If the combination of olive oil and dessert falls outside your comfort zone, I guarantee this cake will make you a total convert. This luscious specimen has the richness of a traditional pound cake but a more complex texture, all complemented by the haunting fruitiness of extra-virgin olive oil. Almond meal, or almonds ground until fine, gives it a delicate nuttiness. Completely addictive on its own, this cake is even better dressed up with fresh spring cherries scented with fresh bay and a tangy dollop of crème fraîche. These pretty, yellow- and pink-hued cherries are more commonly known as Rainiers, but I like this moniker better because one of the restaurants sits perched atop Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill. It’s essential to use fresh bay leaves in this recipe. Dried bay is too strong and will give the cherries an almost medicinal taste, not a quality I look for in a dessert.
Recipe information
Yield
makes one 9-inch cake or 8 individual servings
Ingredients
Bay-Poached Queen Anne Cherries
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch cake pan or 8 6-ounce ramekins and set aside.
Step 2
In a stand mixer, or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer, cream together the olive oil, butter, salt, and sugar. When well combined, add a pinch of nutmeg, about 5 swipes of a whole nutmeg on a grater. Continue to beat on high speed until the mixture lightens nearly to white and almost doubles in size. It should almost resemble a meringue in texture at this point. Scrape down the bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs one at a time.
Step 3
Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, and almond meal and mix to combine. Add the flour and beat just until incorporated.
Step 4
Pour the batter into the prepared pan or divide among the ramekins and place on the center rack in the oven. Bake for 1 hour, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out completely clean. For the ramekins, bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan set on a wire rack. When the cake is completely cool, run a sharp knife around the perimeter of the cake and turn out onto a platter or cake plate. Serve with the bay-poached cherries and a dollop of crème fraîche.
Bay-Poached Queen Anne Cherries
Step 5
Combine the cherries, sugar, salt, and bay leaves in a bowl and allow to macerate for at least 30 minutes, or until the juices begin to come out of the cherries.
Step 6
Place the mixture in the top of a double boiler or heatproof bowl and set over gently simmering water. Add the wine and stir to combine. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the cherries soften and the liquid becomes thick and syrupy. Remove from the heat and allow the cherries to cool in their liquid. Serve with almond cake and crème fraîche.
