So the truth is, baking is a drudgery to me. For one, every oven is different, and that means the timing is on my shoulders. Secondly, the ingredients are specifically measured, and if you don’t follow to the letter – you FAIL. I prefer to take creative license with my recipes, and in most baking situations, the pressure takes all of the fun out of it for me. Until I met this olive oil cake recipe!
I discovered it on Food52 (my favorite website for all things cooking/kitchen). They call it their “foolproof, good-no-matter-what cake”. This appealed to me for obvious reasons. The introduction also suggested slow-roasting strawberries for a simply delicious topping, and let me tell you – THAT was the icing on the cake (no pun intended!) . This combo seemed to tick all the boxes. An uncomplicated recipe with proven results, an interesting addition of roasted fruit, and the promise of a less stressful experience. It seemed like a win, win!
The perfect result was refreshing! After a straightforward preparation of mixing wet and dry ingredient together, the olive oil cake rose beautifully, cooled, and slipped out of the baking pan seamlessly. It was perfectly golden on the outside, and moist on the inside – with the bonus of not being overly sweet. Then comes the grand finale of slow-roasted strawberries (which can be prepared days ahead and refrigerated). Who knew a simple combination of fresh strawberries and sugar could result in a mouthwateringly jammy cake topping!?! An added bonus was a scent similar to toasted marshmallows while they were cooking. Heavenly.
This is an invitation to all non-bakers to dip your toes in the baking pool. Sometimes, you just have to eat cake!
Enjoy!
Kim & Tess
Gluten-Free Maialino’s Olive Oil Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cup gluten-free flour *we prefer Cup-4-Cup
- 1 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/4 cup whole milk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange zest
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/4 cup Grand Marnier
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350° F. Oil, butter, or spray a 9-inch cake pan that is at least 2 inches deep with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. (If your cake pan is less than 2 inches deep, divide between 2 pans and start checking for doneness at 30 minutes.)
- In a bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and powder. In another bowl, whisk the olive oil, milk, eggs, orange zest and juice and Grand Marnier. Add the dry ingredients; whisk until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, until the top is golden and a cake tester comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and let cool for 30 minutes.
- Run a knife around the edge of the pan, invert the cake onto the rack and let cool completely, 2 hours.
