Would you ever guess this decadent double layer cake is healthy?
That it’s not completely over-the-top loaded with oil, sugar, calories, and fat?
Or that each slice has over 5 grams of fiber, 15% of the RDA for iron, and contains healthy MCFAs? Or that the luxurious frosting can be completely sugar-free?
And most importantly…
Yes, it tastes just as amazing as it looks.
Above, topped with my recipe for Healthy Chocolate Sauce.
Because, well, why not?
Mint Chocolate Double Layer Cake
- 2 cups spelt or whole wheat pastry flour
- 3/4 cup cacao or unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups xylitol or sugar of choice
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips, optional
- 2/3 cup yogurt of choice (such as Wholesoy)
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp pure peppermint extract
- 2 prepared batches of: Healthy Mint Frosting
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and grease two 8-in round cake pans. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, optional chips, and sweetener, and stir very well. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together all remaining ingredients (except frosting). Pour wet into dry and stir until just combined, then divide between the cake pans. Bake 25 minutes or until batter has risen and a toothpick in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before going around the sides with a knife and inverting the cakes. Frost one layer, stack the cakes, then refrigerate 30 minutes before frosting the entire cake. This cake is best if frosted right before serving. Due to the lack of preservatives in the frosting, leftovers are best stored in the refrigerator.
Click for: Mint Chocolate Cake Nutrition Facts
Link of the Day:
Rossi @ A Baking Girl says
Yum yum yum! Gorgeous photos, and this looks like it would definitely satisfy all my chocolate cravings!
Katie @ Peace Love & Oats says
I feel like mini chocolate chips should never be optional… haha
Yum Yucky says
I’m not only drooling, I’m panting like a hungry dog. NOM!
meg says
Do you think this would work OK baked as one big cake, instead of two smaller layers? It looks ridiculously delicious as is, but I’m also ridiculously lazy and would rather only have one cake pan to clean. 🙂
Chocolate Covered Katie says
You can just halve the recipe and use one pan.
Shawna says
oh man. i’m so not a cake person, but you had me at mint chocolate. might have to try this one! looks amazing.
Emilylovesraisins says
KATIE you’ve gone and made me drool again!! This sounds AHMAZING and now I don’t know if i should make this or your cauliflower cake!
Also, don’t feel the need to apologize for the last post’s pics. Everyone has those moments 😛
Rachel D. says
Well, I know what I’ll be making for St. Patty’s Day! 😀
Leah says
Katie this looks amazing does the nutritional content include the sugar or xylitol
Heidi Lynn says
I think it has to be the xylitol because of the sugar content being so low. Hope that helps!
The Zen Kat says
Oh don’t worry Katie, mistakes happen every day. 🙂 When you come up with a minty chocolatey delicious recipe the next day, all is forgotten :p
Steph says
Looks so yummy!
What are MCFAs? Monounsaturated coconut fatty acids?
L says
Medium-chain fatty acid.
Steph says
Oh I thought it was something like that! Usually I see it as MCT (medium chain triglycerides).
Mia (Mia in Germany) says
OMG, I’ll definitely make this gluten free and tell you how it turns out!! This looks over the top awesome.
Lauren says
Mia – hope you have or soon will try gluten free. Curious what you use. I mostly bake with almond flour. Have bought spelt for all Katie’s recipes but haven’t tried it yet. It’s not exaaaactly approved for my diet like almond flour but may have to give it a whirl with spelt if almond flour won’t work
Mia (Mia in Germany) says
Hi Lauren, I’ve tried it and commented on it, you just have to scroll down to the very end LOL
Hope it helps 🙂
Hollie says
I’m not the biggest minty fan but this recipe looks good. I think I might sub he mint for another flavor.
Shannon says
Daaaaaaaannng girl!!! You know how to make a cake look sexy. I wish i knew about this cake two days ago on my birthday. I ate a ton of sugar and felt horrible the next day, Ash Wednesday so I decided to give up my sailor mouth and sugar for Lent!!! But thank God for cck because i can give up sugar without giving up desserts and still be healthy.
Lisa @ Simple Pairings says
So unbelievable gorgeous. Probably the prettiest baked good on my feed today! You’ve done a great job here, and I can only imagine how delicious it is! Mint + chocolate = heaven, yes? Love your commitment to health, too – thanks for keeping it on the lighter side, while still keeping all the flavor! 🙂
Noora Turunen says
Yummy I absolutely have to try these! 🙂
Madison @ Eating For Balance says
Ugh… How DARE you make a mistake?!
😉 Lol. Just kidding of course! Anyone who would get mad over something like that is ridiculous. In my eye you are still pretty close to perfect.
Thanks for letting us know though instead of just changing the pictures as some would do.
Pass says
I’m disappointed in you Katie. You’ve messed up about the whole Guinness brownies being vegan, now you’re screwing up recipe titles. What’s next? Are you gonna “accidentally” drop some bacon bits into your next salad? I’m starting not to think you’re a reliable source of information.
EVA says
Haha, we’ve got another one!
Ally says
And i’m starting to think that you’re overreacting and Katie is wonderful and her recipes are always drool-worthy. (:
beth nocho says
Hi I wanted to know if you could use anything else for milk. I am allergic to milk and soy and nuts. I do not like coconut milk ether. thanks it looks gr8!
Anna says
You can generally use any non-dairy milk in Katie’s recipes. Not sure about the frosting recipe though as I believe you need the fat from the coconut milk to make the frosting
Katherine says
I bet you could use ricemilk, oatmilk, or sunflower seed milk if you are not allergic to those! Also, you might be surprised if you decide to try the coconut milk in the frosting, it usually doesn’t taste coconut-y if you combine it with other flavors (like mint!)
sarah says
If it is the “full fat” coconut milk in the frosting, it would be more difficult to replace (she specifies the canned kind so i have a feeling that is the case) but if Katie simply preferred coconut to any of the other non-dairy milks, then you could sub in rice milk, almond unless allergic, maybe hemp. You might want to try the coconut, its flavor is not dominant. Or a different frosting, maybe? Since it is the “body” of the frosting, other milks will make it very watery. @beth, have you tried any of the frostings from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World? I use their vegan “buttercream”, it might work here.
I know I’m very late, but wanted to add that anyway just in case! :0) I am so excited to try this, it just looks wonderful, like everything else in this a-mazing Blog!!
sarah says
Yes, this will definitely just be mint-flavored milk w/o the coconut:
1 (13.5oz) can full-fat coconut milk (must be canned)
1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp pure peppermint extract
stevia or powdered sugar (try 1 tbsp powdered sugar or a pinch pure stevia)
optional: 1/8 tsp spirulina or a few drops green food coloring (I used spirulina)
optional: chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips
I really suggest looking around the Blog for a different frosting, or ‘suck it up’ as they say and try the coconut – i lovelove coconut ice cream of all flavors! It’s such good yummy stuff! :0)
Alison (Fueling for Fitness) says
I gave up chocolate for Lent… and now it seems like every where I look there is chocolate to be had! 🙂 I can’t wait to try this after Easter! At least it’s something to look forward to 🙂
EVA says
I was wondering what the Sunshine Baked Oatmeal picture was doing on the apple bar recipe….even more questionable is how I know the exact recipe it’s from. I SPEND TOO MUCH TIME HERE.
Not being the biggest fan of mint, and being required to follow a low-fat diet due to my severe digestion problems, I’m hoping these modifications will work:
-Omit peppermint extract
-Sub 1/4 cup oil for applesauce (hopefully that works)
-Replace the mint frosting with your peanut butter frosting recipe
-And of course, make it gluten-free.
I know this kind of takes away from the whole point of the recipe, but it’s chocolate and peanut butter for god’s sake! And it still contains all Katie components! I think I’m in the clear.
maura says
I have been loving this new chocolate quinoa (GF) cake lately. Family and friends love it too. I will try this mint recipe with it!
Lauren says
Maura…is this quinoa choc cake Katie’s? Curious about it!!!
Maura says
no, here it is though:
http://makingthymeforhealh.com/2013/12/04/best-ever-chocolate-quinoa-cake-gluten-free/
Rachel says
When I got this recipe in my inbox this morning I knew I was going to make it and I did. I am new to this website and so far have only made the chewy granola bars and reeses chocolate candy eggs. Both were awesome.
The taste of this cake blows me away. How can it not have butter or eggs?? It is delicious.
The only ingredient I didn’t have was yogurt and didn’t want to get in the car for that one ingredient , so I used sour cream. I will definitely be making it again…probably try it for cupcakes instead of a 2 layer cake.
Chocolate Covered Katie says
Thank you so much for making it so quickly! I think you were the first 🙂
Norma | Allspice and Nutmeg says
I love that it’s decadent yet healthy. It looks delicious!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
This cake looks absolutely amazing and, I’ll bet, would be so easy to make gluten free. I am going to give it a shot!
Gisela says
Love your recipes Katie. But i think you should take multiple photos of the foods rather than just taking a couple and cropping them differently.
Chocolate Covered Katie says
There are three different photos of the cake in this post, so I’m not really sure what you mean 🙁
Chocolate Covered Katie says
As I said, there are three different photos of the recipe. I took many more, but I only post the ones I feel are best.
Steph says
Of course this is your blog so feel free to ignore my comment, but you did post 5 images when there were only 3 pictures. Besides, 2 of the 3 look no different from each other. I think the only difference was the fork and how zoomed in the shot was. I would have liked to see a picture of the entire cake. I’m sure it was beautiful!
Ceara @ Ceara's Kitchen says
WOW! This cake looks so amazing – you kinda had me at mint and chocolate! Can’t wait to try out your healthy mint frosting! Thanks Katie! 😀
Lisa @bitesforbabies says
I’m not a mint and chocolate kind of person…but that looks delicious!!!
Caeli @ Little Vegan Bear says
Holy moly…chocolate and mint, my favourite combo. This looks absolutely divine!
Victoria says
Katie, thank you so much for owning up to your error. So many bloggers would have just edited and pretended it never happened. Nobody is perfect, so you don’t need to apologize!
Chocolate Covered Katie says
I was so embarrassed I definitely wished I could have just edited it out without saying a thing! But I knew people had actually MADE the recipe, and covering it up and pretending I hadn’t made a mistake would’ve been extremely unethical.
Victoria says
I know what you mean – I’ve made mistakes professionally, and sometimes, all I want to do is go home and crawl under my big, fluffy blanket. And sometimes that’s what I do :). But being honest is always for the best.
Just…maybe after some time under the fluffy blanket.
Kim @ FITsique says
I do not know how you do it! You are so creative and make the best tasting and looking recipes! Whenever I think I am getting better at developing recipes I come across a picture like this on your blog and l remember how much of a beginner I am! I hope one day to be 25% of the recipe creator that you are! Any tips for good food pictures?
Chocolate Covered Katie says
Aw thank you! It has definitely been a progression, and if you go back and look at my older photos some of them are awful!
Here is a link to all of my photography posts, so hopefully something in there can be helpful! https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/tag/photography/
Kim @ FITsique says
thank you!!! I am reading these now! 🙂
Jordan @ The Blonde Vegan says
I have been on such a mint chocolate kick the past few weeks… Maybe it has something to do with the thin mint girl scout cookies flying around and trying to create healthy vegan recipes that taste just as good (if not better). I’m going to have to give these a try! Woo!
Irene says
OMG. FAVORITE CAKE POSTED ON MY BIRTHDAY.
mint frosting. chocolate layers.
i love you. :’)
Lia @ Luscious Living says
That looks so good. It definitely doesn’t look like a healthy cake, but a decadent treat!!
Steph says
That is seriously the prettiest green I have ever seen 🙂 It looks so good, especially with the sauce drizzled on top!
Melissa @ Nourish By Melissa says
Ah you’ve done it again! This looks so good I can hardly believe it’s healthy! Yet another amazing recipe 🙂
Allison @ Clean Wellness says
Great photos! Love the chocolate action shot. I always prefer chocolate mint over straight-up chocolate. Your taste-testers must be very happy people -I would be!
Maria says
I happened on to your website when looking for a “new” banana bread recipe (I’m not a vegan or vegetarian). I made and loved the marble banana bread as well as the one minute chocolate cake. I love your recipes and am ready to try this cake but wondered if regular flour may be used in place of Spelt or whole wheat pastry flour? Thanks so much.
Unofficial CCK Helper says
Yes, all purpose white flour will work in this recipe.
Kayla says
This is healthy?!? What! That’s amazing! I love this. Keep it up 🙂
Crystal says
I just discovered your site last week and have already attempted (with surprising success!) many of your recipes: http://confessionsofcrystal.weebly.com/ I gave you credit and linked back in my blog of course. 🙂 I’m brand new to the blogging world so if anyone reading this would check it out, I would really appreciate it. I love the supportive community here and would love to be a part of it. 🙂 I’m definitely putting this cake on my “to-bake” list. I’ve seriously spent so much time when I should have been sleeping or doing homework pinning Chocolate Covered Katie recipes instead! 🙂
Chocolate Covered Katie says
Thank you so much! I just checked out your blog and it looks great 🙂
Jacqui says
That looks unbelievable! Seriously need to try making this
Mia (Mia in Germany) says
O.K., I made it gluten free. For the two of us, I halved the recipe and used 1/2 cup millet flour, 1/4 cup sweet rice flour and 1/4 cup tapioca starch, plus 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum. For the yoghurt I used Greek sheep yoghurt, and for the oil 1/8 cup olive oil and 1 tbsp. melted coconut oil. Cooked the cake in two small loaf pans, so I got a rectangular cake 🙂 It tasted awesome, TOTALLY awesome, I never actually have eaten a cream frosted cake that agreed with me. This was stunning, because it not only agreed with me but even took my stomach ache away. Weird, I know, but that’s how it was.
The cake was a bit dense, though, so I think for a fluffier cake, next time I’d add some egg replacer or some additional baking powder. Or maybe omit the heavy yoghurt and use soured soy milk. DH and I are big mint chocolate fans, so this is a keeper. Thanks so much for coming up with it, it totally made my Sunday brunch today 😀
Chocolate Covered Katie says
Ooh wow, I am so glad it worked!
Mia (Mia in Germany) says
Another update: I froze the left overs last week and thawed them today. The cake was just as good as one week ago, nearly better because the cake layer was more gooey, and the mint flavour seemed to have developed. I’m in peppermint heaven LOL
Kammie @ Sensual Appeal says
Wow, Katie – that is one good looking cake! I love the colors and layers! Perfect for St Paddys day.
Cindy says
I made this beautiful cake using 1 cup brown rice flour and 1 cup coconut flour and for the sugar I used 1 cup coconut sugar. I thought the mint extract in the cake would be too much so I omitted that. It was very dry when I finished mixing it so added another 1/2 cup of water. I baked it in a 9 x 13 pan instead of the layers. It came out a little dense, kind of like a moist fudge brownie and had a bit of a gritty after texture (probably the coconut flour) but it tasted amazing. I made this for a birthday party at work and didn’t tell anyone it was healthy. The birthday girl was amazed when I told her it had coconut flour, sugar, oil and milk in it because she doesn’t like coconut but it didn’t taste coconutty at all. Thanks for a great blog. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Tashawn says
Can this be made vegan. What would be a good substitute for the yogurt? Would applesauce work??
Chocolate Covered Katie says
The recipe is actually vegan (as is this blog). 🙂
I use So Delicious coconutmilk yogurt.
Susane Carlson says
I use Pamela’s Bread Mix for bread, pies, pastries,etc for almost everything and I baked this cake today with it–it is marvelous. I always have to make substitutes, use what I have on hand, so I used 1 cup of Monk fruit sweetener & 1/2 of sugar, had only 1/2 container of yogurt so I added an egg with that. It is delicious, I had been craving a real chocolateee dessert ! Used dry whipped topping mix with 1/2 cup of lite coconut milk & peppermint flavor.
Christina says
Can I sub all of the sugar with honey?
miffy says
I’m making it now, it’s the middle of the night! I think I’ve done something wrong though – it’s been 25 minutes and the cakes are still quite liquid! I hope I did my Fahrenheit to Celsius conversion right… 180C? When I used the olive oil (vegetable oil) I had a bad feeling about it, could be that. Not sure. I’ll post back later when the cakes have been in the oven longer. Smells awesome 😀
miffy says
I had it in the oven for about an hour and 15 min so it worked out 🙂
The frosting didn’t turn out though. I’m not sure what I did wrong but does powdered sugar mean icing sugar because that’s what I used. So I took the cakes to the party I made them for and said the frosting was ‘peppermint sauce’ and we heated the cake and poured the cold ‘peppermint sauce’ on it. It was delicious!
Unofficial CCK Helper says
Probably you got a bad can of coconut milk, which can happen, as Katie says. You can always try coconut cream, or shake the can of coconut milk at the store to make sure it’s not liquidy.
Priscilla says
I have tried to make icing two times. I used THAI Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk,
unsweetened. When I opened the can half was solid and half water. I put in refrigerator over night it made no difference. It was still separated. My icing never got thick??? Could you tell me what I my doing wrong? Thank you.
Am says
Hello!
Merely speaking from experience… I used the creamy solid half, and I think that is what CCK is referring to. The watery part, I separated and will use for something else. The creamy part, with the other ingredients added in, made a terrific frosting/ snack!!
Priscilla says
Thank you for your help.
Am says
Hi! I am going to make this as a surprise for my family on Easter. 😀 Trying it gluten free :)… anyways, instead of the water, would the watery portion of the can of coconut work? I bought 2 mini cans, and have semi-thick watery liquid leftover… Thanks!
Am says
Reporting back: I made it gluten free – using 1 1/2 cups brown rice flour, and 1/2 cup cornstarch – and instead of sugar, used 3/4 c. maple syrup. I went ahead and just used water (‘stead of the coconut milk watery remainder). I made it about 5 days before I served it, and made the frosting 3 days in advance. I frosted it several hours before serving to add moisture. My family loved it!! Even my brother who does not usually like any of my clean/gf baking 🙂 Thanks so much!! It was a great Easter treat for all of us.
Unofficial CCK Helper says
Yes, you can always sub that. Sounds good!
Tessa says
Hi Katie!
I made this pie yesterday, but with your healthy Reese’s pieces frosting. I subbed the 1/4 cup oil with apple sauce, used a few kinds of wheat(mostly gluten free), and put in little pieces of dark chocolate. I was really nervous about how it’d turn out, because it was a pie for my friends sweet 16. I used only one pan, slightly bigger than the one you used, and I didn’t cut it horizontally either. I just put the frosting on top. And it was AMAZING. Really, one of the best chocolate pies I ever ate, and my friends thought the same; they aren’t foodies at all, are always amazed by my weird combinations of food which turn out to be really good, loved the banana egg white pancakes I introduced them too; and they loved it. They wanted more and more and we did, because we could and didn’t have to feel that guilty!! I also made your chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and I made muffins out of chickpea batter; everyone loved it all. It really tastes like unhealthy comfort food with 3719193927 unhealthy ingredients, but you and I know it isn’t. 😉 I’m extremely grateful to you, and will definitely make it again. So for the people who crave chocolate as much as I do: this one also really goes with Katie’s healthy Reese’s frosting.
Love your blog and have a nice Sunday!!
Erin says
I’m making this cake for my sister’s birthday. How many batches of frosting does the recipe for the mint chocolate frosting shots make?
Unofficial CCK Helper says
You can cover a cake with one, or a double layer cake with two.
Dhara L says
Thank you SO much for this recipe. Every cake i’ve baked before I found your recipe has turned out badly. The cake I made from your recipe was perfect. It was light, fluffy, moist, and firm all at the same time. Everyone was asking me for the recipe. I told them all about your website. Again, thank you so much! This is now my go-to chocolate cake recipe.
Megan says
Do you think I could use coconut cream instead of yogurt?
Megan says
Has anyone tried baking this recipe as cupcakes instead of a large cake? I’m thinking I”ll try it with a slightly shorter baking time.
Kelly says
Hi- sorry have looked but can’t see this info- how many servings should this make? Thank you!
Aini says
Can i substitute the yogurt with buttermilk?
Jason Sanford says
You can always experiment! Be sure to report back if you do.
Ramya says
Wonderful recipe!
My son wants the flavors reversed…a white mint cake without chocolate and a chocolate frosting.
So if I omit the cocoa powder in the cake base and make it plain should I add more of the flour?