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Ersilia’s Olive Oil Cake

11/12/2012

4 Comments

 
I meet the most wonderful people.

I met Ersilia just a couple of months ago at my local Farmer’s Market.  She was there in a booth, selling olive oil.  Olive oil always attracts my attention, so I wandered over to take a peek and upon perusing the bottles, realized that several of them were from Umbria!  Well, that started a conversation and as it turns out, Ersilia, an American of Italian descent, went to college in Perugia, speaks fluent Italian and is the owner of her own small business importing olive oil from around the world.  It was through Ersilia that my recent tour group to Umbria had the pleasure of visiting frantoio Trampolini and sampling their wonderful olive oil firsthand.
Picture
It’s also thanks to Ersilia that you are getting this lovely recipe for Olive Oil cake.  This is a moist and delicious bundt cake.  It keeps well, is a great everyday cake (yes, in Irene’s world, it is okay to eat cake every day), and would work great at a potluck.  I baked it not long ago for my husband’s office and they enjoyed it immensely.  What I love best about this cake is the amount of citrus zest in it, giving it a bright and lively flavor.






Here’s your list of ingredients:
1 c. all purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 ¼ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
Pinch of salt
4 eggs
1 ¾ c. light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 c. olive oil (Ersilia uses her Oro Verde Lucano, a light and buttery choice)
1 ½ c. milk
Grated zest from one large orange and a lemon
Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Grease and flour your bundt pan and set aside.  Preheat the oven to 350 and let’s get started:

Combine the two types of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside.
Beat together the eggs and brown sugar until thick and frothy.  
Slowly add the olive oil.  Then add the orange and lemon zests and continue to mix well.
Alternating in 2 batches, add ½ of the flour mixture to the egg mixture.  
Then add ½ of the milk, mixing until just blended with no lumps.  
Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and remaining milk.  Do not over mix.  
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Picture
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about one hour.  Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.  Loosen the sides with a knife and invert onto a serving plate.  Dust the cake with confectioner’s sugar.  (You’ll notice my pictures don’t show the cake dusted with confectioner’s sugar.  That’s because sometimes, I can be a very impatient baker.  Forget the decorating; I can barely wait for things to cool before I eat them.)

This was today's breakfast along with a lovely cappuccino.  Buon appetito and thanks Ersilia!

If you too are interested in Ersilia's olive oils, visit her website:
www.oliveoiloftheworld.com

OR......
Sign up for one of my tours to visit an olive oil mill!


4 Comments
Lisa Quinn
11/12/2012 11:27:04 am

I am not the best cook or a baker anymore now that the kids are grown but this cake just compels me to give it a shot, so I hope I do, as I do have an office to bring the rest to if we don't eat it all, (which I hope we don't!!)

Reply
Irene Quinn link
11/12/2012 11:19:21 pm

This cake is not difficult to make, and it's a real crowd pleaser. You can do it Lisa! ~Irene

Reply
Holly Grabow
11/25/2012 04:49:24 pm

Yummy looking recipe... looking forward to trying it out.
The photos, as usual, are gorgeous!
A tour to an olive oil mill... that sounds like so much fun! ;)

Reply
Irene link
1/15/2013 02:21:15 am

Hope the cake turns out well for you Holly! I think you should definitely join me on my next tour so you can come to the olive oil mill with me.

Reply



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