Thursday, August 12, 2010

XXI


I love olive oil so much that I often use bread as a vessel (read: excuse) to eat it in large amounts. But olive oil in sweets? I tried the famous olive oil ice cream at Babbo and wasn't a fan; the flavor was just too overwhelming. I felt as though I was straight up eating olive oil. It wasn't until I tried the olive oil cake at Abraço Coffee Shop that I discovered the true decadence of olive oil in a dessert. Its cake is brilliant; it has a subtle hint of nuttiness, a bit of sweetness and it's moist. If you've ever had the pleasure of trying Abraço's olive oil cake, you'll find that this recipe isn't as dense as the one served at the coffee shop. Theirs is more like a pound cake while this one is a a lot lighter with a looser crumb.


I recently made the olive oil cake for my relatives and Asians tend to find traditional American desserts too sweet for their palate but this cake was perfect for my family. I'll always be a carboholic but I just might start using cake as my olive oil vessel instead of bread.

Olive Oil Cake
Adapted from September 2009 Bon Appétit, from Abraço Coffee Shop

8 to 10 servings

1 1/2 c. organic unbleached white flour
1 c. organic sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
2 large organic eggs
3/4 cup organic whole milk
1/2 cup mild-flavored organic olive oil
2 teaspoon finely grated orange peel


1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Oil and flour a 9×5×3-inch metal loaf pan.
2. Combine eggs, milk, olive oil, and orange peel in medium bowl and whisk to blend. Gradually whisk egg mixture into dry ingredients. Transfer to prepared pan.
3. Bake Cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 60-65 minutes.
4. Cool in pan on rack 20 minutes. Invert pan to remove cake. Cool completely, top side up.

5 comments:

  1. this looks so good, I might try it! and I am such a dipper of bread in large quantities of olive oil...and chilli oil...garlic oil?! haha
    http://mcqueenismymorphine.blogspot.com/

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  2. You forgot step 5: feed entire cake to pin.

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  3. I so agree with you on the Olive oil ice cream, but olive oil cakes are indeed amazing. They have the most wonderful moist texture. I love them. This cake sounds lovely with the olive oil and bit of orange peel.
    *kisses* HH

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  4. Kate - ahh, good to know that I'm not the only one who drenches her bread in oil!

    Pin - I knew I was forgetting a step...

    HH - I thought I was the only one who didn't like the olive oil ice cream! Phew. I'm not alone.

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  5. This recipe is wonderful. Turned out just as Helen said: a not overwhelmingly sweet, light crumbly cake.

    It's so delicious, it can definitely stand on it's own.

    This one is a keeper for me. Thank you so much for sharing you recipes!

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