I have a little (too much) extra time on my hands and have devoted several hours in the kitchen to the fine art of baking. Each day my boyfriend comes home wondering which carbohydrate sugar bomb I will force him to eat that day.
Olive oil as a cake ingredient is an intriguing concept. It sounds healthier than an all butter cake but the oil has a strong flavor, would it be apparent in the final result? This recipe for Zucchini-Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Crunch Glaze is the first I’ve seen sounding worth the fuss.
Though fuss this is not. It is simple to assemble and super moist, with a sweet tart punch of lemon and a backdrop of spice. And with an ingredient list of zucchini, walnuts and olive oil… this bread is practically a salad.
That might be a stretch. I did reduce the sugar from 1 3/4 cups to 1 1/4 cup and the cake is plenty sweet and satisfying. There is no taste of olive oil. It seems to also improve with age. It is even better the second day than it is the first. We didn’t see day three.
Zucchini-Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Crunch Glaze
Recipe from Dolce Italiano by Gina DePalma
CAKE
1 cup walnut pieces
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (reduced from 1 3/4 in original recipe)
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups grated zucchini (about 2 small zucchini)
GLAZE
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 10-inch bundt and dust with flour.
Place the walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast them until they are golden brown and aromatic, about 10 minutes. Cool completely and then coarsely chop them.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices into a medium bowl and set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, sugar and olive oil together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the dry ingredients all at once on low speed until they are thoroughly combined, then switch to medium speed and mix for 30 seconds. Mix in the zucchini and walnuts on low speed until they are completely incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake the cake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a tester inserted in the cakes comes out clean and the cakes have begun to pull away from the sides of the pans.
While the cake is baking, prepare the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and granulated sugar, then whisk in the confectioners’ sugar until the glaze is completely smooth.
Allow the cake to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then carefully invert onto a wire rack. Using a pastry brush, immediately brush the glaze over the entire surface of the warm cake, using all of the glaze; it will adhere to the cake and set as the cake cools. Allow the cake to cool completely and the glaze to dry.
4 Comments
Pia
October 26, 2011This comment has been removed by the author.
Pia
October 26, 2011Have family coming to visit this weekend, and this sounds like the perfect thing to serve… thanks Jesse!
Mary
November 1, 2011Does this look great? You are really creative. Thanks for this post.
bee cee
November 2, 2011your mom 'taught' yoga class tonight and she brought along this dessert. delicious!