After making the pseudo-healthy chocolate chip cookies, I’ve been wondering what to do with the leftover almond flour. Then I saw this recipe via Cup of Jo, and I had my answer.
I’d never tried olive oil cake before, have you? It’s very interesting. I used meyer lemons as suggested and even with half a cup of the juice, the taste is very subtle – complex, even.
I think I may have used an olive oil that wasn’t mild enough though. When I took the first bite, I paused, thinking “whoa, that’s a little weird.” The olive oil flavor really sings in this cake — in fact, it howls raucously. However, by the third bite, I was hooked. It also complements coffee very nicely.
I used the basic olive oil from Trader Joe’s and it probably doesn’t qualify as “good quality” as specified in the recipe. Live and learn.
Still, it has a delicate crumb, as they say in the food industry (which I know nothing about but do read a fair number of food blogs), and the cake as a whole is very light. The crispy, crunchy crust is my favorite part. So good. Bonus: it’s super easy to make. You basically toss in all the ingredients into a bowl and mix. No creaming of butters, no sauteeing or toasting of exotic spices, no need for an electric mixer. Definitely my kind of recipe.
I’ll try it again for sure, but might make the extra effort to get less pungent olive oil. As I contemplate that, I think I’ll go cut myself another slice. And I might add some coconut milk whipped cream — perhaps that will take it up a notch.
i love olive oil cake- i once did a wine dinner (several years ago when I was still pastry cheffing….) and we paired an almond cake similar to this with olive oil ice cream and some braised cherries- it still stands out in my mind as pretty delish even though the first reaction is probably, “hmmm. interesting.” I heart olive oil. 😉
Oh, that sounds scrumptious! I think what this olive oil cake needs is a kind of lemon glaze (I don’t like rum so I didn’t make the glaze that was part of the recipe). But cherries and ice cream would do the trick too!
So I gave this a try, and it was delicious…
I did stray a bit from the recipe and split the all-purpose flour (1/2 c all purpose, 1/2 cup whole wheat). I also added a bit of vanilla and instead of rum in the glace, I used lemon essence. It was a really nice crumb as you said. It was delicious! Thanks for the post, I wouldn’t have otherwise given it a go. 🙂
I love the modifications you made! I’ll have to try substituting some of the white flour with whole wheat – much healthier. Thanks for letting me know, Adri!