Welcome to a new, and hopefully permanent, addition to the BWNA newsletter: our neighborhood recipe box. We’d like to invite neighbors to submit their favorite recipes—— they don’t need to be original or fancy——just something you enjoy making and people enjoy eating. If you have a good story or picture to go along with the recipe, send those too!
I will kick things off with this recipe for olive oil cake. First, I should confess I’ve never actually made this cake—— my husband is the baker in the family——but I have enjoyed eating it many times. It is simple and moist, sweet but not overly sweet, and pairs really well with almost anything (fruit, ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate). It also tastes pretty good with a cup of coffee for breakfast. The recipe makes a fairly large cake but it keeps well—— no need to refrigerate.
Olive Oil Cake
3 eggs 2 ½ cups granulated sugar 1 ½ cups extra-virgin olive oil 1 ½ cups milk Grated zest of 2-3 oranges or lemons 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder Large pinch of salt
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter and flour a 12-inch cake pan (I usually make this in a 12-inch cast iron skillet – it gives a nice crisp edge and looks good). In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and granulated sugar. Add the olive oil, milk, and orange or lemon zest.
- In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the dry ingredients, and slowly add the egg mixture, stirring just until blended. Do not over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. I let the cake cool in the skillet, and serve it from the pan. You could also let it cool completely, loosen the sides with a knife, and invert onto a serving plate (hold the plate against cake pan and flip…hopefully it will come out in one piece).
Serve with fresh fruit or anything else that sounds good. This time of year I would recommend strawberries and rhubarb or blueberries with cream. You can’t go wrong. Enjoy!
(Recipe adapted from Tenuta di Capezzana by Jim Dixon of RealGoodFood.com)
If you would like to share your recipe, please submit the complete recipe plus any pictures or stories to president@bwna.us. If you know the source of the recipe, include that as well. We would love to have a new recipe in each newsletter – so send as many as you like.