Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

This Chocolate Olive Oil Cake is gluten-free, dairy-free, and ridiculously delicious. It's the perfect afternoon treat to share with friends over a cup of tea or coffee. It's absolutely awesome.

As a kitchen witch, hospitality is very important to me. I want everyone to feel welcome and included and cared for. I strive to create a vibration of harmony and abundance. And as a picky eater with no dietary restrictions other than my own weird palate, I'm free to eat whatever I want. But I know that's not the case for everyone.

I'm not a gluten-free baker or an allergy-friendly cook by nature, so when I find a recipe that's naturally free of gluten or dairy that tastes absolutely heavenly, I know it's an important tool to keep in my hostess toolbox. Trying to adapt recipes can often backfire, but when that's the way the recipe has always been, you know you're golden.

What makes Chocolate Olive Oil Cake so awesome?

This recipe originates with the domestic goddess herself, Nigella Lawson. It uses ground almonds instead of flour. I see a lot of ground almonds in British baking, and they're easy to come by here. If you can't find them in your grocery store, you can always grind them yourself in a food processor until you have a fine meal.

The use of olive oil instead of butter also makes this cake insanely moist, and it stays that way for days. It's a simple little afternoon snack sort of cake, nothing fancy. But the flavor is totally indulgent. It's deeply chocolatey and just sweet enough. Go ahead and cut yourself a nice big piece.

Magical uses for olive oil

Olive oil is a great all-purpose oil for anointing yourself or your magical tools or spell materials. It can also be used as the base for any oil you might like to create and customize to your intention.

According to The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells by Judika Illes, it can also be used to diagnose the evil eye. Drip three drops of olive oil into a dish of water and see what the oil does. If the drops remain separate, all is well. If they disperse, the evil eye is present and could be the cause of illness or other misfortune.

For more details on the magical properties of the ingredients in this recipe, check out the Kitchen Magick page.

Tips for making Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

This cake is super simple because you don't have to cream any butter or even remember to set it out to soften. Start by adding just boiled water to your cocoa powder to make it easier to incorporate into your cake batter. Just whisk until smooth. Then add the vanilla extract to this mixture.

Our dry ingredients this time around are ground almonds, baking soda, and salt. Mix those together for later. In a big mixing bowl, you'll just beat together the olive oil, sugar, and eggs. Keep on mixing until it's pale and foamy. Add the cocoa mixture to that, then the dry ingredients, and mix until combined.

Bake this up in a springform pan. You don't even need to worry about turning it out later. It may still be a bit sticky on top, but a toothpick should come out clean when it's ready to come out of the oven. Let it cool, but you can still serve it while it's a bit warm.

FAQ

Make a cake that everyone will love and that your gluten-free or dairy-free friends can also enjoy. This Chocolate Olive Oil Cake is a beautiful way to spread the love.

Looking for more awesome cake recipes? Try this Citrus Bundt Cake or a simple Chocolate Cinnamon Cake.

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

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★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

This Chocolate Olive Oil Cake is gluten-free, dairy-free, and ridiculously delicious. It's the perfect afternoon treat to share with friends over a cup of tea or coffee. It's absolutely awesome.

• Author: Renee Rendall
• Prep Time: 15
• Cook Time: 45
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 9-inch round cake 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Baked
• Cuisine: British
• Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Units MUS Scale 1x2x3x

• 50 grams cocoa powder, sifted
• 125 milliliters boiling water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 150 grams ground almonds
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 150 milliliters olive oil
• 200 grams sugar
• 3 eggs

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 170 C (350 F) and grease a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick baking spray.
2. Sift your cocoa powder into a bowl, then add the water from a just boiled kettle and whisk to combine. Once it's come together in a thin paste, whisk in the vanilla extract then set aside.
3. In another small bowl, combine the ground almonds, baking soda, and salt. Set that aside as well.
4. In a large mixing bowl, add olive oil, sugar, and eggs, and beat with an electric mixer on medium high for about three minutes or until you create a foamy mixture that is pale in color and has doubled in volume.
5. Turn the mixer down to low and add in the cocoa mixture. Be sure you scrape every last bit of chocolatey goodness into the cake batter. Finally add in the almond mixture and mix until just combined.
6. With a rubber spatula, give everything one last good scrape and fold, and then pour the batter into your waiting pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Your cake should be springy but possibly still a bit sticky on top. A toothpick should come out mostly clean with perhaps a few sticky crumbs.
7. Allow the cake to cool for about 10 minutes before removing the collar of your springform pan. You can serve it warm or allow it to cool. It will keep in an air tight container for at least five days.

Notes

Recipe slightly adapted from Nigellissima by Nigella Lawson.

Keywords: Chocolate, Cake

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