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Chocolate Olive Oil Cake Made By Jeannie
Gluten-Free and Yummy!
My family enjoys this yummy, delicious, melty, and chocolaty dessert! I first baked this cake about 10 years ago when I walked into Williams Sonoma and saw Nigella Lawson’s new book, Nigellissima. I loved watching her on the Food Network and was eager to own one of her cookbooks. I picked the book up with excitement to see the beautifully curated photos, and the recipes were perfectly organized and clearly written in the simplest form.
Then I saw the dessert section, so aptly named Sweet Things. Nigella expressed her desire for desserts, so I knew this section would be gooood! Then, I saw this recipe, and I was hooked! The cake was a healthier option for me- a flourless, non-dairy-based, rich chocolate cake full of flavor. This couldn’t be, especially for me, a new mom who had to restrict her diet while pregnant due to gestational diabetes. I avoided all things sweet for months. Almond flour cake, who knew?
Immediately, I put my new baby in her car seat and drove home excited to make this cake. I have been making this cake for years, and everyone enjoys it!
Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
Luxurious, moist, and richly flavored, perfect for every chocolate lover’s dream. Ideal for health-conscious indulgence.
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 8-12 slices
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup regular olive oil (plus more for greasing)
- 6 tablespoons good-quality unsweetened cocoa (sifted)
- 2 teaspoons best vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups almond meal (or 125g plain flour / 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 cup superfine sugar(castor sugar)
- 3 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325ºF. Grease a 9-inch springform tin with olive oil and line the base with baking parchment paper.
- Measure and sift the unsweetened cocoa into a bowl and whisk in the boiling water until you have a smooth, chocolatey, still runny (but only just) paste. Whisk in the vanilla extract, then set aside to cool a little.
- In another smaller bowl, combine the almond meal with the baking soda and a pinch of salt
- Put the sugar, olive oil, and eggs into the bowl of a freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment (or other bowl and whisk arrangement of your choice) and beat together vigorously for about 3 minutes until you have a pale-primrose, aerated, and thickened cream.
- Turn the speed down a little and pour in the cocoa mixture, beating as you go, and when all is scraped in, you can slowly tip in the ground almond mixture.
- Scrape down, stir a little with a spatula, then pour this dark, liquid batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the sides are set and the very center, on top, still looks slightly damp. A cake tester should come up mainly clean but with a few sticky chocolate crumbs clinging to it.
- Let it cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, still in its tin, and then ease the sides of the cake with a small metal spatula and spring it out of the tin. Leave to cool completely or eat while still warm with some ice cream.
Notes
Baking Tips
- Use really good olive oil to enhance the flavor of your cake.
- Use a finer brand of cocoa powder to enhance the chocolate flavor, or add a little coffee to the cocoa mix.
- Make it a lemon Olive Oil cake—substitute the cocoa powder for fresh lemons and lemon zest.
- Use a heart-shaped springform baking pan for Valentine’s Day or small ramekins for individual servings.
- Garnish with fresh berries and a little scoop of ice cream.
- Serve warm or cold, it’s all good.
- Use vanilla bean paste rather than vanilla extract
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