Mojito Cake

For the cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Grease the pan and dust it with flour; set aside. A 26 cm diameter removable pan was used here.
2. Grate the lemon peels with a zester or fine grater. Keep the zest of each lemon separate: one part goes into the batter and the other in the topping.
3. After grating them, cut the lemons, squeeze them and keep the juice for the recipe.
4. Wash the spearmint, drain it and let it dry at room temperature.
5. When dry, pick the leaves you like best and pass them through a food processor or cut them into very small pieces.
6. Separate the egg whites from the yolks and beat the whites until stiff peaks form.
7. Add the sugar little by little, without stopping beating, until a meringue forms. It does not matter if it does not form perfect peaks, but it must be firm.
8. Add the yolks and continue beating until they are well incorporated.
9. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) in a bowl and sift them to avoid lumps.
10. Incorporate them little by little into the meringue with yolks, using a firm spatula and folding movements.
11. The batter will be dense. To soften it and give it mojito flavor, add the 2 ounces of lemon juice, the 3 ounces of rum, the zest of one lemon and the chopped spearmint.

    

12. Mix everything with folding movements so that the batter retains air and becomes fluffy.
13. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for about 35 minutes. Check doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center: it must come out dry.
14. Remove the cake from the oven, unmold it and let it cool on a rack. It must be completely cold before adding the cream.

    

For the whipped cream

15. Chill the cream in advance: put it in the freezer for 1 hour. It must be very cold, but not frozen. Also chill a bowl, preferably metal.
16. Put the cream in the cold bowl and beat it with whisks, preferably electric, until it has the consistency of a soft meringue.

    

17. Add the ½ cup of sugar little by little, without stopping beating.
18. When the sugar is incorporated, add the cream cheese and the rum, and beat until you achieve a very firm and perfumed cream.

Assembly

19. Place the cake back in the removable pan. If you do not have one, surround it with cardboard or thick paper to delimit its edge.
20. Add the whipped cream over the cake and distribute it evenly with a spatula.

    

21. Sprinkle the cake with the zest of the second lemon and the spearmint cut very finely. Enjoy!