Gluten Free Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

 This gluten-free mint chocolate chip cake is moist, and tender, has a rich chocolate flavor,, and is finished with a mint chocolate chip buttercream frosting. A totally crowd-pleasing recipe and dairy-free friendly.

Mint chocolate chip has always been one of my favorite ice cream flavors, and oh my gosh this gluten-free mint chocolate cake tastes exactly like that.

It has a rich chocolate cake base with just the right amount of mint, then is finished off with a mint chocolate chip frosting that is absolutely incredible.

I promise you can’t tell this recipe is gluten-free at all, you’ll have all of your friends and family lusting over this cake!

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Rich & moist
• Easy to make
• Gluten-free
• Dairy-free friendly

How to make gluten-free mint chocolate cake

Line two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper and set aside. I love these parchment rounds.

Add all wet ingredients aside from the hot water to a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer for about 30 seconds.

Add in the dry ingredients, aside from the chocolate bar, making sure to spoon and level the flour, don’t scoop straight from the bag.

Beat with the electric mixer until it starts to come together, then pour in the hot water.

Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes. Add in the chocolate bar if using and fold to combine. Transfer to your prepared cake pans and bake for 35-43 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool in the pans for about 15 minutes, then flip onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Because the tops can come up a bit, I suggest flipping and then flipping again so the domed part is face up. You can leave it as is or cut it off with a cake leveler or knife.

While the cake is cooling, add the softened butter to a bowl and beat for about 2-3 minutes.

Add in the powdered sugar in about 2-3 batches and beat until combined. Add in the milk, mint,, and salt and mix until combined. If it’s too thick, add more milk, if it’s too thin, add more sugar.

Taste and add more mint as desired. Add in the food coloring if using.

Fold in about 1/2 cup of cacao nibs or a chopped-up chocolate bar. Once the cake has cooled completely, frost and enjoy!

How to store and freeze

Once prepared, this mint chocolate cake will be kept for about 3-5 days at room temperature or 5-7 in the fridge.

I like to keep it right on the cake stand with a cover, but once it is sliced it can help to put some parchment on the sliced part so it doesn’t dry out.

You can definitely freeze this cake before frosting! Just allow it to cool completely, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap (in multiple layers so it won’t dry out),, and freeze for up to 1 month.

You can frost right from frozen, just let it come to room temperature before serving!

Ingredient swaps

SUGAR. I used white granulated sugar which I recommend here. You can swap for coconut sugar if you prefer a refined sugar-free option, but the texture may be a bit less fluffy.

FLOUR. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour. If you are making this gluten-free, I recommend sticking to a GF all-purpose flour that has xanthan gum. If you are not gluten-free, you can swap for just a regular all-purpose flour.

MILK. I used almond milk because that is usually what I have on hand, but you can use any kind of milk, either dairy or non-dairy.

BUTTER. You only need butter for the frosting, but you can definitely swap for a vegan butter like Earth Balance for a dairy-free option.

Cake pan conversions

I used two 8-inch cake pans for this recipe, but you can definitely use either two 9-inch, three 6-inch, about 2 dozen cupcakes, or one 9×13 inch sheet cake.

Bake times will vary, if you use the two 9-inch pans, you will bake for about 5 minutes less than recommended, and about 5-10 more minutes for a 6-inch or a sheet cake. For cupcakes, start at 18-22 minutes and adjust as needed.