Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Passover starts tonight, and if you have your big seder this evening, I realize I may be getting this dessert idea out too late.  However, it never hurts to have a delicious kosher for Passover snack cake on hand for days 2-8, right?  This cake would also be perfect for Easter--since I celebrate both holidays, I'm planning on making this again next weekend and dressing it up with some eggs and/or bunnies.

This cake is delicious: moist, tender, and perfectly lemony.  I couldn't taste the olive oil, but I think it adds some hard-to-pinpoint depth to the overall flavor of the cake, and it's nice to know you're baking with a healthy, dairy-free cooking fat.  The glaze is cashew-based, but I worked hard to make honey and lemon the prominent flavors, so I think people who don't know cashews are the main ingredient won't be able to figure it out.

 I have to tell you that although I, and everyone I served it to, loved this cake, it is cake with a bit of a caveat: it came out a little sunken in the middle.  Since it's a bundt cake, this doesn't affect the looks of the uncut cake, but the individual slices had a tiny bit of a tunnel underneath.  I made this recipe several times, playing around with the amounts of eggs, almond flour, and leavening agents, and it always ended up with a little valley in the center.  I subsequently flipped over my bottle of cream of tartar to find that it had expired in 2010, so that may have something to do with it.  (I've since purchased a new bottle, which was difficult to find at my local Whole Foods since the first two employees I spoke to had never heard of cream of tartar before--one began scouring the sauce section, perhaps in pursuit of an elusive bottle of tartar sauce.  Anyway, I have yet to make this cake with the new bottle, but will update this post as soon as I do.)  I recommend that you don't open the oven to peek at the cake until it's been in there for at least 18-20 minutes, since drops in oven temperature caused by opening the door can keep the middle of the cake from rising sufficiently.

I thought about waiting to post this until I'd had the chance to see if I could get rid of that little valley, but this cake is so yummy, so timely, and so easy that I decided to share it now.  Chag sameach and happy Easter, if you're celebrating one of those holidays, and happy (finally) spring if you're not.

UPDATED 8/23/14--The tunnel problem has been solved!  The revised recipe below should produce a tunnel-free cake :).

Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Yield: 10-12 servings

Prep time: 15 minutes, plus 1-2 hours for soaking cashews

Bake time: 20-30 minutes

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 and 1/2 cups almond flour, lightly packed

3/4 cup tapioca starch

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt 

3/4 cup honey

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice*
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs

1 tablespoon lemon zest*

For the glaze:

3 tablespoons lemon juice*

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup cashews, soaked in water for 1-2 hours and drained

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon lemon zest*

2-3 tablespoons water (or more as needed)

*I got enough juice and zest for both the cake and the glaze from two lemons, but I'd recommend having a third lemon on hand just in case.

Preheat the oven to 350, and thoroughly grease a large (12-cup capacity) bundt pan with olive oil.  Place the pan on a baking sheet.

To make the cake, whisk together the almond flour, tapioca starch, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  Whisk together all the wet ingredients and the lemon zest in a medium bowl or two-cup measuring cup.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir until well-combined.  Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and put the pan (along with the baking sheet that's underneath it--this is just for ease of transport) in the oven.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the middle is set and a toothpick comes out almost clean (a few small crumbs are okay, but no goo).  Cool for about 30 minutes in the pan, then carefully run a thin knife around the inner and outer edges of the cake to loosen it.  You can try to invert it onto a plate at this point if it seems loose, but it might need a little bit more cajoling.  If it does, place it in the freezer for 30-40 minutes, then dip the bottom of the pan into a bowl of very hot water for about 30 seconds.  Invert the cake onto a plate, and it should slide right out.

To make the glaze, combine all ingredients in your blender, or in a large bowl if you plan to use an immersion blender.  Process until smooth, adding water as necessary to achieve a pourable consistency.  Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake (I transferred my glaze to a ziptop bag, snipped off a corner, and drizzled it on from the bag).  Slice and serve!

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