Olive Oil Cake Recipe
Use a mild-flavored olive oil. If your semolina (ground durum wheat) is coarse, run it through a food processor. Yield: One 10-inch Bundt cake.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup pine nuts
3 eggs, separated, at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup finely ground semolina flour
1 1⁄2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp plus a pinch of salt
1/2 cup olive oil, plus extra for greasing pan
1/2 cup plus 6 tbsp granulated sugar
2/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
For the glaze:
2 tbsp limoncello or lemon juice
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a Bundt pan with olive oil, and then dust the pan with flour.
Toast pine nuts over medium-low heat until fragrant and barely brown. Beat egg yolks with vanilla and lemon zest. Sift together flours, baking powder and soda, and half-teaspoon of salt.
Beat the half-cup olive oil with a half-cup sugar in a separate bowl for about 3 minutes. Beat in egg-yolk mixture, then ricotta. Gradually add flour mixture. Stir in pine nuts.
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until foamy. Beat in cream of tartar. Continue beating until soft peaks form, then add remaining 6 tablespoons sugar. When stiff peaks form, stir a dollop of egg-white mixture into batter, then fold in the rest. Stop when batter is uniformly combined. Pour batter into pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 35 minutes or until browned and set. Let cool, then invert cake onto a serving platter or cake stand.
Whisk limoncello and confectioners’ sugar together. Drizzle glaze over cake while it’s warm.
Want the important basics on olive oil? Check out All About Olive Oil: Cooking, Tasting and Buying.
Photo by Tim Nauman: This Olive Oil Cake is packed with the flavors of the Mediterranean.
