Recipe: Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

This chocolate olive oil cake is simple to make, not too sweet and deeply chocolaty. 

Ingredients

200g dark chocolate

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup hot coffee

1/2 cup olive oil

3/4 cup spelt flour ( all purpose flour will work too)

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

Method

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8" round cake pan and line the sides with parchment paper. Break up the dark chocolate into pieces and melt in a double boiler or slowly in the microwave (2 seconds at a time). Set aside to cool. Put the cocoa powder in a small bowl with the coffee and whisk until smooth.

In another small bowl, combine the flour with the baking soda and pinch of salt.

Put the sugar, olive oil and eggs, vanilla and beat together until you have a pale yellow, thickened cream.

Pour in both chocolate mixtures, beating as you go. When it is all scraped in, tip in the flour mixture.

Scrape down the sides, and stir a little with a spatula, then pour the liquid batter into the prepared tin.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out mostly clean.

Enjoy plain with ice-cream, or glaze with chocolate ganache and top with fresh berries and nuts.

Vegan option:

Substitute 3 tablespoons of ground flax seed and 9 table spoons of water for the eggs. Combine and let sit for 5 minutes before using.

Gluten Free option:

Substitute flour with 100 grams ground almonds