cake Recipe is a fun, delicious Girl Scout-themed cake. This is a chocolate mint layer cake filled with thin mint cookie crumbs and topped with mint buttercream and chocolate ganache plus more crushed cookies on top!
WHY I LOVE MY Thin Mint Girl Scout Chocolate Cake Recipe
• One of my favorite cake recipes because I love the chocolate and mint combo!
• Made with my favorite Girl Scout cookie, the thin mint
• Super rich chocolate mint cake with a rich ganache on top
• Yummy moist chocolate cake with the best chocolate mint flavor
• Perfect for mint chip lovers
• This cake is homemade which makes it ten times better!
• Make this for a birthday, St. Patrick's Day, or any special occasion!
INGREDIENT NOTES
Butter: You will need softened, unsalted butter for both the cake and buttercream.
Sugar: Use granulated sugar for the cake and powdered sugar for the buttercream
Flour: You'll need cake flour for this recipe if you want to make it from scratch, however, you can always buy a chocolate cake mix and add peppermint oil to that if you don't want to make it homemade.
Milk: Use whole milk for the cake. Then for the buttercream use heavy whipping cream. However, if you don't have heavy cream, use a small amount of milk instead (starting with 3 tablespoons until the right consistency)
Chocolate: Use semi-sweet chocolate chips for the ganache drip. If you prefer milk or dark chocolate better, use that!
Peppermint oil: Buy food-grade peppermint oil for this cake to give it its delicious minty flavor
Thin mint cookies: If you are making this and it is not Girl Scout season, do not worry! Buy the Keebler fudge mint delight cookies or Goodie Girl mint cookies at the grocery store for a gluten-free option! Use 1 cup plus 8 thin mint cookies for the garnish in this recipe.
HOW TO MAKE MY Thin Mint Girl Scout Chocolate Cake Recipe
1. Start by baking the cake. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease three 6-inch round cake pans. Line cake pans with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients (including cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt) for the cake in a medium bowl, and set aside.
3. In a separate large bowl, cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix to combine ingredients. With the mixer running on low, alternate adding the dry ingredients mixture and milk. Once all are added, mix until well combined.
4. Add peppermint oil to the cake batter and stir fully. Pour cake batter into prepared pans evenly. Bake for 45 minutes or until a clean toothpick comes out of the baked cake. Let cool completely.
5. To make the frosting, cream softened unsalted butter on medium speed for 3 minutes. Once the butter is fluffy, gradually add powdered sugar, cream, and mint oil. Once combined, beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes.
6. Once the cake is completely cool, it is time to assemble the cake. Spread frosting on the first layer of the cake and even out with an offset spatula. Sprinkle the first frosted layer with about a ¼ cup of cookie crumbs. Repeat with the second layer, then add the top layer. Frost the whole cake until smooth. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
7. For the chocolate drip ganache, microwave semi-sweet chocolate chips on high for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat until fully melted. Stir in oil and make sure it pours easily. Drizzle on top in the center of the cake and let the chocolate drip around the sides. Let the chocolate drip set. Pipe frosting on top and around the bottom of the cake with a 1M piping tip. Add more cookie crumbs on top and thin mint cookies in between each buttercream swirl. Slice and enjoy! Serves 20 servings if you cut 10 slices then half of each slice for 20 servings.
QUICK TIPS
Buttercream: If your buttercream is too thick, add another tablespoon of heavy cream and mix on high for one minute. If it is still too thick try adding one more, or until you get the right consistency.
Ganache: The chocolate drip should pour easily, so if your chocolate mixture is too thick, try adding more oil to it until it is at the right pouring consistency.
Piping: Some tips for piping the swirls on top include holding the piping bag upright and making a rose shape, but going up and slowly closing in to complete the swirl.
Cookie crumbs: Prepare your chocolate mint cookie crumbs before making the cake. Crush them in the package they come in, or put them in a zip-lock bag and crush them until crumbly. To crush them more finely, throw them in a food processor.
Room temperature ingredients: Ensure all your ingredients are at room temperature before baking. This includes the eggs, butter, and milk/heavy cream.
Cakes cool: Let your cakes completely cool before frosting. This ensures that the buttercream won't melt off the cake. To speed up the cooling, place the cakes on a wire rack
Measuring ingredients: Ensure you measure your dry ingredients properly with a measuring cup. To get the exact amount, overfill the measuring cup, then with a butterknife level it out by tapping the butterknife on the measuring cup and then slicing the knife across the measuring cup to take the access off.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do I have to make this homemade? Of course not, feel free to buy two chocolate cake mixes for this recipe and add peppermint extract to them. It will not be as moist and fresh as this scratch recipe, but that is okay!
How do I store this mint chocolate cake? Store in an airtight container. You could use a cake tupperware or slice and place it in a big tupperware. If you do not own any big Tupperware, slice the cake into 10 slices and wrap each slice in plastic wrap to keep it fresh.
Can I make this gluten-free? Sure! Use a gluten-free chocolate cake mix or my gluten-free chocolate cake recipe in my Easter Bundt Cakes recipe. Make sure you add the peppermint oil to the cake batter!
What if my buttercream is too thick? If your buttercream frosting is too thick, add some more cream. Add one tablespoon at a time until it is the right consistency.
Which mixer should I use? You can use either a stand or an electric mixer for this recipe, it is up to you! If you use the stand mixer, use the paddle attachment for mixing wet/dry ingredients.
What other garnishes can I add to this? Add some cookie crumbs on top of the mint frosting buttercream swirls and around the sides of the cake at the bottom. You could also chop up some Andes mints and sprinkle them around the top of the cake.
more chocolate mint recipes of mine plus some chocolate cakes I love
Flourless Chocolate Mint Layer Cake
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake
Mint Chocolate French Macarons
Doctored Chocolate Cake Mix Recipe with Sour Cream
Aunt Emily's Chocolate Fudge Cake
Nana's Gluten-Free Chocolate Birthday Cake Recipe
Lydia's 10-Layer Chocolate Cake
The Best Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake
RELATED RECIPES
Love this recipe? If you try it, be sure to tag me on @Instagram! You can also find me on Pinterest, YouTube and Facebook.
Thin Mint Girl Scout Chocolate Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 ¼ cups cake flour
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups milk
- ½ teaspoon peppermint oil food grade
- 1 cup Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie crumbs
For the frosting
- 2 cups unsalted butter softened
- 2 pounds powdered sugar
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon peppermint oil food grade
- 1 drop green food coloring
For the chocolate drip
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or more if needed
For garnish
- 8 Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line 3 (6-inch round) cake pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Whisk together dry ingredients for cake (flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt) in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix to combine. With mixer on low, alternate adding dry ingredients and milk. Mix until combined. Add peppermint oil, stir to combine. (Reserve cookie crumbs for the filling.) Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool.
For the frosting
- Meanwhile, for the frosting, cream butter on medium for 3 minutes. Gradually add powdered sugar and cream, plus mint oil. Once combined, beat on medium for 3 minutes. Note: You will have frosting left over. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
- To assemble cake, spread frosting on first layer of cake. Sprinkle with ¼ cup of cookie crumbs. Repeat. Then add top layer and frost entire cake smooth. Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
For the chocolate drip and garnish
- In a medium bowl, microwave chocolate chips on high for 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat until completely melted. Stir in oil. It should pour easily. If too thick, add a little more oil. Drizzle onto top of cake. Let set. Pipe frosting on top with a 1M pastry tip. Add more cookie crumbs and cookies.
- Store cake covered in the refrigerator. For best taste results, serve cake at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
From Original post
I have such fond memories of selling Girl Scout cookies with my daughter when she was little. So many Thin Mints! Here's my daughter getting ready for the cookie sale back in 2008. Isn't she cute!
Who’s excited about Girl Scout Cookies? They’re on sale NOW and I can hardly stand it. Did you know that when you make a Girl Scout Cookie purchase, the proceeds stay local. How cool is that! That means you’re helping the awesome entrepreneurs who sell Girl Scout Cookies in your community get a taste of what it takes to be successful - teamwork, planning and a positive outlook (and that’s just the beginning)!
Rebecca says
Can u use Peppermint extract ?
Lise Ode says
Yes you can.
Leslie Anne Tarabella says
I just finished-off a box of thing mints . . . not by myself, of course! Now I need to find more to make this delicious looking cake. It's perfect for St. Patrick's Day as well!
Chase says
Excited to take this cake to work today! I made a few alterations so we'll see how it goes. I decided to put the cookie crumbs INTO the batter which made it stretch out to a 3 layer 8" cake. Even before I put the cookie crumbs in, I felt like the batter was REALLY minty with a 1/2 tsp of peppermint oil in (that's a whole dram of LorAnn oil!), so I decided to just frost with dark chocolate buttercream rather than a mint frosting! I did put the crushed cookies between cake layers though!