Grasshopper Bundt Cake |Cooking With Amanda

I have decided that men are horrible at taking vacations.

My husband and I love to vacation together. But we also love to vacation separately. Because our idea of a vacation differs drastically.

When I vacation, I like to stay in a nice hotel. I spend hours researching the best places to eat. I read reviews on Yelp and Urban Spoon and obsess with my friends over the best plan of attack. Is there a good dessert place in close proximity to the lunch place? Is there shopping nearby? Does the hotel have room service or free cookies or a spa where they give massages?

Basically what I want out of a vacation is for it to be like the opposite of my real life in the very best way. I want to get rubbed on (by professionals. Wait – that sounded weird) and take naps and eat lots of food that is really bad for me.

I want to head home feeling like a fat, lazy, completely content human being.

In my opinion, this makes complete sense. It's the absolute most LOGICAL thing to do.

My husband, however, has different ideas. On HIS vacations, he likes to sleep in tents on the ground and climb up hills in the hot sun and not worry about finding a hotel until late at night when the last resort is some dump with dirty bathrooms and no wi-fi.

How does anyone even survive without wi-fi in this day and age? I am thinking it should be illegal for places to not have it. If you're not going to have massages and clean toilets and wi-fi and cupcakes and naps, why would you even leave your house?

I wish I could say I understood, but I don't. I probably never will.

My husband and I traveled to Memphis for a couple of days and he actually suggested that we eat at the TGI Friday's in the hotel. At first I thought he was kidding and then I realized that he was completely serious.

I was like "are you even kidding ME??? IT'S A WASTE OF A MEAL!!" and he was like, "What does that even mean?"

I just can't, you guys. Friday's is perfectly okay on a weekday in my own town. But on a trip?? What is this life?

One thing we DO agree on (thankfully), is that mint chocolate ANYTHING is always a winner. When I want to make a dessert that I know he'll love, I combine mint and chocolate and it's always a hit. This go around I decided to make a Grasshopper Bundt Cake and it was even better than I had hoped! We shared it with friends and there was not a scrap left.

Enjoy!

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Grasshopper Bundt Cake Recipe

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Ingredients

For the Cake:

1 box dark 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 cups andes mints, chopped, roughly 42 mints

For the Mint Frosting:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
8 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
2 drops green food coloring

For the Chocolate Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon dutch processed cocoa
2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons warm water
andes mints, chopped, for garnish

Directions

For the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray, then lightly coat with flour. Set aside.
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 pan for about 15 minutes, then very carefully turn onto a wire rack to continue cooling.

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.