The Grasshopper Bundt, as Promised

I promised to post the grasshopper bundt recipe and I am making good on that promise today.  Regrettfully, the recipe is not my creation but that of food fanatic.  Credit should be given where credit is due.

My beautiful bundt.

Grasshopper Bundt Cake

Cake:

1 box dark chocolate fudge cake mix (I used chocolate fudge cake mix)

1 package chocolate pudding mix, 3.4 ounces, instant

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sour cream

4 large eggs

1 1/2 chopped Andes mints

Mint frosting:

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

8 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

Green food coloring to desired shade

Chocolate glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon dutch processed cocoa (I used Hershey's)

2 tablespoons salted butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons warm water

For the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray, then lightly coat with flour. Set aside (I coat the pan with Crisco.) 

In the bowl of your mixer, combine cake mix, pudding mix, water, vegetable oil, sour cream, and eggs. Beat on low speed until just combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then beat for 3 minutes. Fold in chopped mints until combined. 

Spoon batter into prepared Bundt pan. Spread evenly, then bake for about 50 minutes, until cake is set and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Let cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then very carefully turn onto a wire rack to continue cooling (I just put mine right on the cake plate.) 

For the Frosting:

In the bowl of your mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, and peppermint extract on medium speed until smooth. 

Add powdered sugar and beat on medium-low until combined. 

Add milk and food coloring and increase mixer speed to high. Beat for one minute, until smooth. 

Spoon frosting around the top of the Bundt cake then spread with an offset spatula. 

Place cake in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes. 

For the Glaze:

In a large bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and cocoa powder until combined. 

Add melted butter, vanilla, and water and whisk until smooth and thickened. 

Drizzle over cooled frosted cake, then top with additional chopped mints, if desired. 

First of the Month Challenge: July

Let it Rot

Composting is easy and oddly rewarding.  If you are not already composting, I challenge you to get started.  My family has both a bio orb and a tumbler outside.  We alternate between them depending on what stage each one is in.  We have a container in the kitchen for food scraps and the like as well as a couple of small containers in each bathroom for any paper products that can be composted.  

Composting is something that takes almost no effort and anyone can do it.  You don't want to compost or you don't think you have anything to compost?  Consider this, according to the EPA in 2015, 39 million tons of food waste was created with only 5.3 percent of that being composted instead of being sent to the landfill or incinerated.  Food is the largest single material being sent to landfills and amounts to 22 percent of all solid waste.  That means nearly a quarter of your trash is food.  I'll discuss food waste in more detail in an upcoming post.

I have plenty of posts about composting that can be helpful for you, you can check out a composting book from your library, or you can email me with any questions and I'm happy to help.  

These are the products that my family uses: 

65 gallon 2 stage tumbler.

Bio-Orb.

Sure-Close for the kitchen.