These mint chocolate cupcakes have a rich chocolate cupcake base and are topped with a creamy white chocolate mint buttercream and then garnished with fresh mint and chocolate curls!
Chocolate and mint has always been one of my favorite flavor combos! From mint chocolate chip ice cream to Andes mints, but especially thin mint cookies! I was a Girl Scout for a few years when I was younger for one reason and one reason only; the cookies!! So it only made sense to garnish these mint chocolate cupcakes with Thin Mints!
These mint chocolate cupcakes would be the perfect green treat for St. Patrick's Day or Christmas!
You might also like these mint chocolate macarons or these chocolatey black forest cupcakes!
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Ingredient Notes
You just need a few simple ingredients to make these fun mint chocolate cupcakes!
Vegetable Oil - I use oil instead of butter in this cake to help keep the cupcakes super moist and delicious! You can also use canola oil or a neutral olive oil.
Cake Flour - I always use cake flour in my cakes and cupcakes because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
Cocoa Powder - My absolute favorite cocoa powder to use in my baking is the King Arthur Flour Triple Cocoa Blend! It's a blend of natural, Dutch, and black cocoa and is perfect for any baking. But you can easily substitute whatever unsweetened cocoa powder you have on hand.
Espresso Powder - This is optional, but I love how espresso powder enhances and deepens the chocolate flavor! King Arthur is my favorite brand of high quality espresso powder!
White Chocolate - Use white chocolate baking bars as opposed to chocolate chips!! Chips contain emulsifiers that help them keep their shape, which also means they won't combine as smoothly as chocolate bars.
Peppermint Extract - You can find peppermint extract next to the vanilla at the grocery store or online! Just note that peppermint extract is very strong, so you only need a little bit for great peppermint flavor!
Green Food Coloring - This is optional, but I added a little bit of AmeriColor Laurel food coloring to get the lovely green hue of the chocolate mint buttercream.
Thin Mint Cookies - I like to garnish these mint chocolate cupcakes with Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies! But you could also garnish with Andes Mints! If it's not Girl Scout cookie season?? Just make your own thin mints!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Chocolate Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, eggs, milk, vanilla, and peppermint extract.
Gently mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. The batter will be thin.
Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full).
Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.
Let the chocolate mint cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Cupcake Decorating Tips
Make sure you let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting!!
For these big beautiful frosting swirls on these chocolate mint cupcakes, I use the 1M tip from this decorating kit. The tips are much larger than standard sizes and so fun for decorating cupcakes!
I used a few drops of AmeriColor Laurel food coloring to get the lovely green hue of the chocolate mint buttercream.
Cupcake Garnishes
There are several fun ways you can garnish these mint chocolate cupcakes!
- Dark chocolate curls
- Fresh mint leaves
- Thin Mint Girl Scout cookie
- Andes Mints
Recipe FAQ's
These cupcakes will last in the fridge for up to 3 days. However, they taste best when served at room temperature! I like to let them sit at room temperature for about an hour before serving. Wait to top with thin mints and fresh mint until right before serving.
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Mint Chocolate Cupcakes
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 ¼ cup cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil, substitute canola oil or light olive oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
White Chocolate Mint Buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 4 ounces white chocolate , melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2-3 drops green food coloring, optional
- 1-2 teaspoons milk, if needed
Garnish
- thin mint cookies, or Andes mints
- chocolate shavings
- fresh mint
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, eggs, milk, vanilla, and peppermint extract.
- Gently mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. The batter will be thin.
- Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full).
- Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.
- Let the chocolate mint cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
White Chocolate Mint Buttercream
- Melt the white chocolate and let cool almost to room temperature. It should be melted but cool to the touch. I prefer to melt the chocolate in the microwave in intervals of 20 seconds, stirring each time.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and powdered sugar together until smooth.
- Set the mixer to low speed and slowly drizzle in the melted white chocolate until it's fully incorporated into the buttercream.
- Then add in the peppermint extract and green food coloring, and beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes or until the buttercream is super light and fluffy.
- If the frosting in too thick, add in 1-2 teaspoons of milk to thin it out a bit.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes and garnish with chocolate shavings, thin mint cookies, and a sprig of fresh mint!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Paula says
Flavor was good, but the cake was a little dry. The buttercream was delicious!
Minal Mehta Doshi says
So far so good, but batter is not runny like indicated so I’m not sure how it will turn out!