This cake is fragrant and reminiscent of the freshness of a bright early summer day. The texture is dense but not too heavy. The flavor of the orange is brighter but this is really all about the mint, which hits you later and lingers.
By Rinku Bhattacharya
Does your cooking get influenced by the weather? I mean, just seasons aside, if you were to block everything away, do you cook different when the skies are blue and filled with white clouds, versus the cloudy days when the clouds are puffy with prominent silver linings? 
Given, my love for cooking with the seasons, it would be hard to say whether the skies and the weather independently influence by table, but they certainly do. So, yesterday was a perfect early summer day, breezy full of airy white clouds and I actually had a day of. I had to do an airport run and deal with the plumber but I did get time to savor the fresh herbs in my backyard and of course make time to cobble up a fresh and fruity cake bursting with the flavors of summer.
Yes, I cooked up an orange and mint cake. I have had luck with cooking these Mediterranean style cakes. There is a lemon basil one, that is waiting its turn to be shared and I promise to do this before the season is over.
PrintOrange and Mint Cake
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 cup sugar (I used the raw cane sugar)
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup all purpose white flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup almond meal
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh mint
- 1 cup of fresh orange juice
Instructions
- Place the butter and oil in a mixing bowl and beat until well mixed.
- Add in the sugar and mix well until nice and smooth.
- Beat the eggs and add into the oil and butter mixture and mix well.
- Sift in the flour and the baking powder into the mixture and mix in a little at a time.
- Fold in the orange zest and mint.
- Gradually add in the orange juice to mix into a nice smooth batter.
- Grease and flour a 9-inch spring form pan.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes.
- Cool for 10 minutes and remove from the oven and cool thoroughly outside.
- Enjoy thick wedges with tea or maybe orange juice for some more fun.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
I’m making this now and haven’t tried it yet… perhaps I am just over looking it but the description does not say when to add the almond meal. I added it with the flour. None the less, this batter was super thin, so it took a long time to bake. Smells great though.
Are you kidding you didn’t follow the recipe or even try the cake and you gave it 3 stars. What is wrong with you
Love this combination, a classic!