As our nation is still coming to grips with the COVID-19 crisis, many are finding themselves home and cooking more with their families. Cooking, baking and generally being in the kitchen are wonderful boredom busters that allow us a chance to escape for a little while. Eating also releases endorphins and endorphins make you happy. (If eating doesn’t make you happy, then, well, you might be beyond our help, sorry about that.)
This is one of our favorite recipes, one the whole family can make and enjoy together: a citrus olive oil cake that can be whipped up in less than an hour with lots of flexibility. You prefer lemons over limes, or grapefruit over orange? Totally fine. Or even no citrus at all. Your kitchen, your rules. You could even divide the recipie between smaller pans or muffin tins and have multiple versions.
We recommend using fresh, pasture-raised eggs and the freshest citrus possible, which will give the cake a bright and lovely tint.
Grove 45 Citrus Olive Oil Cake
1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
5 large, pasture-raised eggs
2 teaspoons lemon zest (you can swap for limes, oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, etc)
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (same as above)
1/2 cup of Grove 45 olive oil
2 cups all-purose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Generously grease your chosen cake pan
Add eggs, sugar and zest together in the bowl of stand mixer, beat on low for about 8-10 minutes or until thick and pale.
Slowly add lemon juice, followed by olive oil, until fully combined.
In another bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder.
Slowly add dry ingredients until just combined - do not over mix!
Pour batter into pan.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack
Serve with basil, vanilla or pistachio ice cream or optional glazes include powdered sugar, citrus zest or glaze (1/2 cup powdered sugar combined with 3 tablespoons of fresh citrus juice).
Enjoy!