Chocolate and Olive Oil Cake

January 10, 2023

An incredibly moist, indulgent, delectable and moreish chocolate and olive oil cake, perfectly balanced by a dollop of crème fraîche. The recipe below is not mine, it’s by a food writer Diana Henry, and it’s a joy to make.

  • 200 g of dark chocolate, 70 %
  • 125 ml strong-flavoured extra virgin olive oil
  • 200 g caster sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoons of ground almonds or hazelnuts (best if slightly toasted in a pan beforehand)
  • 5 large eggs, separated
  • a pinch of flaked sea salt

To serve:

  • icing sugar or grated dark chocolate
  • crème fraîche

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 C (160 C fan oven).

Butter and line the base of a 20 cm spring – form cake tin. 

Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir a little to help the chocolate melt.

Once it’s completely melted, whisk in the olive oil in a steady stream, then two-thirds of the sugar, whisking to help the sugar dissolve in the heat.

Stir in the ground almonds, a pinch of flaked sea salt and the egg yolks.

Whisk the egg whites until they start to form soft peaks, add the remaining sugar and carry on beating until the sugar has fully dissolved.

Using a large spoon, loosen the chocolate mixture by folding in a big tablespoon of the egg whites, then fold in the rest carefully so that you don’t loose the air. 

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 40 minutes. Test by inserting a fine skewer into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, with no batter attached, the cake is ready.

Leave the cake to cool down in the tin for a minimum of 1hour.

Carefully turn it out  and remove the paper. 

Put the cake on a plate, dust with sugar or grated chocolate and serve with a dollop of crème fraîche on the side.