Gordon Ramsay Chocolate Mint Cake Recipe

Gordon Ramsay’s chocolate mint cake is a flourless chocolate cake with mint caramel shards folded through the batter and a peppermint whipped cream on top. No flour at all, just dark chocolate, eggs and butter. From Ultimate Home Cooking, where he says it was “inspired by the Icebreaker chocolate and mint bars I enjoyed as a child.” Serves 8 to 10.

He filmed it on YouTube (1.4 million views), calling it “a show-off trophy for party foods.” The video walks through making the mint caramel on a greased tray, cracking it into shards once cool, and folding the crushed pieces into the chocolate batter so you hit pockets of crunch as you eat.

The cake rises in the oven from the whisked egg whites alone, then sinks slightly in the centre as it cools. Ramsay says in the book “don’t worry, no one will notice once you’ve added the topping.” The peppermint cream hides the dip and adds a cool, sharp contrast to the warm, dense chocolate underneath.

Gordon Ramsay Chocolate Mint Cake

Recipe by Sophie LaneCourse: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Medium

Servings

10

servings

Prep time

25

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

480

kcal

Total time

65

minutes

From Ultimate Home Cooking: a flourless chocolate cake with mint caramel shards folded through the batter and topped with peppermint whipped cream. No flour, just chocolate, eggs and butter. The whisked egg whites give it lift, and the cake may sink slightly in the centre, which the cream hides perfectly.

Ingredients

• For the mint caramel:

• 100g caster sugar

• Large handful of mint leaves, finely chopped

• Flavourless oil (groundnut), for greasing

• For the cake:

• 250g (9 oz) dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces

• 125g (4½ oz) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

• 175g (6 oz) caster sugar

• 2 whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks

• 4 egg whites

• For the topping:

• 400ml (1⅔ cups) double cream (heavy cream)

• 4 tbsp icing sugar

• 6 to 8 drops of peppermint extract

Directions

• Make the mint caramel: Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan / 350°F / Gas 4). Grease a baking tray with oil. Pour 100g sugar into a frying pan over medium heat, shaking but not stirring, until deep golden. Scatter the mint leaves in and tip onto the tray. Leave to cool and harden. Break half into small crushed pieces. Keep the rest as shards for decoration.
• Melt the chocolate: Melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water, not touching the water. Add the butter and stir until melted. Set aside to cool slightly.
• Whisk eggs and sugar: Beat 2 whole eggs and 3 yolks with 75g sugar until thick, light and fluffy. Fold in the chocolate mixture, then fold in the crushed caramel pieces.
• Whisk the whites: In a clean bowl, whisk 4 egg whites to soft peaks, then gradually add the remaining 100g sugar until stiff, glossy peaks form.
• Fold and bake: Fold a spoonful of whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen it, then carefully fold in the rest. Pour into a greased and lined 23cm springform tin. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until risen and the centre is no longer wobbly. Cool in the tin. The middle may sink slightly.
• Top and serve: Whip the cream with icing sugar and peppermint extract until just holding its shape. Spoon over the cake, leaving a narrow border around the edge. Scatter the reserved caramel shards on top.

FAQs

Why does the cake sink in the middle?

There’s no flour to hold the structure. The rise comes entirely from the whisked egg whites, which deflate as the cake cools. Ramsay says in UHC “don’t worry, no one will notice once you’ve added the topping.”

This happens with all flourless chocolate cakes. It’s a feature, not a mistake.

Can you use peppermint extract instead of fresh mint in the caramel?

The caramel uses fresh mint leaves because they get embedded in the hardened sugar and add green flecks of colour to the shards. Peppermint extract would evaporate in the hot caramel and leave nothing behind.

Ramsay uses both: fresh mint IN the caramel, peppermint extract IN the cream. Two different forms of mint doing two different jobs.

How is this different from Ramsay’s other chocolate cakes?

The chocolate fondant is baked in individual ramekins for 15 minutes so the centre stays molten. This cake bakes for 35 to 40 minutes until fully set, then gets topped with cream and served cold. Fondant is a hot pudding, this is a cold party cake.

His chocolate cake with ginger cream is the middle ground: a flour-based sponge with chocolate ganache on top, lighter than this one but richer than the fondant.