Tag: cakes

This delectable cake marries savory herbs and dark, bittersweet chocolate for a truly unique dessert.

Ingredients

·         3/4 cup spelt flour

·         1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

·         3/4 cups sugar

·         1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

·         3/4 teaspoons kosher salt

·         3 eggs

·         1 cup Oli+Ve Rosemary Olive Oil

·         3/4 cup whole milk

·         1 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped

·         5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped into pieces

·         2 tablespoons sugar for top crunch

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Rub a 9½ in fluted tart pan with EVOO. Alternately, use a long (4½ in x 13 in) loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, pouring any bits of grain or other ingredients left in the sifter back into the bowl. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk the eggs thoroughly. Add the EVOO, milk, and rosemary and whisk again. Using a spatula, fold the wet ingredients into the dry mixture, gently stirring just until combined. Mix in 2/3 of the chocolate. Pour the batter into the pan, spreading it evenly and smoothing the top. Sprinkle with the remaining chocolate and run a fork along the length of the chocolate so that the batter envelops it just a bit. Sprinkle with the second sugar.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the top is domed and golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. (In the long pan, the cake may take closer to 50 minutes to bake.) To give the top of the cake more color and crunch by caramelizing the sugar, finish baking under the broiler for about a minute, watching it carefully so it doesn’t burn.

Serve warm or cool from the pan. A cooled cake will keep for roughly two days if wrapped tightly in plastic.

Serves 8 – 12

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups + 1 Tbs.fresh squeezed blood or navel orange juice (4-5 large oranges)
• 1 Tbs. finely grated orange zest
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup + 1 Tbs. Blood Orange Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup confectioners sugar

DIRECTIONS

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven, remove any racks above, and crank up the heat to 350°F (175°C). Coat a 12-cup bundt or tube pan with 1 tbs. blood orange extra virgin olive oil and set aside.
• Finely grate the zest of 2 oranges, then squeeze 4 of them. You should have 1 1/2 cups and 1 reserved tablespoon of orange juice; if not, squeeze the 5th orange. Set aside.
  Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand held mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs on medium-high speed until well combined, about 1 minute. Slowly pour in the granulated sugar and continue beating until thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. On low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and blood orange extra virgin olive oil, starting and ending with the flour, and beat until just a few wisps of flour remain. Pour in the orange juice, zest and dried cranberries and whirl for a few seconds to bring the batter together.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a cake tester comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, about 1 1/4 hours. If the top is browning too much as the cake bakes, cover lightly with foil. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes and then turn the cake out on to a rack over a sheet pan. Mix together 1 tablespoon reserved orange juice with confectioners sugar to form a glaze. Pour slowly and evenly over the warm cake. Serve at room temperature.