Chocolate olive oil cake

I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day!  I had a lovely, lovely day.  It's been seven years but I can still hardly believe I'm a mom and get to celebrate Mother's Day as such.  Now, here we are in the midst of May already...

Last week, I made a cake for my family and I to snack on.  I had never made (nor do I remember eating) an olive oil cake before so when I saw Nigella's chocolate olive oil cake in her latest book, I thought I'd give it a try.  I think what's held me back from making olive oil cake is the very idea itself; I had qualms about olive oil and cake together.  I really wasn't sure the additional combination with chocolate was the best idea either but since I do love chocolate, I figured that if all else failed, the chocolate flavor would hopefully carry me through.

The result was nothing overly dramatic (which I'm happy about).  This cake turned out to be extremely moist - thanks to that olive oil.  Plus, almond meal instead of flour (though you could use flour if you wanted to)  made for what Nigella calls a "squidgy" interior and I think that sums up the texture exactly.  I'm not sure I would've been able to tell the cake was made with olive oil, rather than vegetable or canola oil, if I hadn't made it myself.  It adds a little bit of a fruity background but using a mild, ordinary (as opposed to extra-virgin) olive oil makes for a more neutral impact.  I think that's a good thing.  Despite the somewhat rich texture, this cake is actually pretty light, without dairy and with just cocoa powder contributing to the chocolate flavor.

Since I cook with olive oil all the time, I don't necessarily need to incorporate it into my baking.  But this cake did finally satisfy my curiosity about it.  It was a fun experiment that resulted in an enjoyable everyday cake.  The one thing I wish I'd done was to substitute some of the vanilla extract with almond extract in this cake.  I think that could have been good given the almond meal and how nicely almond goes with chocolate.

I am still enthralled with strawberries and picked up some more the other day.  I had some with this cake and instead of using whipped cream, I was oh-so-good and topped my slice with some Greek yogurt instead (boy, have I changed!)  But my son will tell you that the cake is far better eaten with vanilla ice.  


Before getting to the recipe, one last word on Mother's Day.  I was spoiled with gifts and I want to thank my little guy (who I call my "big guy", interchangeably : ) for the handmade pictures and cards, a few of which are pictured below.  They were truly my favorite gifts!

Recipe:

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
From Nigella Lawson

- Makes one 9-inch round cake - 

2/3 cup regular olive oil, plus more for pan
6 tablespoons high-quality unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional; I added)
1/2 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (I think substituting half with almond extract could work well also)
1 1/2 cups almond meal (or 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup superfine sugar
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan with olive oil and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.

Sift cocoa powder into a small bowl, add espresso powder (if using), and whisk in the boiling water.  Add vanilla extract, then set aside to cool slightly.

In another bowl, whisk together the almond meal, baking soda, and salt. 

Add sugar, olive oil, and eggs into the bowl of a standmixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, until mixture is thick and aerated.  On low-speed, add cocoa mixture until combined.  Then, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Pour the runny batter into the prepared cake pan.  Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the sides of the cake are set but the center is still a bit runny.  A cake tester should come out with just a bit of crumbs attached.

Remove cake from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack.  Remove the sides of the springform pan and let cool completely or serve cake warm with vanilla ice cream (or other accompaniment, if you wish).