Try Your Hand in the Kitchen

Friday night, I had a yummy dinner at a nice little restaurant nearby...and topped off the hearty meal with a fantastic, if a tad strange sounding, dessert. Olive oil cake sounds like exactly the type of thing that is not, in fact, a fantastic dessert--it conjures something a little too greasy, a little too tasteless, a little too...weird. But, when I asked our waiter about it, he waxed rhapsodic and exclaimed that it was, indeed, perfect...like a poundcake without the butter...the perfect blend of sugary, floury goodness.

He was right. For those of you who are trying to watch that cholesterol intake (those scary trans fats get you every time in the baked goods arena), olive oil cake is a great idea--i would have used "substitute," but it didn't feel like a substitution at all.

Try this recipe from Tulocay's Made in Napa Valley:

Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 extra large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Lemon
3 tbsp grated lemon zest

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Grease and flour an 8" springform pan, or line a cake pan with parchment paper.

Place egg yolks, sugar, olive oil and lemon zest in a large bowl and mix until combined. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add to above mixture and mix until just combined. With a mixer, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold into the flour mixture until combined, being careful not to overmix.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes. Rotate the pan and turn the oven down to 325° and bake for another 15 minutes. The cake will rise and turn a nice deep golden brown color. It is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Garnish with lemon zest and serve with a side of fruit and crème fraíche.

Fix your jones for more olive oil-centered recipes @ www.madeinnapavalley.com and oliveoilsource.com

Posted by sarah t. at 3:02 PM