Gino's Mint-Chocolate Chip Cake with Fresh Mint Syrup

One day this cake did not exist in my world. The next it seemed to be everywhere, in one variation or another. A few weeks ago, my daughter and I and our friends Nancy and Michael of Abruzzo Presto had lunch at La Locanda di Gino, in Sulmona. This restaurant is a gem. It opened in 1962 and has been expertly run by the Allega family since the beginning. The late Gino's sons, Giacomo and Marco (always impeccably dressed in colorful pressed shirts and ties) keep the front of the house running smoothly. In the back, their mother, Lucia, and wives Titina and Marcella make culinary magic, turning out fresh chitarra noodles, tender roast lamb, vegetable terrines and other piatti tipici Abruzzesi.

We didn’t save for dessert. Still, at the end of our meal, out came a plate with bite-size squares of cake on it. I figured it was just another liquor-spiked Italian sponge cake and declined. But as I sat there my curiosity got the better of me. I took a small piece. It was not at all what I expected. This mild-looking square of cake, studded with small bits of bittersweet chocolate, tasted of fresh mint. The crumb was perfectly tender. I took another piece. I asked one of the brothers about it, and he deferred to the experts in the kitchen. A little while later when I went back there to meet and thank them I found that they had already written the recipe on a slip of paper for me.

Next morning at Il Marchese del Grillo, the lovely B&B where we were staying, what should be on the breakfast buffet table but a chocolate mint cake? This one was by the mother-in-law of owner Marta Carrozza. It had a pretty, pale green crumb and rich chocolate ganache icing. It turns out I'm not the only one smitten with this cake. My friend Linda Prospero (aka Ciao Chow Linda) fell for Il Marchese's cake when she was in Sulmona last year and shared the recipe on her blog.

On the flight home, I opened up the July issue of La Cucina Italiana only to find a recipe for a frozen chocolate-mint cake. Can you blame me for having mint cake on the brain?

Gino's mint chocolate-chip cake was the first thing I made when I got back to my kitchen. The cake's bright flavor comes from mixing mint syrup into the batter. Fresh ricotta gives it a beautiful, tender crumb. You could use store-bought mint syrup, or Linda's clever substitute of crème de menthe. But I have a giant patch of mint growing in the Garden of Neglect, so I made mint simple syrup. It takes next to no effort and is good to have around (see recipe below).

In addition to putting it into the cake, I've been mixing it into fruit salad and drizzling it on ice cream. My son uses it to sweeten his iced tea. No doubt there are countless cocktails you could devise with it. To enjoy with your cake.

GINO’S MINT-CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE
Makes one 9x13-inch cake

Ingredients
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for greasing the baking pan
1 (16 g) packet lievito Pane degli Angeli (see NOTES) or 2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, at cool room temperature, plus more for greasing a baking pan
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar or vanilla sugar (see NOTES)
3 large eggs, at room temperature
9 ounces fresh ricotta cheese
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (see NOTES)
3/4 cup fresh mint syrup (recipe below), divided

Instructions
1. Heat the oven to 375° F. Butter and flour a 9- by 13-inch baking pan.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and stir well.

3. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. Beat in the flour mixture on low speed just until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat in the ricotta and chocolate chips. With the mixer running on low speed, gradually pour in 1/2 cup of the mint syrup and mix until fully incorporated.

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake 30 minutes, until browned on top and a cake tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

5. Remove from the oven and set the pan on a cooling rack. While the cake is still hot, use a pastry brush to brush the top with the remaining 1/4 cup of mint syrup. Let the cake cool to room temperature. To serve, cut into squares and dust with confectioners' sugar.

NOTES
Lievito Paneangeli is the Italian equivalent of baking powder. It comes in small packets and is often scented with vanilla. You can substitute 2 teaspoons baking powder.

I keep my sugar in a large container in which I bury a stick of vanilla bean or a pod from which the seeds have been scraped. This lightly infuses the sugar with the aroma of vanilla. I use this sugar for everything, including savory cooking.

For this cake, I use small bittersweet chocolate baking chips. The chips are smaller than regular chocolate chips (more like tiny disks) and sort of melt into the batter as the cake bakes. They provide the necessary hit of bittersweet chocolate flavor without the hard texture of regular chips. If you can't find them, substitute mini chocolate chips or finely chopped bittersweet chocolate.

FRESH MINT SYRUP
Makes 2 cups

Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar (see Notes)
4 strips of lemon zest (no white pith)
2 lightly packed cups fresh mint leaves

Instructions
1. Combine the water and sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and toss in the lemon zest. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

2. When the syrup is almost at a boil, coarsely chop the mint leaves. Do this at the last possible moment so that you don't lose any of that wonderful mint aroma. As soon as the syrup starts the boil, turn off the heat and gently stir in the mint leaves. Cover the saucepan and let the syrup steep until it is completely cooled to room temperature. I let it sit for about 3 hours.

3. Pour the mint syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean jar. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.