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.
This isn’t your ordinary mint chocolate chip cake! It’s extraordinary because it is decorated like an adorable monster with turquoise frosting and brown spots for the fur. Perfect for Halloween or a child’s birthday party. Every single bite of this fluffy cake has the perfect combination of chocolate and mint that will please all the guests.
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.
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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 it comes to creating the most adorable cake ideas. This gluten free mint chocolate chip cake is no exception.
If you haven’t done a lot of cake decorating, you might be surprised to find out 2 things.
First, it’s much easier than you would think and secondly it’s SO relaxing. Plus, you get to eat your goodie after you put in all the work too. Win-win! If you plan to use this cake for Halloween, feel free to make it scarier, or use different frosting colors!
If you haven’t made many gluten free baked goods, take a look at my guide How To Eat Gluten Free Anywhere + Best Gluten Free Diet Tips. It’s a great way to get acquainted with gluten free dining and may answer several questions you have. Don’t be afraid to reach out if you have other questions; I would love to help.
More gluten free decorated cakes:
- 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
Are you ready to make this cake?
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. The first step to make this gluten free chocolate mint cake is to mix your dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk to blend.
**Note** this is going to depend greatly on the flour to the starch ratio in the gluten free flour blend you choose to use. Some starchy gluten free flour blends will make your cake more gummy/dense. I really do love using Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend best, King Arthur's Measure for Measure Gluten Free Blend is also good.
Add the wet ingredients to a smaller bowl. (*If you choose to add a little green food coloring for the mint color, do it now.) Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add either chocolate chips or shaved chocolate. Mix well.
Add your cake batter to the cake pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes (this will depend on the size of your cake pans.)
How do you know when the cake is done?
You will know a gluten free cake has finished baking, just like you would a traditional cake. 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. Also, you can look at the sides of the cake. Has it pulled away from the pan slightly?
If so, this is a great indication that it’s done or at least almost done. Lastly, do the finger test. Tap the top of the cake very lightly. If you crack the top of the cake or leave an indention, then it’s not done baking yet. However, if it bounces right back up, then it’s probably done.
Now it is time to frost the cake!
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 separate bowls, one for each color you plan to use. Most of this cake was the turquoise color, so my daughter put most of the frosting in a larger bowl for this color. She had only a few brown spots, so she made much less of this color frosting.
Frosting Coloring Tip:
When coloring frosting, go very slowly in adding color. The color depth can change with just a drop or two. I always add 3-4 drops first, mix, then add more drops slowly a few at a time.
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 with frosting 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.
How to tie a frosting bag:
This tip is one my daughter really recommends. 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.
Frosting TIP:
You do not need a thick layer of frosting on your cake if you are decorating the whole cake as we are with monster fur. This will make your cake have too much frosting on the outside of the cake and it will be too sweet...which will drown out the mint flavors.
This is the star tip you will want to use if you are making frosting "stars" to cover your cake.
Sketch or plan out how you want to decorate your cake...do you want spots, or 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. All you need to do is 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, just place it in the fridge until it sets up. Once it’s hardened you can 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.
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?
Can I substitute gluten free flour in any recipe?
Yes, in most cases...for most recipes you find you can replace regular flour with gluten free flour. Just use the same amount of gluten free flour as you would normally use all-purpose flour. Plus, you will need to add 1 tsp of xanthan gum if the flour you are using doesn't’ already contain any.
Love cake? Give this gluten free poke cake recipe a try too!
📋 Recipe
Gluten Free Mint Chocolate Chip Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten free flour blend
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup butter melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup milk
- optional food coloring
- Frosting You need a lot if decorating the cake:
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/4 cup water you will probably need more, but add a little at a time after 1/4 cup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
- 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.
Gina Matsoukas
I LOVE mint chocolate chip + this cake is a dream! Thanks for recipe!
Sandi Gaertner
You are so welcome.
wilhelmina
This is SO cute!!! O love the flavors and everything else about this cute little cake!
Sandi Gaertner
Awww, thank you so much Wilhelmina 🙂
Noelle
This looks soooo good! I have never made a mint cake like this but it's on my list for the next special occasion
Sandi Gaertner
Wow, thank you so much Noelle 🙂