Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Buttercream

A few months ago, my fiancé and I started a little herb garden and so far the mint and basil have been flourishing. We decided to plant mint with homemade mojitos in mind, but we have more leaves than necessary for these refreshing cocktails. Instead of letting them go to waste, I used them to make my favorite treat: cupcakes! One of my favorite flavor combinations is chocolate and mint, so I made a buttercream that incorporated the fresh mint leaves.

I’ll admit it, I took the easy route this time and made these cupcakes from a boxed mix. I prefer making them from scratch, but I had a Williams-Sonoma mix sitting in the kitchen from a birthday present and decided to put it to good use with this tasty buttercream. The mint and chocolate complemented each other perfectly!

Mint Buttercream

This mint buttercream pairs perfectly with chocolate cupcakes! They make a great treat for the holiday season.

Servings 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 2 oz. cream cheese room temperature
  • 1/2 cup butter room temperature
  • 1/8 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves finely minced (I pulsed them in a food processor)
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. In the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, butter, salt and mint on low until combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl, then continue to mix on medium speed, until light and creamy.

  2. Gradually add the confectioner’s sugar while mixing on low and working your way up to medium-high once it is combined. After about three minutes, it should be the desired consistency. If mixture is too thin, add more confectioner’s sugar. If it gets too thick, add a little bit of heavy cream.

  3. Once the cupcakes are cool, frost and garnish with mint leaf.