This olive oil cake recipe will change your life…you’re welcome. 🙂
The cake is super moist and decadent, but still light enough to have a second slice. This seemingly simple cake is elevated by a sprinkle of flaky sea salt and boozy caramel raisins. Finally, the slightly tart crème fraîche mousse brings all the flavors together harmoniously. This dessert hits all the flavor profiles, sweet (but not too sweet), salty, olive oily, tangy and boozy. Perfection!
I am lucky enough to live near the restaurant that serves this famous dessert, Thompson Italian. It’s run by a husband and wife chef/owner duo, who honed their skills in some of NYC’s top restaurants including Per Se, Le Bernardin, and Del Posto before relocating to the D.C. area. Katherine Thompson, a renowned pastry chef with a James Beard nomination for best pastry chef of the year, created this ultimate olive oil cake that is routinely mentioned as one of the best dishes in Washington D.C.
I am so excited to share this olive oil cake recipe that is one of my all-time favorites. You can find this recipe and more contemporary Italian dishes in their cookbook, “Downtown Italian: Recipes Inspired by Italy, Created in New York’s West Village“.
Seriously, go make this cake and save this recipe!
+ Check out our tips for buying high quality olive oil
Gina
Ingredients
Cake:
- Nonstick spray (I recommend an extra virgin olive oil spray)
- 2 large eggs
- 1¼ cups sugar
- ¾ cup olive oil (High Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
- ½ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup Madeira
- 1¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Crème Fraîche Mousse:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup crème fraîche
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Raisin Marmellata:
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 3 tablespoons Vin Santo or Madeira (see Notes)
- Zest and juice of ½ lemon
- 2/3 cup water
- Generous pinch of kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
- 1/4 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
- 1 cup sugar
Garnish: Sea salt (preferably Maldon)
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 325°. Spray a 9” cake pan with nonstick spray; line with parchment paper and spray again with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl whisk together the eggs and sugar. Gradually add the olive oil, milk, and Madeira.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth, but do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a wooden skewer comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes.
- Let cool for at least 30 minutes before removing from the pan.
Crème Fraîche Mousse:
- Whisk the cream, creme fraiche, and sugar in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Raisin Marmellata:
- Place the raisins in a medium bowl. Set aside
- In another medium bowl, combine the Vin Santo, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/3 cup of the water, the salt, Grand Marnier, and vanilla bean.
- Heat the remaining 1/3 cup of water and the sugar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat; do not stir. Gradually cook the sugar until it is a medium amber color, 10-15 minutes. Slowly swirl the pan to evenly distribute the amber color, wiping down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to dissolve any sugar crystals.
- When the caramel reaches the correct medium amber color, remove the caramel from the heat. Slowly add the Vin Santo mixture to the caramel – be careful (as the caramel will rapidly bubble up).
- Return the saucepan to the heat and slowly stir together the caramel and the liquid. Bring the contents of the pan to a boil.
- Pour the caramel mixture over the raisins. Let cool. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
- To serve, slice wedges of the olive oil cake. Serve each wedge with a generous dollop of creme fraiche mousse and 2 tablespoonfuls of the raisin marmellata. Sprinkle with sea salt over the mousse to garnish.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Vin Santo is a traditional Tuscan dessert wine made from dried white grapes. It has a beautiful dark amber color and tastes like nuts, raisins, and honey. This wine is absolutely spectacular and the raisin flavor of the wine is the perfect with the raisin marmellata. The only drawback is that Vin Santo is relatively expensive. Madeira, a fortified wine from Portugal, is an excellent substitute. Not only does it have a flavor profile and color similar to Vin Santo, but it’s easier to find an affordable Madeira.
