First of all, full disclosure - this Olive Oil Cake recipe was not an original recipe created by me but the joke about this cake with olive oil is that the direction for the original recipe are so confusing and convoluted that the first few times we made it, we did it wrong! LOL Has that ever happened to you? The even funnier bit of the story though was that everyone though the ‘wrong’ versions of this Olive Oil Cake was even better then the original/right version!!! They say baking is a science but in the case of this recipe, it only gets better the more you screw up! HAHA!
Anyways, the first time I heard of ‘olive oil cake’ I was not enthusiastic at all. The name to me is not appealing AT ALL and I was shooketh at just how amazing it actually. A staple in most Mediterranean kitchens, Olive Oil Cake is a light and airy cake, perfect for serving with tea or coffee as an afternoon snack. It isn’t overly sweet (even with the sugar topping) and when garnished with lemon zest (or any citrus works really) its delightful without being over powering. Also, since we used a bit of almond flour, the texture came out so moist! Perfect for dipping!
Anyways, I know you are going to just love this cake if you can just get past the name like I did so instead of doing a recipe review like I would normally with a recipe that is not mine, I have tweeked it so that the directions are much easier to follow AND so that you can have the benefits of our beautiful mistakes! Enjoy!
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INGREDIENTS:
Serves 8
- Spring Pan Prep -
2 TBSP of Olive Oil
2 TBSP of Sugar
- Cake Mix -
2 Cups of Cake Flour
1/3 Cup of Almond Flour
2 TSP of Baking Powder
1/2 TSP of Baking Soda
1/2 TSP of Kosher Salt
3 TBSP of Cointreau or other liquer like Grand Marnier, Amaretto or Sweet Vermouth
3 TBSP of Lemon Juice
2 TSP of Vanilla
3 Eggs
1 TBSP of Lemon Zest
1 Cup of Sugar
1.25 Cups of Olive Oil
- Extras -
2 TBSP of Sugar
2 TBSP of Olive Oil
- Optional Garnish -
1 TBSP of Lemon Zest
You will also need a hand mixer, 9 inch springform pan and parchment paper!
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DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400!
NOTE: After placing the cake in the oven reduce the heat to 350!
Prepare your spring form pan by coating it (sides too) with olive oil and lining the bottom with parchment paper. Coat parchment paper with more olive oil.
Sprinkle pan with sugar and coat evently, tap out any excess.
In a medium size bowl, mix the flour, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl using a whisk. Eliminate any lumps that you see.
In another smaller bowl, mix together the cointreau, lemon juice, and vanilla.
In your largest bowl, beat eggs, lemon zest, and one cup of sugar together with a hand mixer at high speed until the mixture is very light/pale in colour - about 5 minutes
While still mixing on high speed, slowly stream in you olive oil until well incorporated and mixture thickens further.
Next, reduce your hand mixer speed to low and add in 1/3 of your flour mixture before alternating back and forth with 1/2 of the Cointreau mixture. You should start and end with the flour mixture!
Using a spatula, scrape the sides of bowl and fold in so everything is well incorporated before pouring the olive oil cake batter into the prepared pan.
Smooth the top out toward the edges from the middle before sprinkling the top with a little extra sugar! This is going to make it nice and golden brown.
Place pan in oven (remember to reduce the heat to 350!) and bake until golden brown - about 45 -50 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
Transfer cake to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before releasing the springform. You may want to run the edge of the pan with a knife to help loosen the cake from the sides of the pan
Poke holes on the top of the cake with a toothpick and drizzle 2 TBSP of olive oil into the cake and let it absorbe before serving.
OPTIONAL: You may want to sprinkle the top of the cake with extra lemon zest for garnish/decoration!
Enjoy!
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I hope you enjoyed this olive oil cake recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments about this olive oil cake please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Happy baking!!!
