Peppermint pile up

This shake is pure peppermint joy!

Peppermint pile up Credit: Chris Middleton

• serves

  2

• prep

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 750 ml (25½ oz/3 cups) milk 
• 125 ml (4 oz/½ cup) chocolate syrup (see note) 
• 4 Mint Patties
• ½ tsp peppermint extract
• 3 scoops vanilla ice cream 
• 1 tsp green food colouring 

Monster your shake 

• 60 ml (2 oz/¼ cup) peppermint syrup 
• choc-mint ganache (see note)
• 2 scoops vanilla ice cream 
• whipped cream 
• 2 choc-chip waffles (see note)
• 2 choc mint wafer rolls 
• 2 Mint Patties, cut in half
• green sprinkles and green 
• cake sugar, for decorating 

Instructions

To make the shake, place the Mint Patties and 100 ml (3½ oz) of the milk in a saucepan over low heat and stir continuously for 5 minutes or until the Mint Patties are soft. Remove from the heat and use a potato masher to break up into small pieces. Add the remaining milk and place in the fridge to chill. Combine with the remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and combined. 

Line the inside of each glass with peppermint syrup and smear the ganache around the outer rims. Gently pour in the shake and top with a scoop of ice cream. 

Using a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle, pipe a generous amount of whipped cream on top of the shakes. Cover with the waffles then decorate with more whipped cream and the wafer rolls, Mint Patties, sprinkles and sugar. 

Note: 

•  For the chocolate syrup, combine 110 g (4 oz/½ cup) sugar,125 ml (4 oz/½ cup) light corn syrup and 90 g (3 oz/3⁄4 cup) cocoa powder with 250 ml (8½ oz/1 cup) water in a medium- sized saucepan over low heat. Stir for 2 minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and add 100 g (3½ oz) dark chocolate buttons, stirring for 3 minutes or until melted. Set aside to cool completely before transferring into a squeeze bottle or container. This syrup will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.

•  For the choc-mint ganache, place 250 g (9 oz) dark cooking chocolate (broken into pieces) and 80 ml (2½ oz/1⁄3 cup) thickened cream in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Stir occasionally for 3–4 minutes until melted and smooth. Add ¼ teaspoon of peppermint essence and stir until combined. Set aside to cool for 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until nice and thick.

This recipe is from Monster Shakes (Smith Street Books). Photography by Chris Middleton. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.