Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Cake from Simple Fare

When I was first transitioning out of restaurant work into the food media world I volunteered for Karen Mordechai at Sunday Suppers a handful of times. Honestly, it was mostly my nosiness lead me to contact Karen. I had followed her work online and was so inspired by the dreamy light-filled space that she had created in a formerly industrial space in Brooklyn that I just had to see it in person- and I was too broke to buy a ticket to one of her dinners...I met so many wonderful people through Karen and Sunday Suppers and the experience really informed how I have decided to make my own career in food. 

I admire what Karen has built so much (she even has a line of beautiful pantry essentials called ILA), and wasn't surprised at all when I took a look at her new work - Simple Fare. It is part art catalogue - part simple recipe inspiration to carry you through the Spring and Summer and so Karen. I can't wait to see the Fall/Winter edition in the coming months.

Congrats, Karen! It's lovely and this Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Cake is delicious too!

Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

Adapted from Simple Fare: A Guide to Everyday Cooking and Eating Spring/Summer by Karen Mordechai

Karen offers some suggestions of different ways to top the cake, and there is a recipe for delicious cardamom infused cream below. I went with whipped yogurt sweetened with a bit of honey, chopped pistachios, and the rose and cacao nib sprinkles from Lily's Kale and Caramel Cookbook. Choose your own adventure!

Cake

3/4 cup (180ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan

1/2 cup (50g) good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup (120ml) boiling water

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups (165g) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup (195g) superfine sugar

3 large eggs

Cyprus flake salt

Cardamom Cream

1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

Serving

1 teaspoon dried rose petals

1/2 cup (65g) chopped unsalted pistachios

Cyprus flake salt

Preheat the oven to 325ºF (165ºC). Grease a 9-inch (23cm) springform baking pan with a little olive oil and line the base with parchment paper cut to fit.

Sift the cocoa into a medium bowl and whisk in the boiling water until smooth. Whisk in the vanilla, then set aside to cool slightly. In a separate large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the sugar, olive oil, and eggs until you have a light, fluffy cream, about 3 minutes.

Turn the speed on the mixer down and pour in the cocoa and vanilla mixture. Slowly add the flour mixture until it is evenly incorporated, stopping the mixer and scraping down the bowl as necessary.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sides are set and the top of the cake still looks slightly moist. A cake tester inserted into the center should come out clean or with just a few crumbs on it. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

While the cake is baking, in a chilled metal or glass bowl using a hand mixer, beat the cream on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 4 minutes. Add the cardamom and beat until stiff peaks form, about 1 to 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Run a knife around the edge of the cake and release the sides of the pan. Transfer the cake to a serving plate or cake stand. Sprinkle with more flaky salt. Serve each slice with a dollop of the cardamom cream and a sprinkling of rose petals, pistachios, and flaky salt.

Edible Holiday Gift guide 2015

Hi guys! I wasn't planning on posting my holiday treats this year, but lots of you fine people asked for the recipe for the pistachio shortbread with cardamom and cacao nibs that I posted on Instagram (the second photo above) so here I am! I got pretty serious with my edible gifts this year because I had to make up for a so-so 2014. Links and recipes are below! 

Pistachio Shortbread with Cardamom and Cacao Nibs (recipe below)

My favorite Gingerbread with Royal Icing (recipe below)

Tartine's Salted Chocolate Rye Cookies

Alice Medrich's Buckwhat Cookies with Cacao Nibs

Soft Salted Caramels (shown with Shop ILA's Black Lava Salt)

Violet Bakery's Rye and Chocolate Brownies (inspired by Tartine's Cookies!)

Rosemary Spiced Nuts

Follow me on instagram for more holiday baking fun @yossyarefi and check out Melissa's post for even more edible gift ideas!

 

Pistachio Shortbread with Cardamom and Cacao Nibs

makes about 30 cookies

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup unsalted, shelled pistachios

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into chunks

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/3 cup cacao nibs

Combine the flour, pistachios, sugar, cardamom, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the pistachios are finely ground. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks damp and crumbly. Drizzle in the vanilla extract, then add the cacao nibs. Pulse a few more times until the dough begins to just hold together.

Remove the dough from the food processor and knead a few times until the dough is evenly mixed and holds together. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to a 1/4-inch thickness and cut into shapes as desired. Place the cut cookies onto the prepared sheets 1-inch apart. Reroll the dough scraps until all of the dough is used. Chill the cut cookies for 10 minutes before baking. If at anytime the dough gets warm and is difficult to work with, transfer it to the fridge for a few minutes.

Bake the cookies until light golden around the edges, 12-14 minutes. Let cookies cool on the pans for a few minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

 

Gingerbread Cookies with Royal Icing

makes about 3 dozen cookies, depending on size

3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon finely grated nutmeg

1/4  teaspoon finely ground black pepper

1/4  teaspoon ground cloves

1⁄4  teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

1/2 teaspoon salt

14 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and spices together.

In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg, then the molasses and mix until well combined. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture and mix until thoroughly combined. Divide the dough in half, wrap each half in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling.

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Working with 1/2 of the dough at a time roll the dough 1/8-1/4-inch thick on a lightly floured surface using a lightly floured rolling pin roll. Use a cookie cutter or stencil to cut out desired shapes then place them on the prepared baking sheets. For cookie ornaments, use a skewer to poke a hole through the top of the cookies before baking. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies have just barely begun to brown. For cookie ornaments bake the cookies until they are lightly browned all over and firm to the touch. Cool the cookies on the sheet pans for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired.

Royal Icing

1 egg white

1⁄2 teaspoon lemon juice

1 3⁄4 cup confectioners sugar

Combine all of the ingredients and beat with a hand mixer (or in a stand mixer) until stiff peaks form. If the icing seems too thick, add a few drops of water or lemon juice. If it seems runny, add a few table- spoons of confectioner’s sugar.

Use a pastry bag fitted with a #2 or #3 round tip and the stiff icing to add lines, shapes and dots to your cookies. Sprinkle with colored sugar, sprinkles or nonpareils if desired, just make sure to do it while the icing is still wet.

To make the cookies into ornaments, thread a string through the hole and tie it to make a loop.