A simple and subtle olive oil cake

​My life in the kitchen began as a baker. I was eight years old and had been following my grandmother around her kitchen well before that. She was a great cook and food enthusiast, having spent time in France and also growing up with her grandmother Gesine, who was another amazing lady in the kitchen. Marjorie was a renegade around food, making up dishes and playing loose and fast with recipes. But she told me this about baking: “the first time, follow the recipe exactly, as though you are a scientist in a lab. After that, you can make changes until that recipe becomes your own.”

I have always followed her advice and recommend that you do too. In general, I also think it’s smart to read a new recipe a few times before starting out, particularly with baking, because there will always be one small, unexpected detail waiting to trip you up. Another habit I have is to gather all of the ingredients before I start working (paying attention to the minutiae of things like room temperature eggs and how chilled or not your butter should be).

All that said, this is a simple and elegant little cake. She looks a bit underwhelming at first glance, but a few bites in and you will become seduced by the subtle citrus and olive oil flavors and the slight crunch of cornmeal. It’s also a beauty in that it gets better and better with each day (really!). You can pretty her up with some berries and soft whipped cream or just cut a plain slice and have it as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea or glass of sherry, as my grandmother would have done.

Olive Oil Cake

Ingredients

3 large eggs at room temperature

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1¼ cups olive oil
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour or GF
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup grand marnier
• Juice and zest from 1 goodorange (about 1/4 cup of juice)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or the seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean if you are feeling rich

Method
Oven to 400°
Grease a 9 inch spring form pan with either olive oil, butter or cooking spray, and stick a round of parchment in the bottom (use a pencil to trace the bottom of the pan). Grease some more and if you like, sprinkle with some sugar.

Whisk the flour, cornmeal, powder, soda and salt together in a small bowl. In a very small bowl, combine the grand marnier, orange juice, zest and vanilla.

If you have a stand mixer, this is the time to lug it out and use the whisk attachment. If not, use a regular hand mixer and it will just take a little more time. In a big bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they become very light colored, thick and creamy (think ribbons of batter that leave trails). A few minutes in a stand mixer, a few more than that with a hand mixer. Have your olive oil ready in a cup with a spout and very gradually drizzle it into your egg mixure (still mixing) until incorporated.

Beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mix in the flour and liquid mixtures (alternating). Scrape the bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is mixed and pour into the pan. If you have any kind of decorative sugar, this is a good time to use it. If not, sprinkle the top of the cake with regular sugar and stick in the oven.

Immediately turn the heat down to 350° (or 325° convection) and bake for 30-40 minutes, checking early. It is done when the top is just springy and light golden brown. I have not had luck with a cake tester for this cake, but luckily it is pretty forgiving. Leave to cool for 10-15 minutes and then release from the pan and continue cooling on a rack. Carefully slide a spatula under it and move to a plate. It will keep for days, covered in plastic wrap or an air tight container.

Cakelet: My new favorite word!

When I was a kid I loved baking, read Gourmet magazine religiously, and once sent away for an informational packet for a Kitchen Aid mixer. In the 1970’s, you had to fill out a form, cut it from the back of the magazine and send it in an addressed, stamped envelope. Considering my typical dysfunctional 70’s childhood, it’s remarkable that I was able to do all of these things. When the large yellow envelope arrived, I felt an incredible excitement and then total sadness as I read the cost of this dream machine (the equivalent of $300 now). I then went back to using my grandmother’s avocado green handmixer.

The lack of a Kitchen Aid did not stop me from passionately baking elaborate cakes and desserts all throughout my childhood. I was lovingly gifted one by my generous mother-in-law when I was pregnant with my now 23 year-old daughter. And although for many years I used it almost to death (along with the Kitchen Aids of many clients), I more recently have found myself reverting back to making many of my desserts with a small hand mixer or wooden spoon. They all do the same job in the end.

You don’t need a fancy mixer, but a hand mixer is handy...

This recipe can be made with a big kickass mixer, small handmixer, or wooden spoon. It looks a little long and complex for such a tiny outcome, but it is worth it for the sweet, cute, deliciousness! And it can be made a little ahead of time (same day) and looks very elegant finishing off a fancy dinner party. The best part of it in my mind however, is when you present it as a CAKELET, the best word ever! Now, get moving and make them!

Caramelized Upside-Down Plum Cakelets

Makes 6 individual servings.

Ingredients

6 tablespoons + 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup light  brown sugar, firmly packed

5 plums, pitted and sliced

3/4 cup gluten free flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Big pinch of baking soda

1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger

Pinch salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

Zest of 1/2 a lemon or orange

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter the ramekins generously and place them on a small, parchment or greased foil-lined baking tray (I use a 1/4 sheet size and you will thank me for lining it in the end!). Melt 6 T of the butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add brown sugar and whisk. It will separate and look super greasy at first, but persist and it will turn into a silky and smooth sauce. Pour carefully into equal amounts into the ramikins and place a fanned layer of plum slices right onto the sauce.

Sift the five dry ingredients into a smallish bowl.

Use an electric hand mixer (or wooden spoon) to cream the 4 T of  butter with the sugar and orange zest. Add the egg and vanilla till combined. Alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter.

Divide the batter into the ramekins and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the cakes are firm to the touch, and a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool on a rack until you can just pick them up. Run a small knife around the edges of the cake and flip onto small serving plates. If you buttered the ramekins well, the should come out easily. You may have a reluctant piece of plum to fish out and rearrange.

You can serve these warm or at room temperature. I love them with a little whipped cream that you’ve added a few spoonfuls of creme fraiche to...They don’t do quite as well the next day.