We’ve taken all the notes of a classic Hugo Spritz cocktail and twisted them into a cake; the sponge is flavoured with a healthy splash of elderflower liqueur, mint sugar and some lemon zest, then the whole cake is topped with a pillowy mascarpone cream, finished with more elderflower liqueur and Prosecco. Summer in a cake.
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Yields:
10 - 12 serving(s)
Prep Time:
20 mins
Cook Time:
1 hr
Total Time:
1 hr 20 mins
Ingredients
2
mint sprigs
250g
golden caster sugar
250g
unsalted butter, softened
4
medium eggs
250g
self-raising flour
1tsp.
baking powder
100g
greek yogurt
1/2
lemon, zested
60ml
elderflower liqueur
FOR THE TOPPING
1
mint sprig
1
medium egg white
3Tbsp.
caster sugar
125g
mascarpone
150ml
whipping cream
3Tbsp.
elderflower liqueur
2Tbsp.
Prosecco, optional
1/2
lemon, zested
Directions
Step 1For the cake, preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4 and line a 900g loaf tin. Remove the mint leaves from their stalks and finely chop. Put in a pestle and mortar with around 2tbsp of the golden caster sugar and pound until the mint leaves have completely broken up.
Step 2Put the butter in a freestanding mixer with both the mint sugar and remaining sugar and beat until light and fluffy. You can also do this with a handheld electric whisk if you prefer. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Beat in the flour and baking powder, then beat through the yoghurt, lemon zest and elderflower liqueur until well combined. Transfer to the prepared tin and bake for 55min–1hr, or until a cake skewer comes out clean when inserted. Leave to cool in the tin for 15min, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 3Make the frosted mint leaves to decorate. Remove the leaves from their stalk. Gently whisk the egg white until frothy in a small bowl and put the sugar on a flat plate. Brush the leaves with a little of the egg white, then dip in the sugar. Set aside on a plate to dry.
Step 4When the cake has cooled, whisk together the mascarpone and whipping cream to soft peaks, then whisk through the elderflower liqueur. For an extra hit of spritz, you can whisk in 2tbsp of Prosecco, too. Swirl the cream over the top of the cake, then decorate with the mint leaves and lemon zest. Serve.
You can bake the cake the day before you want to serve, just don’t add the mascarpone cream until you are ready to serve.
If you don’t want to use alcohol, you can simply swap the elderflower liqueur for elderflower cordial and skip the Prosecco.
Sarah is Good Housekeeping's Kitchen and Homes Director, looking after all things food and homes for the brand. Sarah started her career in journalism, then retrained as a chef 15 years ago following a lifelong dream to work in food. Since retraining, she has worked as a private chef, assisted on tv commercials, created recipes for some of the country's leading brands and became the go-to birthday and wedding cake baker in her friends and family network. In 2025, she was shortlisted for Cookery Writer of the Year by the Guild of Food Writers
