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OLIVE that We're Friends!

Okay, so I embraced my penchant for cheesy wordplay for Ulla's birthday treat, baking a quasi non-traditional olive oil cake accompanied by an "OLIVE that we're friends!" card. I write 'non-traditional' because this Italian cake is typically made with cherries; all I had in the fridge were blueberries. And Italians don't usually make cakes with grano duro (whole wheat). Still, it smells delicious. Hope she likes it.

Olive Oil Cake
3 large eggs
1 1/2 C organic granulated sugar
1 T pure vanilla extract
3/4 C extra-virgin olive oil
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 C white whole wheat flour
3/4 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
1/3 C polenta
2 1/2 C fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter whatever cake pans you want to use. I opted to make mini bundt cakes. Beat eggs and sugar till lightened in color. Add vanilla, olive oil, lemon zest, and lemon juice. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to egg mixture, along with polenta. Mix until combined. Pour two thirds of batter into prepared pan, and completely cover it with blueberries. Spoon remaining batter over blueberries, allowing fruit to peek through in spots. Bake until top and edges are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and cool completely on rack

Comments

  1. An olive oil cake sounds really neat. I bet it went well with the blueberries.

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Lisa, traditionally it's made with cherries, but the blueberries worked well, too.

    ReplyDelete

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