I love baking brownies. I think I have mentioned that a lot of times. Much as I like experimenting with brownie recipes, I have my favourite three I like to bake. One of them is this chocolate mint brownie. Having said that, among the three, I have not baked the mint brownie for over a year for the simple reason that the after-dinner mints I like using for this particular recipe is nowhere to be found in the confectionery aisle of my local supermarkets. Might as well mention it, Ballantyne after-dinner mint sticks made with dark chocolate. I tried using other brands of course. The brownie cake turned out good but I missed the fresh minty-air in the kitchen when baking this. I am kidding you not, with the Ballantyne after-dinner mint sticks, the kitchen is so minty fresh with its smell that you just wanna stay there and chill out. So, I am still in search for a good brand substitute. Or maybe, I should just make my own after-dinner mints. Yes, maybe next time I will. For now, I bought the ones I used the last time. But this time, I added some melted Whittaker’s dark peppermint chocolate squares. Of course, you can use your favourite brand and I am sure the mint brownies will turn out perfect.
The kitchen air was not as minty but the flavour and texture of this brownie cake make this still divine and indulgent. Just a hint of mint. Not too strong. Peppermint flavour can be bitter and unpleasant if you put too much in a recipe but this one has got the right balance of chocolate and mint flavour to it. I love serving these dusted with icing sugar and cocoa powder mixture and with some fresh berries. Kinda naughty but very very nice.
Ingredients
- 200g butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2/3 cup plain flour,sifted
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder,sifted
- 50g after-dinner mints, roughly chopped
- 200g dark peppermint-flavoured eating chocolate, melted
- icing sugar and extra cocoa powder, to dust
- Preheat oven to 180C degrees. Grease a deep 22cm round cake pan. Line base and side with baking paper.
- Place butter, melted eating chocolate and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until combined. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Stir in sifted flour and cocoa. Spread mixture into prepared pan.
- Push mint pieces into mixture so that mints are covered with cake batter and do not touch side of pan.
- Bake in moderate oven for about an hour or just until firm. Do not over bake.
- Stand cake in pan for 5 minutes. Turn into wire rack to cool.
- Just before serving, dust top with icing sugar and cocoa powder mixture.
This is really nice with coffee but personally, I like drinking very cold water after a slice. Love the chocolate-y flavour and that burst of fresh mint in my palate when doing that! Try it and I promise you will love it.
