Rosemary Olive Oil Cake

I'll admit it, I can be an emotional eater. If something is bothering me, there are a few things that, without fail, I'll automatically reach for. One is gelato, another is fresh bread dipped in cold pressed, unfiltered, virgin olive oil. It's basic and simple, and completely divine. I can demolish half a loaf of Italian bread and olive oil in no time at all, especially if I'm watching horrifically bad reality TV to quiet my thoughts. 

However, this time, I wanted to do something different than watch 'Duck Dynasty' with a loaf of bread. A friend had mentioned that she recently made an olive oil cake and said it was fantastic, so of course I wanted to try making one myself. Instead of making a lemon or orange cake, I wanted to do something a little different, and when I saw this recipe for a rosemary olive oil cake with chocolate ganache, I was sold.

Recipe adapted from here:

For the cake:

4 eggs at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup olive oil (I used cold-pressed, unfiltered olive oil for the more intense flavor)

1 1/4 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary (can use dried, but reduce to 1 tablespoon)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

For the ganache:

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

2/3 cup heavy cream

Pre-heat the oven to 325°. Line an 8 inch cake pan with parchment paper, and butter and flour the pan. I do this instead of using cooking spray.

Cake pan lined with parchment, then buttered and floured

In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium speed until the mix turns light and fluffy, about 5 minutes or so. While the eggs and sugar are mixing, in a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.

Eggs and sugar

What the eggs and sugar should look like once beaten

Once the egg and sugar mixture has turned light yellow and doubled in volume, slowly drip in the olive oil, then stir in the rosemary, and combine until just mixed. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add in the dry ingredients. Be sure not to overmix the batter, otherwise the cake will be dense. Once the flour is just combined, pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick (or a paring knife) comes out clean.

Drizzling in the olive oil

Stirring in the rosemary

Pour batter into prepared pan

Fresh out the oven!

After a toothpick or knife comes out clean, let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then unmold by running a sharp paring knife around the cake and invert onto a plate, then slide onto a cooling rack and let it cool until it reaches room temperature.

While the cake is cooling, heat up the heavy cream in a small sauce pan on low-medium heat. Take care to not let the cream come to a full boil. Once small bubbles begin to appear in the cream, take it off the stove and pour over the chocolate chips. Using a rubber spatula, stir the cream and chocolate until all the chips have melted and the chocolate is smooth and shiny.

Pour heated cream onto the chocolate chips...

... and mix until all the chocolate is melted and smooth

Once the cake is completely cooled, pour the ganache over the cake. Use a small offset spatula to spread the ganache evenly over the top and sides. Once the ganache sets, the cake is ready to serve.

Ganache poured over the cake

First slice is always the best!

I know rosemary, olive oil, and chocolate, all together, sounds really strange. But... all the flavors work together so well. The rosemary gives the cake a nice, earthy flavor, which is balanced out by the chocolate. Next time, I would even replace the chocolate with marmalade, just to see how the addition of fruit changes the flavor combination.  In any case, whether topped with chocolate or fruit preserves, this recipe is certainly a keeper.