Olive Oil Cake with Cherries and Cacao Nibs

A Super Easy One-Bowl Cake That Delivers Big Time!

I love a good olive oil cake and have made quite a few – some much better than others. I made one from a recipe online a few weeks ago that I thought had great potential, but it didn’t pan out. I decided it was time to come up with my own recipe. 

First of all, it’s important to use an extra virgin olive oil that isn’t too astringent. I chose a medium-bodied olive oil – California Olive Ranch Global Blend – and is easily found in my grocery store. It’s smooth and fruity, which is a logical choice here. Second of all, this is a simple cake and I wanted to be sure it was easy to make. No electric mixer required. You simply whisk together the ingredients in one mixing bowl.

I’ve mentioned a flavoring agent in the past that I love, Fiori di Sicilia – a mix of citrus and vanilla. It was a no brainer to use it in this cake, along with additional vanilla extract. A quick word about the Fiori de Sicilia – I know of no other place to get it besides King Arthur Baking. I’ve had this bottle for almost a year and there’s still over half remaining in the bottle. You only use small amounts, in this case 1/2 teaspoon. A little goes a long way, so the bottle will last a good long while. It’s an oil based product and I store it in the fridge. If you don’t have it, you could just eliminate it and increase the amount of vanilla, or add the same amount of orange oil.

So, it’s just a matter of whisking together olive oil, sugar, orange zest, flavorings, baking powder and soda, a little salt, eggs, and sour cream. Gently mix in the flour. I had a bag of frozen cherries in my freezer and decided to add them to this cake. Fresh cherries would also work well. I also added a little black pepper – not enough to actually notice it, but just enough to enhance the cherry flavor. I folded in the cherries (but held back a few to place on top), poured it into the pan and placed the reserved cherries on top. 

I rubbed more orange zest into a third cup of sugar and added cocao nibs, stirred in a tiny bit of olive oil and sprinkled all of this on top of the batter right before it went in the oven.  The cocao nibs are really fantastic in the topping. Both their flavor and texture add a lot to the overall cake. I love biting into those crunchy bits. And the sugar topping gives it a crackly topping that I absolutely love.

The cake takes awhile to bake – 75 minutes. Don’t be afraid of baking it that long. The first time I made it I took it out of the oven too soon (65 minutes) and it ended up being underbaked. The olive oil and sour cream guarantee the cake stays moist, so you really don’t have to worry about over baking it a few minutes as you do with other cakes. 

This is one of those cakes that fits the bill any time of day. It’s lovely for dessert in the evening and equally good served in the morning or midday with a cup of coffee or tea because it’s not too sweet. Plus, it holds up very well and is just as good on the second, third, and fourth days as it is on the first. I’ve been thinking about making one with dried sour cherries and currants. I’ll let you know how that turns out, but in the meantime, this one is really splendid. And who doesn’t need a recipe that is this easy and satisfying?