Chocolate Mint Cake # 2

This is not a subtle cake. A full cup of peppermint schnapps goes into the batter, and another quarter cup goes into the frosting, so the mint hits you the second you lean in.

Brown sugar and cocoa give it a deep, molasses-tinged chocolate flavor, while sweetened condensed milk keeps the crumb rich and almost fudge-like.

It bakes in a big 10×15 sheet pan, which means plenty of surface area for that thick, creamy peppermint frosting to blanket every square inch.

This is the cake you bring to the holiday party and leave with an empty pan and a dozen recipe requests.

Pro Tips

• Melt the butter and stir in the cocoa off-heat so it blooms without burning. This step deepens the chocolate flavor dramatically.
• The peppermint schnapps serves double duty as liquid and flavoring. Don’t substitute extract; the alcohol helps keep the cake moist and tender.
• Bake for exactly 20 minutes and not a second more. The condensed milk makes this cake prone to overbaking, and a dry mint cake is nobody’s friend.
• Frost the cake while it’s still slightly warm so the frosting melts into the top layer and creates an extra-gooey bond.