Lemon-Mint Cake

Last Saturday, we celebrated unofficial Saint Patty's Day with an "Irish Feast" at Seth's house. Seth is quite the talented cook. Once he made a caramelized onion and mushroom quiche that sort of made me want to binge and then die happy. Anyway.

He made a hearty Guinness stew and some absolutely delish rarebit. I was in charge of dessert. Neither Matt nor I have much of a sweet tooth, so I am not so confident when it comes to the baked goods. My first (and quite inspired) thought was to simply make some out-of-the-box cupcakes, frost them with green icing, and sprinkle some Lucky Charms on top.  But, I decided to take the opportunity to get adventurous and make a cake from scratch. For the first time ever. I had to, like, whip egg whites into stiff peaks and stuff.

So, I'm sharing Giada's lemon-mint cake recipe with you. My first successful cake made from scratch. And, clearly, my selection is not remotely Irish, but I rationalized this choice because it contains fresh mint. And fresh mint is green.

Overall, the cake is quite tasty, but you have to really like lemons. You have to want to marry the lemon. However, I will also offer some suggestions on how to tone down the lemon flavor, if that is your desire.

Here we go.

Lemon-Mint Cake with Lemon Syrup
-butter, for greasing
-flour, for dusting

Cake:
-3 eggs, separated, at room temperature
-1 cup sugar, divided
-1/4 cup vegetable oil
-1/8 teaspoon salt
-8 mint sprigs, leaves chopped
-2 tablespoons lemon juice
-1 tablespoon lemon zest
-1 cup all-purpose flour

Syrup:
-1 cup sugar
-1/4 cup water
-1/4 cup lemon juice
-1 tablespoon lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan.

I used a 9-inch round cake pan and baked my cake for 40 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Add 1/2 cup sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.

3. In a separate large bowl, beat the vegetable oil, the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Add the egg yolks, one at a time. Add the chopped mint, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Set aside.

4. Add 1/2 of the egg white mixture into the oil mixture and beat until combined. Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold in the remaining egg white mixture. Spread the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a cutting board and allow to cool before slicing.

The top of your cake should should develop a flaky "crust." I did not realize this phenomenon while baking, so I thought my cake was going to be extremely dry when I pulled it out of the oven and saw this "crunchy" looking layer. Then, my toothpick came out very clean, and I thought I'd just wasted two hours making a concrete frisbee. Turns out, it was fine. Confidence, Katie!

5. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, lemon juice, and lemon zest over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool, about 20 minutes.

I'm not sure if I've decided if the lemon simple syrup was a good idea or just overkill. But, here is where you can really limit the amount of lemon flava, if you prefer. Instead of adding more lemon to the simple syrup, I'd recommend just leaving out the zest and juice for a plain (but sweet) cake glaze. I poked a few holes in the top of the cake and drizzled the syrup on before serving.

6. To serve, spoon some of the syrup onto each small plate or shallow bowl and lay a slice of cake on top. Drizzle the cake with additional syrup and garnish with a small sprig of mint.

I placed the cake in a shallow serving bowl, then poked a few holes in the top and drizzled the syrup on top and at the bottom of the bowl before serving.