Raise your hand if you like olive oil. My hand is raised and I'm waving it like crazy. I love olive oil. I use it for most all of my cooking and salad dressings. One reason is the health benefits although my main reason is flavor. There is a wide range of flavors with olive oil. The type of olive, where it is grown, and how fresh it is are some of the factors. How I use it depends on the flavor too. Recently one inspired me to make a wonderful walnut olive oil cake.
Frances Mayes Bramasole Olive Oil is what inspired the cake. I was contacted recently to find out if I would like to try some olive oil. Well, yes, of course, absolutely. I'll try olive oil any day of the week. I've been to olive oil tastings. My pantry has quite an assortment. The oil arrived during the holidays and I set it aside. Yea, too busy. Once I got around to tasting it, I could kick myself for letting it set for a moment. It is so good I could almost drink it. Almost. Next closest thing is to soak it up into a piece of bread and try to stop eating it.
Bramasole is 100% Tuscan. The oil is made from hand-picked olives and is I.G.P. (Indicazione Geografica Protetta) certified for both origin and processing in Tuscany. It is pressed immediately and air-shipped so the freshness can be enjoyed right away. It is fruity, green, and a little "spicy". The fruitiness and spiciness is what made me think of cake. I've wanted to bake an olive oil cake for the longest time. I now had the perfect oil for it.
I decided on walnut olive oil cake after an extensive recipe search. Most all the recipes I found were orange or lemon. My citrus cocktail mini bundts had satisfied my citrus craving. I wanted something different. A nut cake was in order. I found a recipe calling for hazelnuts. Ever been through the process of peeling hazelnuts? It's a big pain. I would rather go with walnuts and I thought they would be right for the olive oil and it's fruity/spicy flavors.
The cake sank a little in the center. No worries. The taste is what counts. The cake is moist, nutty, and has a hint of citrus from some lemon zest. Besides, you can fill in the sunken middle with some whipped cream or fruit. I would have went with whipped cream except a friend I was sharing it with does not eat it. I thought it looked pretty enough with the dusting of confectioners sugar.
Are you interested in Frances Mayes Bramasole Olive Oil? You can visit the website, The Tuscan Sun, for more information. It is a special olive oil and would be a real treat for yourself or a foodie friend. I am glad I had the opportunity to taste it. Special thanks to Chef Robin White for making it happen.
The beautiful olive branches are courtesy of my friend Terry - thanks for clipping them from your trees!
Walnut Olive Oil Cake
Ingredients
- 5 ½ ounces walnuts lightly toasted and cooled
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for pan
- ½ cup whole milk at room temperature
- Finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Confectioners sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9-inch springform pan with olive oil. Place the pan on a rimmed baking sheet and set aside.
- Place walnuts in a food processor fitted with a knife blade. Chop nuts until finely ground.
- Transfer the ground nuts to a bowl. Add the flour and baking powder and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk, beat the eggs on medium-high speed until foamy or frothy, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the sugar in increments and beat until light pale yellow and thick, about 4 minutes. Gradually add the flour/nut mixture and beat until just combined. Add the oil, milk, lemon zest, and vanilla. Beat until just combined. Do not over-mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan. Bake until lightly browned and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool cake completely in the pan on a rack. The center of the cake may sink during cooling. Remove cake from pan and transfer to a serving platter. Dust top with confectioners sugar. Slice, serve, and enjoy.
Notes
Recipe adapted from one on the La Cucina Italiana website.
Disclosure: I received a 2013 engagement calendar, one bottle and one tin of Bramasole olive oil at no charge. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are my own except otherwise noted or within a guest post.
Renee~ This is looks amazing! I love olive oil and can not wait to try your beautiful recipe!
Thanks Isabel! Maybe your mom can help you bake this cake.
This is my type of cake! I think olive oil is right there with the salt and pepper. And baking with it is one of my favorite ways of using it. And since I have a truckload of walnuts I will bake this. My neighbours will be so happy!
I do love walnuts and have a big supply of them in my freezer. You are a good neighbor for sharing your cakes.
What a gorgeous cake! I've made one of the citrus olive oil cakes, but this one seems so amazing! I can't wait to try it!
Thanks Jen. It's a nice change from the usual. I always enjoy nut cakes (or cakes with nuts in it).
Now I am going to have to try that! Love the food pictures!
Visiting from GSMM
Thanks for visiting Bernetta and your kind words about my photos.
This cake looks stunning and sounds delicious! I've always wanted to make an olive oil cake but could never find one that really convinced me to make it -- this one is a different story! Yum.
Thank you Stephanie. I'm glad you found it!
ooh this sounds so intersting and yummy ! Love this. Must give it a try !
Thank you! I'm sure you will love it especially because of the olive oil instead of butter.
Looks wholesome and delicious, Renee.
But, of course, it's a Magnolia Days cake!
Thanks Kim - you are so sweet!
*hand raised and wildly flailing around with enthusiasm*
I <3 olive oil.
Great to see another major olive oil fan. I don't know what I would do without it.
This is lovely, Renee. I've baked with olive oil before and had great success too. Thank you for sharing this with us today!
Now heading to search your site for baked goods with olive oil...
Cool recipe. Why did the cake sink in the middle? There seems to be a lot of baking powder. Just curious.
I have no idea why it sunk in the middle. I thought it may be because I used an old kinda thin pan or perhaps it needs a touch more flour. I'll have to play with it. Only thing is I don't want to mess with it too much because it was so amazing.
Because of the Olive Oil AND the Walnuts - this cake counts as healthy, right? This looks so delicious, I too love Olive Oil (and that wooden platter you have your bread on). Thanks for a yummy cake here 🙂
Oh yes, olive oil + walnuts = healthy. It's certainly a healthier cake than a lot of them out there.
This cake looks so good! I'd like to post your recipe on honeycolony.com, with your photo if we have permission. Please let me know if that's okay and if you might be interested in submitting any other recipes to our site.
Thanks!
Elisa
Thank you Elisa. I have sent an email to you to respond to your inquiry.
I like olive oil cakes and I love nut cakes. Looks fantastic!
Thanks Anita!
Looks so yummy! I'd love to try to adapt this to gluten free because it looks like it would lend itself well to that.
Great idea Brianne! I'm sure a lot of those who need gluten-free recipes would love a cake like this.
I'm raising both hands, too!! Love olive oil, and I really really like it in cakes. This looks so yummy-good!
Thank you Kate!
This looks so delicious!!!
Thanks Katherine!
Mmm, this looks moist and yummy. I bet it's bursting with flavor.
It is! And I ate it every day until every last crumb was gone.
I love olive oil and had to buy the BIG bottle to fill up at the one Italian market (fresh from the barrel) since I live in the middle of nowhere. Never baked with it though! Great idea with the cake and with walnuts.
Oh Carla, you have to bake with it. This recipe has made me start seeking more with olive oil. So good and the cake is very moist from it.
OK ...Wow ... Love nut cakes and this looks to-die for ... Great Job!
Thanks CJ!