Lemon yogurt cake soaked in lemon mint syrup recipe

Lemon cake is soaked in scented syrup./Wikimedia Commons

This lemon cake gets its pound-cake-like texture from a cup of yogurt and is soaked in syrup scented with mint and lemon.

I use nonfat yogurt because I always have it in the house, but whole-milk yogurt will produce a richer cake for special holiday dinners. I’ve added the zest from 1 lemon to boost the lemon flavor.

If you’d like your cake a little lighter, serve it with fresh seasonal fruit instead of the syrup. 

This cake, except for the lemon zest, is from “The Armenian Table” by Victoria Jenanyan Wise. ISBN 0312235312. 

Ingredients

For the cake: 

½ cup (1 stick) butter at room temperature

¾ cup granulated white sugar 

1 cup plain yogurt

2 large eggs

2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice 

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon – about 2 tsp. 

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

For the syrup: 

1 cup granulated white sugar 

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

¾ cup water 

3 sprigs mint 

Method

For the cake: 

Preheat the oven to 350°. 

Spray a Bundt pan with no-stick spray or butter generously and set aside. 

Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside. 

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 

Add the yogurt to the butter mixture and beat until incorporated. 

Add the eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated. 

Add the lemon juice and rind and beat until incorporated. 

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until just incorporated. 

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. 

Bake about 40 minutes until golden on top, the cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Remove the cake to a wire rack and allow to cool 15-20 minutes. Make the syrup while the cake cools. 

For the syrup: 

Combine the sugar, lemon juice, water and mint in a small saucepan. 

Stir to dissolve the sugar. 

Bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to maintain a vigorous boil and cook 8-10 minutes until thick enough to coat a spoon. 

Remove the mint carefully and discard. Set the syrup aside to cool. 

Finish the cake: 

When the cake and syrup are cool, loosen the cake in with a knife and leave in the pan. 

Pour 1/3 of the syrup over the cake and allow it to soak in, about 10 minutes. Repeat until you’ve used all the syrup. 

Allow the cake to sit at least an hour, preferably several hours, to give the cake a chance to soak up all the syrup. 

Serves 12-14. 

Cook’s notes: 

• This cake is also delicious served with no syrup – just a dusting of powdered sugar.  
• Garnish with mixed berries and a drizzle of sweetened yogurt instead of soaking in syrup.
• You can flavor the syrup with whatever you like. Try substituting orange flower water and a little orange zest for the lemon and mint. Substitute rose water for the lemon and mint and garnish with red rose petals. 
• Use caution when handling the hot syrup. It can cause severe burns. 

More information: 

If you love lemon, try this luscious lemon tart inspired by my friend, pastry chef Daniela Galarza. 

And for breakfast, try my blueberry pancakes with lemon zest, also made dense and rich with non-fat yogurt.

Follow me on Twitter! HilaryCable