Nigella's Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

Sunday Afternoon Tease

It is no secret that I have a huge cake crush on Nigella Lawson; How to Be A Domestic Goddess was the first book of hers that I bought just over ten years ago and I've been baking from it ever since.  

Last year, saw the release of Nigellisimma, a gorgeous book, chock full of Italian inspired recipes.  I love looking through the glossy pages of this book and this is where I came across the recipe for Nigella's Chocolate Olive Oil Cake.  This cake has proved to be hugely popular with my family and visiting small nieces have gobbled up several slices in one sitting.

This must be one of the simplest chocolate cake recipes in the world and also one of the most delicious.  As the name of the cake suggests, olive oil is the fat of choice, which may sound weird, but it definitely works.  The recipe gives you the option of using either ground almonds or plain flour and I believe that if you go for the ground almonds, then that makes this cake gluten free (but don't quote me on that as I am no expert).  I like the nutty depth that the almonds add but also like the slightly lighter texture you get from using flour instead. 

You're wondering if you can taste the olive oil aren't you?  The first time I made it with regular olive oil and I think there was a slight smell of olive oil but you certainly couldn't taste it.  I now use a mild olive oil which I find eliminates the smell and makes for a better cake experience.  Other people who have experimented with using sunflower oil say that this also gives good results.  It's a lovely moist cake and I find it's possible to slice it very thinly; this means that even if you are 'being good' and have temporarily renounced cake, you can still treat yourself to a sliver, without feeling too naughty.  

You can find the recipe here.  Enjoy it, darlings.

TTFN. Galx