I think every cook needs an easy, delicious dessert in their repertoire. Olive Oil Cake is mine and now it can be yours too.
The reasons to love this cake recipe are myriad. It’s dead simple to make. It’s got a lovely, not-too-sweet flavor. It’s made in one pan, so you don’t have the angst of getting the layers even and there’s only one pan to wash up. Your guests will have probably never had it before. They will say things like, “who would have thought you could put olive oil in a cake?!?” It’s a very grown-up dessert.
But my two favorite things about this cake are: 1. It is fool-proof and 2. You probably already have everything you need to make it in your pantry.
I have made this cake so many times that I can knock it together with my eyes closed. I originally used a Nigella Lawson recipe but over the years I’ve made so many modifications that I now consider it a collaboration between Nigella and myself.
Yes, I do measure all my ingredients into small bowls before baking. It cuts down on mistakes and makes me feel like I’m cooking on t.v..
Ingredients:
4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lime (freshly grated, please!)
Zest of 1 lemon (see note above)
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ cup polenta (you can substitute fine corn meal here or even coarse corn meal that’s been whizzed in the food processor)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup olive oil
Confectioner’s sugar for garnish
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the eggs, sugar and zests.
Beat on high until the mixture is light and has tripled (or thereabouts) in volume.
Combine the rest of your dry ingredients on a bowl and whisk them together. With the mixer off, add one third of the dry ingredients to the bowl and turn on low. While the flour mixture is being incorporated, slowly add half the olive oil. Repeat the process, mixing only until you can see that the dry ingredients are incorporated. (Over-mixing is what makes cakes tough rather than tender.) When you’ve added everything, stop the mixer and scrape any remaining flour from the sides of the bowl. One last burst of mixing and your done.
Pour the batter into a well-greased 9 inch Springform pan, and pop it in the oven. Set the timer for 25 minutes but it will probably take 30. You can test this cake by inserting a wooden toothpick as normal, but remember that this cake isn’t getting iced so don’t make a big whole right in the center if you can avoid it. The cake will pull back from the side of the pan when it’s done and will spring back when lightly touched.
Cool your cake in the pan on a rack for 10-15 minutes before removing the side of the pan.
After removing the sides to the pan, put the cake back on the rack and place the rack over the sink. Sprinkle with powdered sugar using a fine mesh sieve or a sifter.
Voila! Serve with red wine and much laughter under the stars.
