One-Bowl Lemon and Olive Oil Cake
This sensational but simple lemon cake is courtesy of Brian Levy at the New York Times. It has saved us as we are out of our home for a few months whilst it is being restored and we have a reduced selection of kitchen appliances!
No glaze or drizzle, no syrup, just a light dust of icing sugar if you so desire. So it is all about the citrus flavour which is carried by the olive oil. Because of this, it is worth seeking out the very best organic lemons and a really good extra virgin olive oil to make it the best it can be.
INGREDIENTS
100g white chocolate, broken into small pieces
5 large organic eggs
150g granulated sugar
145g full-fat plain yoghurt (not Greek because it is too dense)
Zest of 2 medium organic lemons
The extract of a vanilla pod
100g almond flour
1½ tsp baking powder
A pinch of fine sea salt
A pinch of ground nutmeg
140g all-purpose flour
Icing sugar for dusting (optional)
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F and lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan with olive oil and then line with baking parchment.
Add the white chocolate to a large heatproof mixing bowl and place in the oven to gradually warm and melt – check it every minute to determine whether it has melted – it should take around 3–4 minutes. When fully melted, remove from the oven and whisk gently to give a smooth texture. Let the bowl cool until just warm.
Then add the olive oil to the white chocolate and whisk until well combined (an electric hand mixer works well). Add the eggs and whisk. Then add the sugar, yoghurt, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla until you have a uniform character. Then add the almond flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Combine well.
Finally add the all-purpose flour and gently whisk until the batter is even. Tap the bowl to eliminate any air bubbles in the mix.
Scrape the batter into your prepared cake tin and level out. Bake for around 50–60 minutes until golden brown and until a skewer comes out clean.
Allow to cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes then run a table knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Turn out onto a large plate and remove the baking parchment then flip back onto the rack and allow to cool for a further half hour or so.
When ready to serve, you can dust with a bit of icing sugar. Works well served warm or at room temperature and can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.