Chocolate mint loaf cake
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Chocolate mint loaf cake

By Sarah Cook

Bring some contemporary glamour to your table with this layered sponge flavoured with After Eight icing and peppermint

  • Prep:1 hrs 30 mins
    Cook:40 mins
    plus cooling and firming
  • Serves 10
  • More effort

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 656
  • fat 27g
  • saturates 16g
  • carbs 95g
  • sugars 74g
  • fibre 3g
  • protein 7g
  • salt 0.7g

Ingredients

  • 2 x 85g salted butter, plus extra for greasing
  • 2 x 50g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
  • 2 x 120g plain flour
  • 2 x 140 golden caster sugar
  • 6 tbsp cocoa
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 large eggs
  • 284ml carton buttermilk
  • 300g box After Eights, broken
  • 50ml double cream
  • turquoise food colouring
  • 300g Regal-Ice Ready to Roll icing
  • 1 tsp peppermint extract

Tip

Decorate your chocolate mint loaf cake

Try decorating your bake with candy canes, edible glitter and peppermint sweeties for a really festive feel. 

Method

  1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line the base and sides of a 22cm square tin. Melt 85g butter and 50g chocolate together in a small pan. Mix 120g flour, 140g sugar, 3 tbsp of the cocoa and ½ tsp bicarbonate in a bowl.

  2. Whisk together 1 egg with half the buttermilk (about 140ml). Scrape the melted chocolate mixture and egg mixture into the dry ingredients, along with 100ml boiling water. Whizz briefly with an electric whisk until lump-free. Scrape into the tin and bake for 18-20 mins until a skewer comes out clean.

  3. Cool the cake in the tin for 15 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling while you repeat steps 1 and 2 to make a second cake. Cool both completely.

  4. To make the icing, melt the After Eights and cream together in a saucepan. Cool, then chill until spreadable.

  5. Trim the cake edges, then halve to make 4 rectangles. Use half of the icing to sandwich the layers together, then spread the rest over the top and sides. Chill.

  6. Knead some colouring into the ready-to-roll icing with the peppermint extract. Roll out on an icing sugar dusted surface, then lift over to cover the cake, smoothing with your hands. Trim excess icing, then scatter with decorations.

  7. Chill again for 1 hr to firm up, then serve or keep in the fridge, removing 30 mins before serving.

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