4 mint chocolate chip cupcakes on a rack with chocolate shavings

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes with a mint chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream and chocolate shavings.

Mint chocolate chip ice cream is my kid’s favorite flavor. If we go out for ice cream, at least one of them will order mint chocolate chip ice cream. I had some extra Swiss Meringue buttercream leftover from a cake I made and decided to make a cupcake inspired by their favorite ice cream flavor.

These lasted all of about four minutes in my house. They are so good. I love when I get good ideas like this one.

mint chocolate chip cupcakes and a bottle of milk

Swiss meringue buttercream is my favorite frosting. It is super smooth, glossy, and tastes amazing. You can flavor it and color it to just about anything you could ever imagine. Lemon, strawberry, chocolate, caramel, coffee, you name it.

I like mint, but sometimes if you go too far whatever you make can taste like toothpaste. Go slowly with the peppermint extract. You can always add, you can’t take away. Go slowly, give it a taste after you mix it up and add more if you need it.

You can add mini chips, but I really like how chocolate shavings work in this frosting. You rarely get chips in mint chocolate chip ice cream, so I wanted to use shavings. I put a bittersweet chocolate bar in the freezer for about 10 minutes, then used a cheese grater to get the shavings the size that I wanted.

I usually make my cakes from scratch, but I’m not going to not use a mix every now and again. Especially since I was making these mint chocolate chip cupcakes for my kids and let’s be honest, all they really care about is the cupcake being the delivery vehicle for the frosting.

I do like to doctor my cake mix whenever I use one. Adding extra eggs, some sour cream, and vanilla punch up the flavor and make the cake super moist. (I do this with whatever flavor I use.)

Swiss meringue keeps really well. If I make a full recipe and have some leftover, I keep it in an airtight container. To refresh it, let it come to room temperature and put it back in the mixer and rewhip it. If I already have really soft buttercream, I just color and flavor it by hand using a whisk.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Yield: 18 cupcakes

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Total Time: 38 minutes

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes with a mint chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream and chocolate shavings. I prefer to use my Swiss Meringue recipe, but you could also use your favorite American buttercream recipe if you prefer.

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes

1 box dark chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mint Chocolate Chip Buttercream

1/2 recipe Swiss Meringue Buttercream
1/2 to 1 tsp Peppermint extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
green gel food color
1/2 cup chocolate shavings

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Line two muffin tins with 18 paper liners.
Add cupcake ingredients to the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix for two minutes.
Scoop into prepared liners.
Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let cool completely.
To make the mint Swiss Meringue, add 1/2 teaspoon peppermint and vanilla to the prepared buttercream. Mix until well combined. Taste and add more peppermint if desired.
Add green food color to achieve desired color. Fold in chocolate shavings.
Frost cooled cupcakes and top with chocolate shavings.

Notes

Start with a 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract and taste. Add more if you like a more minty flavor.

I save some of the chocolate shavings and reserve them to garnish the cupcakes.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 18 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 139 Total Fat: 12g Saturated Fat: 3g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 8g Cholesterol: 32mg Sodium: 35mg Carbohydrates: 6g Fiber: 0g Sugar: 5g Protein: 2g