minty fresh

What do you bring over to your dear friends' house that will go well with champaign (New Years Eve champaign) and also make 5 kids under 10 happy? Chocolate - mint cake. I made this for our New Years Eve celebration after drooling over the recipe <a href="http://issuu.com/feaststl/docs/feastmag/63" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8wNEkaw5ZXH8Ztq4jinCDcQrnVJS6ygJzEceCG4UJLXvCu4mFQ94QzFnxltFsSNfzzcEpgKKJe9lb5C1krwAojqKQAjFxxLYJv43JEugBOJy1y4c6lfN8HJBAUyXTxITo47qnoL8k9dpY/s1600/PC312905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8wNEkaw5ZXH8Ztq4jinCDcQrnVJS6ygJzEceCG4UJLXvCu4mFQ94QzFnxltFsSNfzzcEpgKKJe9lb5C1krwAojqKQAjFxxLYJv43JEugBOJy1y4c6lfN8HJBAUyXTxITo47qnoL8k9dpY/s320/PC312905.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My layman's attempt</td></tr></tbody></table>Chocolate, peppermint and almost 3 full sticks of butter? Yes please! All that's missing is bacon and this would be the worlds best recipe. OK, maybe not bacon in the cake, but you know what I mean. And, even better, I had a bag of peppermints left over from my <a href="http://thelittleblackdoor.blogspot.com/2011/12/good-enough-to-eat.html" target="_blank">wreaths</a>. It was obviously ment to be.<br /><br />You can get the cake recipe from the link above, so I won't repeat it here. Instead I've give you my insider tips. The perfect 'I wish I'd known this' accompaniment for all your baking needs.<br /><br /><br />1. <b>You need some muscle.</b> The thing that makes peppermints perfect for wreath making is what makes them 'challenging' for cake decorating. Those suckas are hard.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje2gJaaMgqIHxtnBWMPovqInIh4m-xuTQvqhG02EY1JNh9KYvcEqWxfQU-c_Jd-mp0Xzwv8BEnxsISRWQ-G2xOMuQLmm4KW471mGPAtMR48tLahFw6_DHDy0x9rjcKRbe9MZdb_J5EV8tS/s1600/PC312860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje2gJaaMgqIHxtnBWMPovqInIh4m-xuTQvqhG02EY1JNh9KYvcEqWxfQU-c_Jd-mp0Xzwv8BEnxsISRWQ-G2xOMuQLmm4KW471mGPAtMR48tLahFw6_DHDy0x9rjcKRbe9MZdb_J5EV8tS/s200/PC312860.JPG" width="133" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had them switch to something stronger than serving spoons.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgheHWuf4gyMJhZl9Tm339aLmjnUvLPTsszPrHNJcSigrpOZVLE7bsLbzrT2J0kBHEDADXnYefwRkz7gKsPcWhDgryDUAaSlR9CPJPscNybHw17810kBsBID5ba9S4ftfwYjaUA-g5xO5na/s1600/PC312879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgheHWuf4gyMJhZl9Tm339aLmjnUvLPTsszPrHNJcSigrpOZVLE7bsLbzrT2J0kBHEDADXnYefwRkz7gKsPcWhDgryDUAaSlR9CPJPscNybHw17810kBsBID5ba9S4ftfwYjaUA-g5xO5na/s200/PC312879.JPG" width="200" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>The whole 'haphazard, randomly broken into varying shapes and sizes peppermint' is actually hard to attain. I had two helpers whacking away at those suckers for a good 20 minutes. I would recommend 1 - 3 glasses of wine (depending on the strength of your whackers) to drown out the loud ringing in your ears. (hard candies equal hard whacks)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>2. <b>Invest in a vat.</b> If the cake serves 18-20, then the frosting must serve 40-50. We cooked the frosting in my big pot. The one I use for spaghetti. And that sucker was full. We had enough left over to frost 2 other cakes and a dozen cupcakes. Luke suggested I freeze the rest in a tupperware container and use it the next time I bake a cake. I'm sorry, I don't have a tupperware container big enough to hold a vat of frosting.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpclDaEfYrlQcFGKBwcmrQ4qzCB7lA92wxPXs3uOp1x8Qwm_HwHALb0lAs3GIuLhJag69ufgeIIkBmYc3UqBUKhrIbzxWD3p96giaR2mQUP1GYEtJ-FDO3ZvsDyueMcauELzQd-0tSDV5/s1600/PC312868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpclDaEfYrlQcFGKBwcmrQ4qzCB7lA92wxPXs3uOp1x8Qwm_HwHALb0lAs3GIuLhJag69ufgeIIkBmYc3UqBUKhrIbzxWD3p96giaR2mQUP1GYEtJ-FDO3ZvsDyueMcauELzQd-0tSDV5/s320/PC312868.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leftover frosting</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3. <b>Its flourless cake with the flour</b>. This cake is three layers. Wonderful layers, but very dense. Almost like fudge. Mmm, fudge. I am an anal freak, bordering on Rain Man precision, when it comes to following recipes but for whatever reason I thought the actual cake would be a bit spongy-er. (that can to be a word).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2GHmlDHAZ4JZWJQff-o0Zd_cIbc3yybu7r5X6xSXdIj1A-wleXxkmMVX-Ceuu1x5E4vA-fywP9N_RqJURm3R3lJGee4NH-V1Fgv7FNcgO2c6ur5JnKxwEdpF1DDK_efYCddKXTj_z_n8K/s1600/PC312894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2GHmlDHAZ4JZWJQff-o0Zd_cIbc3yybu7r5X6xSXdIj1A-wleXxkmMVX-Ceuu1x5E4vA-fywP9N_RqJURm3R3lJGee4NH-V1Fgv7FNcgO2c6ur5JnKxwEdpF1DDK_efYCddKXTj_z_n8K/s320/PC312894.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div> 4. <b>Feeds an army...or 18-20</b>. Wait, what? Had I noticed the small print that says serves 18-20 I might have rethought the whole thing. But as Dr. Phil would say - lets get real - is there ever too much chocolate cake? Turns out the answer to that is yes. A little piece of this goes along way. It is rather tasty, but be sure to enjoy it with your entire neighborhood, church or office...or friends (if you are that popular).<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlERgM_vfcuTCecuKmSL-E6Gy-NyM1TXtuY47dnU9gWmkHVqr49di01sn0ZBKoJH_iBHdNmZigfFI0cOSPZfABhdMfDxqGEdocHN9ExkP1L9ksVK9PcD_RLU9cuisJWDr2ivNVMJXjoaK/s1600/PC312896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlERgM_vfcuTCecuKmSL-E6Gy-NyM1TXtuY47dnU9gWmkHVqr49di01sn0ZBKoJH_iBHdNmZigfFI0cOSPZfABhdMfDxqGEdocHN9ExkP1L9ksVK9PcD_RLU9cuisJWDr2ivNVMJXjoaK/s320/PC312896.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />With all of that said, it <i>was</i> a fun family baking activity. And a tasty treat.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0L-h6Ns4kL2wDb3l4DSDHj5kz84W83A0zpylK6XDfZp2-Uo73Aa-ZoydQd9M-hQ6dRzbr06lqWJ1yynjjt6vjpL1iIxxuurnK2BVzQ_7Jioi-q_rpvqASPJ7jL6IKL4jLh-9qNtER7eNN/s1600/PC312899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0L-h6Ns4kL2wDb3l4DSDHj5kz84W83A0zpylK6XDfZp2-Uo73Aa-ZoydQd9M-hQ6dRzbr06lqWJ1yynjjt6vjpL1iIxxuurnK2BVzQ_7Jioi-q_rpvqASPJ7jL6IKL4jLh-9qNtER7eNN/s320/PC312899.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> <br />We finally finished the last piece...yesterday.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3figAGoNkJu1TpveAk5-et2BHMGbMIPht3VSHsstbXru7mtDRzBYfbfN7ulbhWAtMyv40dke8hP65o-EEo9LUzSQ-jejf1wOoj_KMnGUMGBIywVJq39wd0os1SLMdenxHNHSUC27tX1HD/s1600/PC312902.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3figAGoNkJu1TpveAk5-et2BHMGbMIPht3VSHsstbXru7mtDRzBYfbfN7ulbhWAtMyv40dke8hP65o-EEo9LUzSQ-jejf1wOoj_KMnGUMGBIywVJq39wd0os1SLMdenxHNHSUC27tX1HD/s320/PC312902.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />

minty fresh

What do you bring over to your dear friends' house that will go well with champaign (New Years Eve champaign) and also make 5 kids under...

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