Blood Orange Cardamom Cake With Mint Feta Ice Cream

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 350u00b0F. Grease a 9 inch springform pan with olive oil, and flour the bottom of the pan.

2. 2

   In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, ground cardamom, and salt. Add the orange zest and mix well.

3. 3

   In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, eggs, olive oil, and orange juice. Whisk well to combine. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and whisk again to combine.

4. 4

   Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I suggest you start checking after 25 minutes: you do not want to overbake it.

5. 5

   Cool the cake for 15 minutes and then remove the sides of the pan. Place the cake (which is still attached the bottom of the springform) on a large plate, prick the cake all over with a fork, whisk the syrup ingredients together, and then drizzle the syrup all over the cake. The syrup will seep into all those fork holes you just made, and this is a very good thing. Allow to cool before serving with the ice cream.

6. 6

   Process the feta cheese, whole milk, and cream in a blender until smooth. Set aside.

7. 7

   Heat the half and half and the sugar in a medium pot on the stove. Remove from the heat before it comes to a boil, add the mint leaves, and cover. Allow the mint to infuse for about 1 hour.

8. 8

   Pour the infused liquid through a strainer into a bowl, squeezing out the mint leaves to extract all of their flavor. Compost or discard the mint. Reheat the minty milk mixture over medium heat to just before boiling, and then set it aside.

9. 9

   Beat the egg yolks with a wire whisk.

10. 10

    Slowly pour the warmed milk mixture into the egg yolks; whisk constantly while you do this so that the egg yolks don't cook.

11. 11

    Pour the warmed egg milk mixture back into a saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon.

12. 12

    Remove from the heat immediately and pour the custard through the strainer. Add the blended feta mixture and stir to combine.

13. 13

    Chill the custard completely in the refrigerator and then proceed to make ice cream according to your manufacturer's instructions.

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.