Chocolate Mint Bundt Cake

The history of chocolate can be traced back more than 3,000 years to the Maya, Toltec, and Aztec people who prepared a beverage from the fruit of the cocoa bean. The Maya considered chocolate to be the food of the gods, held the cacao tree to be sacred, and buried dignitaries with bowls of chocolate. It was originally used as a drink, that was often bitter, so when the Europeans brought chocolate back from South America, they often sweetened it with sugars and other flavors, including mint.

The combination of chocolate and mint is a favored combination that dates back to the 16h century Europeans. You get the flavors of rich chocolate blended together with the cool and refreshing flavors of mint. Just perfect. It has always been one of my favorites too. Today, the combination of chocolate and mint is used for many sweets and treats.

Chocolate and mint is often a holiday favorite as well. So for the upcoming Christmas holidays, I made a chocolate mint bundt cake. I love making bundt cakes for a lot of reasons. I think they are prettier and more festive, plus they also tend to feed a few more people than just a regular round cake.

Mint Chocolate Bundt Cake

I started off with a basic chocolate bundt cake recipe then added the minty flavors and toppings to make it more festive and special.

3 cups flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups or 3 sticks softened butter

2 3/4 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp mint extract

5 large eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

2 oz chopped chocolate chocolate morsels – I used mint M & M’s.

Chocolate ganache, optional

Preheat the oven to 350* F or 180* C.

Spray a bundt cake pan with cooking spray and then add a light dusting of flour to coat the pan.

Combine the dry ingredients together and set aside.

Mix the butter and sugar together until creamy, then add the eggs, 1 at a time, blending in between each addition. Add the vanilla and mint. Alternate the flour and milk, adding 1/2 at a time and mixing in between each addition.

Pour 1/2 the batter into the prepared bundt pan then add your chocolate around the middle. Add the remaining batter on top. You can also incorporate the chocolate into the batter so it is not jus in the center. But because I was adding the mint M & M’s, I chose to just have them in the center. Hopefully the center will have a colorful ribbon around it.

Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before topping.

I drizzled some chocolate ganache on my cake then added the rest of my mint M & M’s around the top tp make it more festive. They kept sliding off at first, so some of my M & M’s got a little more chocolaty from their slide down the cake. 🙂

If you start with the basics, you can make slight variations and changes that will completely change the whole personality of the original. Have fun with it and be creative. 🙂

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.