An easy-but-wicked summer dessert – easy to make ahead and enjoyed by everyone!
The dark chocolate is wonderfully rich, interspersed with the crunch of the chocolate chips, and finished with a cool, smooth and creamy mint icing. Keep in the fridge until serving for an extra burst of freshness.
Ingredients (cake layer)
100g dark chocolate
125g butter
100g sugar
50g cream cheese
3 eggs
185g plain flour
100g dark chocolate chips
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Method
- Melt the chocolate via your preferred method – be that microwave, over a pan of hot water, etc. Set aside to cool
- Beat together the butter, sugar, and cream cheese
- Beat in the eggs and milk , with a tablespoon of flour
- Once the chocolate is cool enough – it should only feel lukewarm to touch, quickly but carefully add to the mixture and quickly beat in. Too hot and you’ll cook the eggs, too cold or too slow to beat and the chocolate will solidify in before it’s mixed! It’s not as tricky as it sounds but make sure your wooden spoon is at the ready
- Add the flour, baking powder, and chocolate chips. By putting the chocolate chips in last, they’ll get a thin coating of flour, which should stop them sinking during cooking- Beat together until all combined, but don’t over-mix
- Pour into a well-greased tin, 20 cm / 8 inches square is ideal
- Bake at 180 degrees for 25 – 35 minutes. Test with a skewer, but be wary of mistaking melted chocolate chips for uncooked cake batter! It should also start to pull away from the side of the tin when ready.
- Leave to cool in the tin, so the chocolate chips have time to set
I find it better to ice within the tin as well – you can ensure an even coating right up to side, and you can even refrigerate in the tin until you’re ready to slice and serve.
Mint icing
75g butter
Few drops peppermint essence
Couple drops lemon juice
200g icing sugar
Green food colouring
50g dark chocolate chips, to decorate
- Beat together all the ingredients bar the chocolate chips. The food colouring is entirely optional but I think adds to the effect
- Spoon the icing onto the cake, and spread evenly with a small palette knife or the back of a spoon, making sure you have even coverage at the sides and the corners
- Sprinkle generously with the dark chocolate chips
- Wrap in cling-film and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve – I’d recommend a minimum of an hour in the fridge, maximum of 2 days
- Cut into squares as large as you please – mine were big and chunky and didn’t last long at all!
