As you know by now, I am a big fan of a surprise reveal for the interior of a cake (see rainbow cake, cherry blossom cake, see many other cakes here!). On the outside, this one looks like an average tea cake, one you hope will be decent enough to make do with your drink. But, hold up! Inside it’s a beautiful shade of green, made possible by blending in a bouquet of fresh mint.

Recipe Origins

There are so many things about this cake to love: the rich, moist texture thanks to a good glug of oil, the refreshing taste is as in addition to the fresh mint, there’s both lemon juice and zest, making for a wonderful combination (see limonana).

This recipe is adapted from Samantha Senenvirante’s olive oil cake via nytcooking (which btw is glorious!): my main addition is the mint, I use buttermilk instead of milk. And sometimes when I want the mint to be front ant center, I’ll opt for a flavorless avocado oil instead of olive oil. 

And, there’s absolutely no need to bother with frosting it or even a glaze. This is literally a bake it, and it’s ready to serve. Kept in an air-tight container, it stays moist for days and days. Aside from being a wonderful cake for short-notice guests, I anticipate it will make a wonderful summer potluck cake when you don’t want to be in the kitchen too long and when you want to show up with an intriguing cake to unassuming guests who then ooh and aah at your awesomeness.

• But sam! You already have a fresh mint cake with both lemon and olive oil on the blog! This is true… The other is different in a few ways but mainly in texture; there is a slight crunch from the semolina. I loved it when I made it but if you put both in front of me I would choose this one. Texture wise, I tend to favor moist cakes over crumbly and this one is a total gobble-worthy moist level. This one also has both more mint and more lemon and so the flavor is intensified.

Recipe Ingredients 

Buttermilk: full or low fat. Use keffir if you can’t find it or even whole milk (there is a chemical balance in this recipe that allows for buttermilk or milk). 

Mint: fresh, leaves only. We’re going to blend them with the buttermilk. 

Sugar: fine granulated sugar. This cake isn’t too sweet in flavor but the amount of sugar is there to keep it wonderfully moist. 

Lemon: wash then rub the skins dry as we’ll zest it first, then use some of the juice for the cake batter. 

Eggs: whole, large and at room temperature. Set them in a bowl of hot water to warm up before starting to make the batter. 

Oil: you can use a good tasting olive oil here or if you really want the flavor focus to be the mint, use a flavorless avocado oil. 

Flour: all purpose flour of a medium protein content. A few trials showed me that cake flour works here too. 

Salt: fine sea salt. 

Leavening: both baking powder and soda. This cake is going to rise quite a bit and then sink: this is by design. The slightly shrunken cake will have a dense, soft crumb. 

How to make Lemon & Mint Cake 

Prep the pan by greasing it then coating it with flour. 

Ensure your eggs are at room temperature, for easier beating. 

In a food processor or blender, add the buttermilk and fresh mint leaves. Blend until most of the mint has broken down and the milk is green 

Zest the lemons over the sugar, in a large bowl. 

Add the eggs and use a hand mixer to begin beating

Beat until the ribbon stage: the mix should be light, airy and several shades lighter 

While mixing, add the oil slowly, drizzling it in as the beaters mix

Sift in the flour and add the leavening then mix to combine

Pour into prepared pan

Sprinkle coarse granulated sugar on top, for a crispy topping. 

Bake until a cake tester comes out clean. This cake will rise then fall as it bakes and cools. 

It keeps well for around 3 days, if airtight. 

Notes

Depending on how much mint you pack into the cup, the cake will be more or less green (more means greener). 

If your mint is turning brown, the cake too will have a brown tint to it and have a less fresh flavor. 

If you plan to top the cake with a whipped cream, skip the sugared topping. 

Recipe for Lemon & Mint Cake

Lemon & Mint Cake

Lemon and mint join forces here to make up a full flavored incredibly moist tea cake.

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 40 minutes mins

Yields: 1 9 inch cake

5 from 11 votes

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Ingredients

• 300g or 1 ¼ cup buttermilk
• 1 cup mint stuffed into the cup pack as much as you can, rinsed and patted dry
• freshly grated zest of 2-3 lemons
• 250g or 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 200g or 1 cup flavorless avocado oil or olive oil
• 260g or 2 cups all purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice from about half a lemon
• granulated sugar for topping

Method

• Heat oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a 9 inch round cake pan.
• In a food processor or blender, blend the milk and mint until the mint is totally combined. It will look light green at first, and will darken as you make the cake batter.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer or bowl fitted with a hand mixer, beat together the eggs, zest and sugar until several shades lighter, airy and fluffy, 5-7 minutes.
• While mixer is running, drizzle in the oil slowly, allowing it to emulsify and thoroughly combine.
• Sift in the cake flour and add the baking soda and baking powder.
• Add mint milk and lemon juice, and beat to just combine.
• Pour into prepared pan, sprinkle with granulated sugar to top.
• Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, and check for doneness 40 minutes. This cake will rise above the cake rim while baking then fall as it fully bakes and cools.

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