Lemon Olive Oil Cake
- Level: Intermediate
- Total: 1 hr 35 min (includes cooling time)
- Active: 40 min
- Yield: 8 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 8 servings
- Calories
- 1074
- Total Fat
- 60 g
- Saturated Fat
- 22 g
- Carbohydrates
- 131 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 2 g
- Sugar
- 101 g
- Protein
- 7 g
- Cholesterol
- 125 mg
- Sodium
- 577 mg
- Level: Intermediate
- Total: 1 hr 35 min (includes cooling time)
- Active: 40 min
- Yield: 8 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 8 servings
- Calories
- 1074
- Total Fat
- 60 g
- Saturated Fat
- 22 g
- Carbohydrates
- 131 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 2 g
- Sugar
- 101 g
- Protein
- 7 g
- Cholesterol
- 125 mg
- Sodium
- 577 mg
Ingredients
Cake:
Mascarpone Frosting:
Pipettes:
Assembly:
Directions
Special equipment:
8 plastic injector pipettes; a disposable piping bag; a large closed star decorator piping tip; a bench scraper- For the cakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat two 8-inch round cake pans with flour-based baking spray.
- Place the eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer and add the granulated sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until thick and lightened in color.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Add half of the flour mixture and the cornmeal to the egg mixture. Mix briefly until the mixture looks crumbly. With the mixer on low speed, add in the milk mixture. Beat until well combined. Pour in the olive oil and mix again until well incorporated. Add in the remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined. Scrape down the bowl and mix again briefly to make sure no streaks of flour remain.
- Divide the batter between the 2 prepared pans and bake until the centers of the cakes are firm to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto a wire cooling rack and let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
- For the mascarpone frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the mascarpone cheese and butter together until creamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the olive oil. Add the lemon zest and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy. Add milk or cream 1 tablespoon at a time if the frosting is too thick to spread.
- Remove 1 cup of frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large closed star decorator tip. Set aside. Cover the remaining frosting with a damp towel so it doesn’t crust.
- For the pipettes: Place the extra-virgin olive oil in a small cup. Squeeze the balloon end of a pipette and place the tip into the olive oil. Release the pressure on the balloon to fill the pipette. Repeat with the remaining 7 pipettes. Set aside.
- For the assembly: Place a cake layer on a serving plate or cake stand. Top the layer with 1 1/2 cups of the mascarpone frosting. Spread evenly with a spatula; top with the second cake. Cover the cake’s top and sides with more mascarpone frosting. Use a bench scraper to remove most of the frosting from the cake’s edges so the layers show through (this is known as the ‘naked cake’ technique).
- Use the reserved piping bag of frosting fitted with the closed star tip to pipe 8 large swirls on the top edge of the cake. Place a fresh basil leaf on top of each swirl. Insert a pipette into the cake to the right side of each swirl. Cut the cake into 8 equal pieces, so that each cake slice has a frosting swirl and pipette on top.
- Serve the cake at room temperature garnished with lemon zest ribbons. Just before enjoying the cake, remove the pipette and drizzle the extra-virgin olive oil over the cake. Or, squeeze the pipette while it is still inserted in the cake to infuse the crumb with the olive oil.
Cook’s Note
This recipe calls for 2 types of lemon zest: fine zest and ribbon zest. A rasp grater (Microplane zester) is best for grating fine pieces of lemon zest for batters and frostings. Or, you can use the finest grate on a box grater. The ribbons, which are used for decoration, are made using a specialty ribbon zester. These can be found at most well-stocked discount stores. If you don’t have a ribbon zester, then sprinkle a little grated zest on top of the cake instead.
