Muffin tops and soggy bottoms: Week 50 - Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

The past week, and weekend were decidedly hectic with my office Christmas party on Friday and a wedding at the other end of the country on Saturday lunchtime which was really lovely but involved some VERY early travels. So I knew I was going to have to bake mid-week or squeeze in a cheeky bake in Kent while we were staying with my parents-in-law for the wedding. I decided to go for the latter as my sister-in-law, Tori, was going to be at her parents as well and she too is a bit of a baker. I don't have any sister of my own so when I got married it was a lovely bonus to gain one! Us being together this weekend gave us the chance to have some sisterly bonding over one of our fave activities.

With the countdown to the end of the baking challenge well and truly upon me the selection of bakes is becoming somewhat tricky because I have made so many of my fave tasty treats! There was also a bit of pressure on this bake because it had to feed 12 of us as the finale to a delicious Sunday roast made by my parents-in-law Jo and Phil.

Tori and I opted for a Nigella chocolate olive oil cake to feed the masses. Now I will admit that I have never been a huge fan of hers (I can't stand the cooking/flirting combo she goes for on TV) but I must admit she does know how to make a good bake!

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/CHOCOLATE-OLIVE-OIL-CAKE-5551

Ingredients

150 ml regular olive oil (plus more for greasing)
50 grams good-quality cocoa powder (sifted)
125 ml boiling water
2 teaspoons best vanilla extract
150 grams ground almonds (or 125g plain flour / 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour). We used flour because we didn’t have any wheat-free guests but we thought it might be good to try the ground almonds because I think the cake might be a bit more squidgy in the middle which would be yummy.
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 pinch of salt
200 grams caster sugar
3 large eggs

Method

Preheat your oven to 170°C/gas mark 3/325ºF. Grease a 22 or 23 cm/ 9inch springform tin with a little oil and line the base with baking parchment.
Measure and sift the cocoa powder into a bowl or jug and whisk in the boiling water until you have a smooth, chocolatey, still runny (but only just) paste. Whisk in the vanilla extract, then set aside to cool a little.
In another smallish bowl, combine the ground almonds (or flour) with the bicarbonate of soda and pinch of salt.
Put the sugar, olive oil and eggs into the bowl of a freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment (or other bowl and whisk arrangement of your choice) and beat together vigorously for about 3 minutes until you have a pale-primrose, aerated and thickened cream.
Turn the speed down a little and pour in the cocoa mixture, beating as you go, and when all is scraped in you can slowly tip in the ground almond (or flour) mixture.
Scrape down, and stir a little with a spatula, then pour this dark, liquid batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the sides are set and the very centre, on top, still looks slightly damp. A cake tester should come up mainly clean but with a few sticky chocolate crumbs clinging to it. I think the oven might have been slightly too hot because the top looked like it cooked a bit too quickly so we didn’t quite get the squidgy, sticky centre. But this might be because of the flour. Oh well we will just have to make it again to give it a try!
Let it cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, still in its tin, and then ease the sides of the cake with a small metal spatula and spring it out of the tin. Leave to cool completely or eat while still warm with some ice cream, as a pudding. We served it with clotted cream ice cream and raspberries which were lovely.

Baking in our p-j's.....LOVE IT!

A few cheery snowmen to add a touch of Christmas

Tori and I with the finished article!

Well if the clean plates were anything to go by the cake went down well. This is a great recipe to use if you have friends or family with food allergies /intolerances because it can be both wheat and dairy free without tasting like it!! And I'm sure it's actually good for you because it has loads of olive oil in it and hardly any nasty stuff so it's practically one of your five a day?! Most importantly the extended family seemed to enjoy it and it was a lovely end to a deliciously, overindulgent lunch.