Gluten Free Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

Super moist gluten free mint chocolate chip cake with three delicious layers will knock your socks off. It tastes just like mint chip ice cream!! What makes my mint chocolate chip cake extra special is the intense mint flavor and the fact that it’s decorated so cute with rich, creamy buttercream icing. 

One of the things we love to do at the Fearless Dining house is to bake and decorate cakes. My daughter is a whiz when creating the most adorable cake ideas. This gluten free mint chocolate chip cake is no exception.

Decorated as a monster, this cake is perfect for a kid's birthday party! She gives step-by-step decorating instructions so you can easily make this monster cake too!

If you can’t get enough of this gluten free chocolate mint chip cake, you should see some of my other heavenly gluten free cakes.

Ingredient Notes:

• Gluten Free Flour Blend - I tested this recipe using Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend and King Arthur's Measure for Measure Gluten Free Blend . That doesn't mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
• Xanthan Gum - If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
• Baking Powder - Use aluminum-free.
• Non-Dairy Milk - I used almond milk but other dairy-free kinds of milk will work. I do not recommend canned coconut milk.
• Butter - Use unsalted butter
• Eggs - Use size large.
• Vanilla Extract - Use pure vanilla extract.
• Powdered Sugar - This is for the frosting.
• Chocolate Chips - You can use any gluten free brand.

Tips For Sucess:

• Do not use a standing mixer. They tend to overmix the cake batter, making your cake turn out dense.
• To make this cake dairy-free, use plant-based butter.
• Be sure to set your oven rack in the middle position of the oven so your cake bakes evenly.

For more tips, check out my Gluten Free Cake Troubleshooting Guide. You may also want to see my Tools For Making Gluten Free Cake for my recommendations.

Recipe Step-By-Step Directions:

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350º F. The first step to make this gluten free chocolate mint cake is to mix your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. For best results, whisk to blend.

Step 2: Add the wet ingredients to a smaller mixing bowl. (*If you add a little green food coloring for the mint color, do it now.) Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add chocolate chips or shaved chocolate. Mix well.

Step 3: Add your cake batter to the cake pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes (this will depend on the size of your cake pans.)

Remove the cakes from the oven. Stick a toothpick into the thickest part of the cake and check to see if it comes out clean. A clean toothpick means the cake is done.

Allow your cakes to cool completely on a cooling rack before frosting!!!

How to frost a cake to look like a monster:

Mix up your frosting (see directions in the recipe card below). Separate the frosting into bowls, one for each color you plan to use.

Most of this cake was turquoise, so my daughter put most of the frosting in a larger mixing bowl for this color. She had only a few brown spots, so she made much less of this color frosting.

The first step is to frost the layers and build your cake. If the tops of your cake are not flat, use a knife or cake leveling tool to remove part of the rounded top. Fill a frosting bag and pipe a small dab of frosting on the swiveling cake stand.

Trust me, if you are frosting a cake that is elaborate like this, you NEED a cake stand that spins so that it is easier to frost the cake.

Once the layers are assembled, frost the outside of the cake. Use a frosting smoother (comes with the swiveling stand I list above) to coat and smooth the frosting on the top and sides of the cake. 

When coloring frosting, go very slowly in adding color. The color depth can change with just a drop or two. I always mix 3-4 drops first, then add more drops slowly, a few at a time.

Tie off your frosting bag to prevent frosting from squirting out the top. My daughter recommends doing this. Use a rubber band to tie off the end of the frosting bag. This will prevent frosting from leaking out all over your hands while you are frosting the cake.

You will want to use this star tip if you are making frosting "stars" to cover your cake.

Sketch or plan how you want to decorate your cake...do you want spots, all one color, etc.? Cover the cake in the frosting stars as shown.

How to make the chocolate eyes and mouth:

When Making this gluten free chocolate mint chip cake, the chocolate eyes, and mouth are one of the most important parts. You only need to melt chocolate and pipe them out onto wax paper. You can do all sorts of designs and shapes for all your cake decorating this way.

Then after you have it piped out the way you want, place it in the fridge until it sets up. Once the chocolate has hardened, add it to the cake with some icing to keep it in place. 

You can also buy pre-made candy eyes but note they may not be large enough for your cake. Also, make sure the sprinkles you use are safe by looking at my list of gluten free sprinkles.

Here is the top of the cake; see how she used the frosting to fill in around the back of the eyes to give them stability.

Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ:

Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have other questions; I would love to help.

More Gluten Free Cake Recipes:

• Gluten Free Unicorn Cake {Gluten Free Strawberry Cake}
• Chocolaty Gluten Free Chocolate Brownie Cake
• Gluten Free Vanilla Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
• Gluten Free Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

Love cake? Give this gluten free poke cake recipe a try too!

📖 Recipe

Gluten Free Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

Sandi Gaertner

A delicious Gluten Free Mint Chocolate Chip Cake with buttercream frosting. The cake was decorated as a monster for a kid's birthday party.

4.80 from 5 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Additional Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 50 minutes mins

Course Gluten Free Dessert Recipes

Cuisine American

Servings 14

Calories 569 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 cups gluten free flour blend * see note
• ▢ 1 cup sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ¾ cup butter melted
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons peppermint extract
• ▢ ½ cup chocolate chips
• ▢ ¾ cup milk
• ▢ optional food coloring
• ▢ Frosting You need a lot if decorating the cake:
• ▢ 6 cups powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 cup butter
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla
• ▢ ¼ cup water you will probably need more, but add a little at a time after ¼ cup

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350º F.
• In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
• Add the wet ingredients to a small bowl and whisk to blend.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the chocolate chips and mix.
• Pour the cake batter into three 8 inch cake pans.
• Bake 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out dry.
• Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
• Add the frosting ingredients to a standing mixer. Wait until the cake is fully cooled before frosting it.
• Follow the cake decorating instructions in this post.

Notes

1. I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF, Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend, and Authentic Foods Multi Blend in this recipe. That doesn't mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
2. If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
3. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the donut. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the donuts need to bake longer.
4. *Note, if you are not going to decorate the cake as a monster, half the frosting recipe!

SPECIAL NOTE

Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn't test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 569kcalCarbohydrates: 83gProtein: 3gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 87mgSodium: 262mgPotassium: 62mgFiber: 2gSugar: 70gVitamin A: 779IUCalcium: 56mgIron: 1mg

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Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

This recipe was updated from an older August 2019 post with more recipe details.

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