Alice's Olive Oil Cakes

Alice has been the Formaggio Kitchen baker for more than 25 years, and we love to test our hands at her recipes from time to time. These tender and delicious olive oil cakes are the perfect way to show off the subtle flavors of your favorite olive oil!

When she makes a batch for the shop, Alice's olive oil cake recipe produces 24 small flying saucer-shaped cakes using small molds Ihsan bought for her on a visit to E. Dehillerin in Paris. At home, you can use this recipe to make two 9' cakes or about 20 regular sized muffins. The batter is thin so if you are using a spring-form pan, make sure it has a secure seal.

Alice's Olive Oil Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons Pastry Flour (we like Mulino Marino's Tipo 00 flour)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups olive oil (milder oil such as our ROI Olive Oil work nicely, but for a more pronounced olive oil flavor, try something like our La Bandiera Olive Oil)
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 3 large eggs
• zest of 1 orange

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Combine olive oil, milk, and eggs in a second bowl, and mix until smooth.
4. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together.
5. Pour the combined ingredients through a fine mesh strainer into clean bowl (to remove any clumps), add the orange zest, and mix gently until the zest is evenly distributed throughout the batter.
6. Pour the batter into your preferred baking pans.
7. Bake 25-30 minutes for muffins or 30-40 minutes for 9' cakes. Test for doneness with a wooden skewer. When the skewer comes out of the cake clean, it's done baking.
8. Set the cakes aside to cool.

Orange Glaze

Ingredients:

• juice of 1 orange (plus water if you need to thin out the icing)
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar

Directions:

1. Combine orange juice and confectioner's sugar and stir until smooth, adjusting for your desired texture. If too thin, add more liquid. If too thick, add more sugar.
2. When the cakes are cool, drizzle glaze over the tops.