Olive Oil Cake

You can thank reality TV for this posting. I'd never heard of olive oil cake until I saw it used on a couple of cooking competitions. I was especially intrigued the last time I saw it because the contestant used semolina flour. It just so happens that I bought a 50 lb. bag of organic semolina flour from a local pasta company that was closing up shop and clearing out their inventory. Since I'm not in the way of regularly making dried pasta, I haven't been sure what to do with it. It's of a larger grit than all-purpose flour so it doesn't work interchangeably in recipes. So I am excited to share with you a delicious way to use semolina flour.

Lemon Olive Oil Cake
adapted from a recipe on epicurious.com

3/4 cup olive oil, light or extra virgin
1 large lemon
1/2 cup semolina flour*
1/2 cup all-purpose flour*
5 large eggs, separated
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray an 8" springform pan with cooking spray. Lay a circle of parchment paper on the bottom of the pan and spray the top of it. Alternatively, use a regular 8" cake pan or a muffin tin (adjust baking time as needed).

2. Grate the lemon zest from your lemon into a large bowl. Add flours and whisk together. Juice the lemon into another small bowl or measuring cup (you will need at least 1 1/2 tablespoons).

3. Beat 4 of the egg whites and salt on medium high until foamy (reserve other egg white for another use). Slowly add 1/4 cup of the sugar and continue beating until soft peaks are reached. Move egg whites to another bowl and set aside.

4. Beat all 5 egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar on high until thick and pale in color. Reduce speed to medium and add olive oil and lemon juice. Once incorporated (mixture may appear separated), turn off mixer. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, gently incorporate the flour mixture. Stir until just mixed. Do not over-mix. Gently fold in 1/3 of the egg whites. Fold in the remaining whites gently but thoroughly.

5. Pour batter into cake pan and bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, approximately 45 minutes. Allow cake to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to finish cooling on a rack. Cake will need to be loosened from the edge of the pan with a knife.

Serving suggestions: Serve as-is for a not-too-sweet, mildly fruity dessert. We all agreed that it would also be nice as a shortcake substitute with berries and whipped cream.

*This particular recipe called for 1 cup cake flour. Many other olive oil cake recipes called for 1/2 semolina flour and 1/2 all-purpose flour, so that is what I went with. The semolina flour gives it a texture a little more like cornbread, but not as gritty. I might try whole wheat flour for the a.p. flour next time just because that's how I roll.

Rosemary