Lemon-Mint Cake

I never realized how much I liked lemons until recently. I have always loved mint in any manner. So, the combination of lemon and mint is just the perfection of refreshing lightness to me. When I saw Giada making this cake, I made a note to myself amidst the cleaning and random glances at the TV, that I should surely try it sometime. 

So, I did. It is a decent cake, but it didn't live up to my ideal expectations of a light, airy, refreshing cake. I followed most of the recipe. I didn't have any mint leaves on hand, so I added peppermint extract (1/2 teaspoon). But, it was not a good substitute. There wasn't much of the mint flavor. But the lemon flavor was pretty good - I was happy. I especially liked the lemon syrup. So, here are some changes and tweaks I made, and wish to make in the future. 

1. Reduce the amount of sugar that goes into the lemon syrup. I would recommend adding 1/4 - 1/2 cup. I added 1/2 cup of sugar, but it could have been slightly reduced. 
2. Use lots of slightly crushed mint leaves. Or use peppermint oil, and not extract. 
3. Use cake-flour instead of all-purpose flour. It should make the cake lighter. 
4. Beat the egg-yolks and sugar until the mixture reaches the "ribbon stage" - wherein the batter falls in ribbons. If the egg-yolks, sugar and oil are beaten together lightly, the cake might smell of the yolks, and nobody likes that.
5. Let the baked cake cool for 10 minutes. Then poke holes on top using a fork and drizzle lemon syrup on top, allowing the cake to soak it all in. The more the cake rests in this syrup, the better. This allows for better absorption of flavors than adding the syrup during the time of serving. 

I think I've made some progress in my quest for the perfect lemon cake through this one! Let's see.