Lemon Mint Cake

I was watching Giada yesterday and she made this cake that looked so light and fluffy. I woke up this morning and rummaged around my mom's pantry and just so happened to find all the ingredients (one perk of being a stay-at-home daughter)! So, I must give full credit to Giada but here is my rendition...

Lemon Mint Cake

Ingredients:
Butter for greasing
Flour for dusting the pan

Cake:

• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• pinch of salt
• 8 large mint leaves chopped
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Syrup:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tbsp lemon zest

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8-inch round cake pan with butter and flour. 

For the cake: 

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

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

Slowly add 1/3 of the egg white mixture into the oil mixture using a rubber spatula and carefully folding the two mixtures together. Continue to 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. Allow the cake to cool before slicing. 

For the syrup: 

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

To serve the cake, pour a spoonful of the syrup on a plate a lay a slice of cake on top. Drizzle the cake with additional syrup and garnish with a small sprig of mint! Enjoy!