One of my favorite food memories of last year was the 70’s themed book club I hosted for my friends in December. I didn’t anticipate that by the time I got around to sharing that story, the idea of filling my apartment with 15 friends would be as retro as some of the items on the menu, but 2020 has warped things beyond all recognition.

I do hope to one day enjoy hanging out with my friends again in a socially acceptable way, but some of the food items I prepared for this particular party, maybe I don’t need to enjoy again? I mean, pigs in blankets and BBQ meatballs are still classics for a reason, but I can see why pineapple cheese balls aren’t still trending.

And, let me just tell you now that no, you do not need to, nor should you ever try, to recreate the sandwich loaf, a monstrosity you’ll find in various 70’s Cocktail Party listicles. No one will eat it and all you will have for your efforts is layers of egg salad and white bread in a shame corner in your fridge.

Do you hear me? DON’T TRY IT.

One good thing that came out of this culinary experiment was a reminder that grasshopper brownies are pretty excellent! We used to make them when Claire and I were kids, and I always felt so daring when we’d bring down the bottle of creme de menthe stashed above the fridge. We were baking with alcohol! Never mind that you won’t use enough of the stuff to endanger anyone of any age, and the liqueur is really there more to add the signature green color.

The brownies were, predictably, a hit at the party. My friend Susan kept telling me how much she loved them even weeks later, so I of course started wondering if I could turn them into a cake somehow for her February birthday. But we went to Florida, and then we all know where the end of February took us, so the cake never happened.

But I am really terrible at dropping things. I kept thinking about the grasshopper cake, and finally, because I had all this time and most of a bottle of creme de menthe still sitting on my bar, I just went ahead and made it. And I’m so pleased with how it turned out! I went for the Milk Bar approach with assembly, to highlight what I think is the spirit of the grasshopper brownie: the layers of ganache, mint filling and chocolate brownie all on display. Besides, this cake is rich anyway, so there’s absolutely no need for frosting the outside.

I also tried out the Milk Bar chocolate cake recipe in this too, which turned out to be the perfect choice for two reasons: the cake isn’t very rich or super chocolatey, so is actually the perfect counterpart to the extremely rich buttercream filling, and to make the chocolate cake, you have to first make chocolate fudge. This gives you enough left over to dollop inside the cake, adding an extra hit of fudgey chocolate, to call to mind the brownie inspiration of this cake. The buttercream filling is the best version of the grasshopper layer I’ve come across. It’s sweet and rich but not teeth curling the way some older recipes can be. I topped all those layers off with a splatter of homemade magic shell, and voila, this cake is ready to party like it’s 1975!

I think it would be a great, easy bake for the upcoming holiday, if you are taking a break from the red food dye this year.

Grasshopper Cake

Cake layers adapted from Milk Bar, grasshopper filling from the New York Times. Yes, the milk bar recipes call for glucose, but that is found easily online or you can sub corn syrup if you need to.

Serves 8

For the fudge sauce:

• 1 oz quality dark chocolate, chopped

• 2 tbs cocoa powder

• 1/8 tsp kosher salt

• 1/4 cup glucose (or 2 tbs corn syrup)

• 2 tbs sugar

• 1/4 cup heavy cream

For the chocolate cake:

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour (or cake flour, I used what I had on hand)

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder

• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened

• 1 1/2 cups sugar

• 3 eggs

• 1/2 cup buttermilk

• 1/4 cup neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 3 tbs fudge sauce

For the buttercream:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened

• 2 tbs cream cheese, softened

• 2 tbs creme de menthe

• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract

• pinch of kosher salt

• 2 cups powdered sugar

For assembly and decorating:

• 1/4 cup milk

• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract

• 6 inch cake ring

• acetate or parchment paper

• 1/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped

• 1 tsp coconut oil

1. Make the fudge sauce: Combine the chocolate, cocoa and salt and in a bowl and set aside. In a small sauce pan, combine the glucose, sugar and heavy cream and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once it boils, pour over the chocolate and cocoa let sit for a full minute. After one minute, slowly start to whisk everything together, gradually increasing your speed, until you have a glossy, smooth fudge sauce. This should take a few minutes, depending on how fast and vigorously you whisk. Set aside or refrigerate if you are making ahead. You will want to bring it up to room temperature before using to make the cake.

2. Make the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees, spray a quarter sheet pan with cooking spray and line with parchment. Set aside. In a bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt and whisk to combine. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and sugar and beat together for 3 minutes on medium-high speed with the paddle attachment. You’ll want to make sure the butter is completely softened for this. Add in the eggs, and mix again on medium-high for 3 minutes, and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

3. Turn the mixer on low speed and add in the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Increase speed to medium high and beat for another 3-5 minutes, until everything has doubled in volume and the mixture is completely combined, with no visible streaks. Add the fudge sauce and mix on low until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low for about a minute, just until everything comes together. Scrape down the bowl and mix on low again to finish combining.

4. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake 30-35 minutes, until puffed and the top of the cake bounces back when gently pressed with a finger. Cool completely before assembling the cake.

5. Make the buttercream: beat the butter and cream cheese together, using either a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or hand mixer. Once smooth, add the creme de menthe, peppermint extract and salt and mix again until smooth. On low speed, slowly add the powdered sugar. Once all the powdered sugar has been added to the bowl, increase the speed and beat until smooth and fluffy. You should have a light, spreadable mixture. Taste, and adjust with more peppermint extract if you like it more minty.

6. Assemble the cake: In a small bowl, combine the milk and the peppermint extract. Using the cake ring, cut 2 full 6-inch rounds out of the cooled cake, one at the top left corner and one at the bottom right corner. Cut 2 half circles out of the remaining cake, and clean the cake ring. Line the sides of the cake ring with acetate or parchment paper. Place those half circles in the lined cake ring and fill in the middle gap with as some of the remaining cake scraps. Press it together to form the bottom layer and using a spoon or pastry brush, evenly douse with 1/3 of the milk mixture. Top with 1/3 of the buttercream and spread into an even layer, then dollop with fudge sauce. Top with a second layer of the cake and line with another circle of acetate or parchment. Douse this layer with 1/3 of the milk mixture, spread with 1/3 of the buttercream, and dollop with fudge sauce. Top with your third and final cake layer, douse with remaining milk mixture and spread remaining buttercream on top. Place cake in the freezer to chill until firm, overnight if you can.

7. Once cake is chilled, to decorate the top, you can use any remaining warmed fudge sauce or do as I did, and melt together some chocolate and coconut oil and splatter over the top. The magic shell will harden on the chilled cake, and I like the texture contrast this extra type of chocolate adds to the top.

8. To serve, slide the metal ring off the cake and remove the acetate or parchment. Let warm up a bit and slice and serve!