Green tea and chocolate marble cake with mint glaze

This is about as “fancy” as I get with desserts when I make them at home.

And still, this cake has the soft, lightly spongey texture of a cannele, which is probably why I want to eat it non-stop.

And it doesn’t even require a mixer so, you could easily make it at your holiday weekend beach house or anywhere this week!

The subtle notes of green tea echo the stronger hits of cocoa in what is – to me – an irresistible combination.

Tips: Definitely strain the tea before adding it to the batter but if a few loose leaves escape, that is completely okay. I also like decorating the cake with some dry tea leaves on top. The green tea flavor here is subtle; if you want a stronger, more concentrated green tea, use matcha.

Green tea and chocolate marble cake with mint glaze 

You’ll need:

• 2 cups AP flour
• 2/3 cup raw sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 T BP
• 1/2 t salt
• 5 T very strong brewed green tea (I used Chinese whole leaf green tea from Teavivre.com)
• 1/3 cup good cocoa powder + a little more for sifting (I used Scharggen Berger)
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 t vanilla
• mint + simple syrup (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9 inch cake pan with parchment paper.

2. Sift together the dry ingredients, minus the cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, tea, and yogurt.

3. Fold in the flour mixture into the egg and yogurt mixture, adding about a cup at a time. Slowly incorporate the oil.

4. Divide the batter in half – add cocoa powder to one half of it, stirring well so that there are no clumps.

Pour the batter into the pan, alternating between chocolate and non-chocolate batters. Use a toothpick or chopstick – whatever is on hand – to swirl the two together into a marble pattern.

5. Bake cake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

6. While the cake is baking, dissolve 1 cup sugar in 1 cup of water and bring to light simmer. Take off heat and infuse with fresh mint. Strain.

7. Once the cake cools, you can glaze it lightly with a brush dipped in the syrup. This also adds a little bit of extra sweetness, so adjust the amount of glaze according to your taste.

Sprinkle with cocoa powder and some dry tea leaves before serving.

Have a great 4th of July, if you’re celebrating!