There aren’t too many people, I imagine, who don’t absolutely love the pairing of chocolate and peppermint. I still recall a time when foil-wrapped After Dinner Mints were the treat of choice after a fancy dinner and while we kids weren’t all that enamoured with the flavour combination, the adults simply adored them.
I have to confess that it’s taken me a while to cotton on to the choc-mint combo, despite the fact it’s found its way into a large array of goodies, including the New Zealand fave – Chocolate Peppermint Slice. The afore-mentioned has been around for donkey’s years and is readily found in cafes, yet I rarely have it and have never made it… Strangely enough though, it was the first thing that popped into my mind when I volunteered to bring ‘a plate’ for a work-place birthday celebration.
My question now, having made it, is why on earth haven’t I made it before now?! From its delicious chocolate cake-like base, to its creamy, dreamy minty centre, to the blanket of chocolate on top, it’s beyond scrumptious. And, obviously everybody at work thought so too, as they were scoffed down pretty darn quickly.
I borrowed from two recipes – the base and topping come from New Zealand’s Chelsea Sugar, while the filling comes from New Zealand’s Countdown. The best of both worlds…
There’s nothing else to say other than… if you love mint and chocolate, you’re gonna LOVE this slice. But hey, if you’re not all that fussed about mint, try another essence instead – the classic pairing of orange would work a treat. Enjoy!
CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT SLICE
Ingredients
For the base:
- 2/3 cup gluten-free flour blend
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2/3 cup ground almonds
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
- 3/4 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 extra large egg, lightly beaten
For the filling:
- 3.5 oz unsalted butter, softened
- 7 oz icing sugar, (confectioner's sugar), sifted
- 1-1/2 Tbsp cream, unwhipped
- 1/2 – 1 tsp peppermint essence (to taste)
For the topping:
- 5.2 oz dark chocolate, chopped
- 2 tsp coconut or vegetable oil
Instructions
For the base:
- Preheat oven to 180ºC (360ºF). Grease and line base of a 28cm x 18cm (11 x 7 inch) slice tin, or similar sized tray.
- Sift flour, baking powder and cocoa into a bowl and stir with a whisk to combine. Add ground almonds, coconut, caster sugar, butter and egg. Mix until combined. Press evenly into prepared pan and bake for 20 mins. Set aside to cool completely.
For the filling:
- To make the filling, cream the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Lightly beat in the cream and peppermint essence until just combined. Spread the mixture evenly over the cooled base.
For the topping:
- Combine chocolate and oil in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until melted and smooth. Pour the hot chocolate over the peppermint layer, spreading with a off-set spatula (it looks nice if you create wavy patterns in the chocolate).
- Refrigerate till set. Cut into even slices.
These look delicious! ?
Thanks Lucy – they certainly are! 🙂
These are on my list. But I do wonder if I’m using essential oils would I use less, I guess add and taste as I go. Yum can’t wait…….
Hi Kirsty. Great to hear they’re on your food bucket list! If using essential oils, make sure you use pure essential oils which are the purest version. As they are extremely potent, you will very likely need only one drop. I’ll be interest to hear how it goes! 🙂