olive oil

I love baking, especially when I have fresh citrus in my backyard! One thing I absolutely love about SoCal (and there are many) is the fresh fruit. The citrus here is darn good. Since my house actually has a lemon tree, I love getting to find new lemon recipes to try each spring. That's why I decided to try making an almond and lemon olive oil cake. I've done a polenta olive oil cake in the past, but I wanted a softer texture. So this time, I ditched the polenta and used flour instead. I decided to be pretty aggressive with the lemon in this recipe. I wanted to ensure there was a strong enough lemon flavor to cut through the almonds. Although I mostly used this recipe, I also used aspects of this recipe to come up with my unique take on lemon olive oil cake. I'm so glad I experimented with this recipe. It turned out so well and my entire family loved it! My kids can be so picky when it comes to my recipes, so I was so glad they loved this one as much as I did. If you like almond and lemons, this is the recipe for you. It is such a nice dessert because it is not that sweet or heavy so it's a great way to end an Italian (or any spring-time) meal. Almond And Lemon Olive Oil Cake Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar 3 large eggs Zest of 2 lemons 3 tablespoons milk (I only had almond on hand and it worked fine) 3 tablespoons lemon juice 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped 1/2 cup sliced almonds (for topping, do not toast in advance, optional) Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8-inch-diameter cake pan. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, eggs, and zests in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in the milk. Gradually beat in the oil. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in the 2/3 cup chopped almonds. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and top with remaining 1/2 cup sliced almonds. Place cake pan on baking pan to collect any possible spills. Bake until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool for 15 minutes. Remove cake and place on a serving platter, top side up. Serve at room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar or serve with a fruit compote if desired. Looking for other Italian recipes? Click here for my panettone recipe and Italian Easter cookies recipe. Want more lemon recipes? Click here.

olive oil

How to Make Almond and Lemon Olive Oil Cake