Looking for a crowd-pleasing holiday dessert? How about a make-ahead breakfast to serve your hungry overnight guests?
In either case, you’re in luck: this Lemon-Basil Olive Oil Cake from our friends at Berkeley Bowl works both ways. Olive oil cake is moist and decadent but not too sweet, so you can serve it with or without powdered sugar to take it from day to night. For the tastiest results, use locally grown Gotham Greens basil and high-quality olive oil—the fruity flavor will complement the citrus zest for a festive centerpiece you can serve all season long.
Lemon-Basil Olive Oil Cake
Ingredients:
– 2 cups all-purpose flour
– 1 ¼ cups sugar
– 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
– ½ teaspoon baking soda
– ½ teaspoon baking powder
– 1 ⅓ cups Berkeley Bowl premium olive oil
– 1 package Gotham Greens Basil, leaves removed from stems, torn into pieces
– 1 ¼ cups whole milk (6% A3 from Alexandre farms)
– 3 large eggs
– 1 medium lemon, zested
– powdered sugar
– fresh whipped cream
Instructions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. We used a silicone cake pan; if you use a metal pan, line the bottom with parchment.
2. In a large bowl, sift your flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
3. Using a blender, puree olive oil and basil on high until it turns into a smooth paste. Add half the milk and pulse until incorporated, then remove the container from the motor and whisk in the rest of the milk until fully incorporated. (Alternately, you can blitz all the ingredients in the blender, but if you’re using a high fat milk keep an eye on it or you’ll have a compound butter in seconds.)
4. In another large bowl, combine eggs and lemon zest and mix well. Pour the basil mixture from the blender into the eggs and lemon zest bowl and mix well.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated – be careful not to over mix.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and give it a light tapping (just lift the pan about an inch above the counter surface and drop it lightly) to get out any air bubbles.
7. Bake for 35 minutes, until the top is golden and a cake tester comes out clean. If you see any jiggle in the middle of your cake when pulling it out of the oven, add a few more minutes of cooking at a time until it is firm and set. Transfer the cake to a rack and let cool for 30 minutes.
8. Invert your cake on to a plate and remove parchment paper on the bottom. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and garnish with a sprig of basil. To serve, slice cake and top with a dollop of freshly whipped cream.
Recipe and photography courtesy of Berkeley Bowl
Follow @gothamgreens and @berkeleybowl for more!
