Friday 25 August 2023

Lemon Olive Oil Cake

This is a lovely, gluten-free cake by Charlotte Ree, from her book Just Desserts.  I've just read her memoir Heartbake, which tells the story of her break-up with her husband, and her attempts at dating after the split and divorce.  It includes some recipes, and her tales of trying to impress new beaux with her intricate dishes.  Sadly, this did not work, until she met her current partner when she was 30 - on Tinder no less. 

This cake is simple, easy and delicious.  It uses hazelnut meal, one of my faves (I find almond meal kinda bland) and lots of glorious olive oil and lemon.  Oh yes, and two teaspoons of vanilla extract.  Such a brilliant addition, as many recipes wimp out on the vanilla.  Not Charlotte though!


moist, gooey, vanilla-y, scrumptious


Serves 12:

ingredients:

150g./5.3 oz hazelnut meal

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

zest of one lemon

pinch of sea salt flakes

150 mL/5 oz EV olive oil

200g./7 oz caster sugar

3 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

icing sugar, for dusting

chopped pistachios on top, to serve (my addition)

creme fraiche, to serve


Method:

Turn on your oven to 170C/340F 

Grease a 20cm/8 inch springform tin, and line the base with baking paper

Grab a small bowl, and whisk together the hazelnut meal, bicarb, lemon zest and sea salt

Olive oil, caster sugar and eggs go into a large mixing bowl, and you beat with electric hand beaters for 3 minutes on high speed till pale and thickly creamy

Now reduce the speed to medium-low, and beat in the vanilla

Then add in the hazelnut mixture, which you stir in gently with a spatula

Pour the mixture into the tin, and bake for 40-45 minutes (you know the drill - pierce its lemony little heart with a skewer, and make sure it comes out clean)

Let it rest for 10 minutes in the tin, take it out of the tin and let it go completely cool

Dust with icing sugar, and some extra lemon zest if you feel inclined, and serve with creme fraiche

Store it for a couple of days in an airtight container if not devoured pronto


Notes:

Charlotte suggests decorating the cake with some lemon peel strips and sugar that you have rubbed together with your fingers, if you wish to "glam it up" - I cooked up some dried lemon slices in a sugar syrup, and chopped them up for serving


ingredients gathered

beat up the oil, sugar and eggs

pour the batter into the cake tin

and baked at 170C for 40-45 mins.

let it cool right down on a wire rack

dust with icing sugar and sprinkle on pistachios

yep, I'm about to hoe in



c. Sherry M.


42 comments:

  1. This sounds very good -- I'm not really used to using those ingredients together and they sound like they'd be a good combo!

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  2. Lovely! I haven had a hazelnut flour/meal cake in decades.

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    1. thanks Melynda. I do love hazelnut meal in baking.

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  3. I too love to use hazelnut meals to bake the gluten free cakes. Love this one with that glorious moist crumb. Blogger is again acting strangely...I can't even log in google here to comment. Had to use anonymous.
    angiesrecipes
    http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

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    1. sorry about that Angie. Blogger is such a temperamental bugger.

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  4. An interesting story about her relationship hunting and an interesting looking cake. I like your addition of chopped pistachios on the top.

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  5. We don't get hazelnut meal here so I've made my own a few times. This cake sounds great.
    from Tandy I Lavender and Lime https://tandysinclair.com

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    1. thanks Tandy. Ideally it's best to make one's own nut meals fresh but I rarely get inspired to do it :=)

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  6. Lovely cake for the long suffering Mr P to have to sample, maybe more than once!

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  7. I have never used hazelnut meal before but have used several other nut and seed flours. This sounds very tasty and is going in my bookmarks. Best of all just substituting allulose for the sugar would make this totally keto. I am going to try this next week.__Anne in the kitchen

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  8. Meeting her partner on Tinder? I feel like that's pretty unusual! Either way, this recipe sounds fantastic. I haven't played around with hazelnut flour, but I'm intrigued as I love the taste of hazelnuts. Sounds fantastic, Sherry!

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  9. This looks so yummy! I have never used Hazelnut meal as a gluten alternative. Interesting!

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    1. thanks Marie. It is a great alternative to almond meal which tends to be bland.

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  10. Oh my! You have my full attention. Love this recipe.

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  11. This cake really stands out! Olive oil, hazelnut, and of course lemon - which is one of my favorite flavors.

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    1. thanks Jeff. it was a winner. I love lemon too.

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  12. I've never cooked with hazelnut meal (and to be honest didn't know it existed. But I do love hazelnuts so I can imagine this tastes divine.

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    1. I love hazelnut meal Frank. Best to make your own but bought is okay too :)

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  13. Your cake looks beautifully dense, and rich, and yet the surface looks almost like a meringue. What a cake. Different to what I normally bake but would love to give it a try. Good one Sherry.

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  14. I would love this with the hazelnuts! Sounds like an interesting read also!

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  15. I'm glad my internet dating days are well over! Looks like a terrific cake Sherry. Bet it's full of flavour! Yum!

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    1. thanks Neil. Yes I couldn't cope with modern dating :)

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  16. Yum! It looks fab!

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  17. That's a fine looking slice of cake Sherry. I've never made a GF dessert, but this would be a good one to start on...

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    1. yes this is great to have in your repertoire Ron for any GF friends.

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  18. At first I thought you had made a black sesame cake and was immediately intrigued by it! :)

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    1. yes it's surprisingly dark this cake but delicious :)

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  19. Thanks for sharing this delightful lemony creation! I'm excited to try it and might just go for the "glam it up" option with some lemon peel strips.

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    1. It is a good cake! Yes do try the lemo peel strips for the glam!

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  20. This looks so good and the book sounds great too! I love baking with olive oil and that this cake is gluten free and dairy free, if you pass on the creme fraiche that is :)

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  21. A beautiful cake, to be sure. I somehow expected it to be light in color with the lemon and olive oil, but I guess the hazelnut meal (which I also love) took over! Definitely own to try!

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    1. yes it was a bit surprising but the hazelnut meal turned it dark! still delish :)

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