Warm Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

Asked by Schness. Answered on 6th October 2016

Full question

Can I bake the Chocolate Olive Oil Cake early in the day then quickly reheat slices in the microwave and serve warm with ice cream?

Our answer

Nigella's Chocolate Olive Oil Cake (from NIGELLISSIMA) is a very moist cake when it is made with ground almonds (almond meal) and keeps very well. It is extremely good when served still warm, with some summer fruits and whipped cream or ice cream. We have not tried to reheat the cake as it is also good at room temperature. It should be possible to reheat slices of the cake in a microwave, however in our experience this needs to be done quite carefully as it can be quite easy to overheat cake slices and they become slightly oily, rather than warm and soft. So we suggest checking your microwave handbook, using a low level of power and perhaps covering the cake with a suitable microwave-proof dome.

As an alternative you could serve the cake itself at room temperature with the ice cream and a warm chocolate sauce. We would suggest the sauce from Nigella's Flourless Chocolate Brownies With Hot Chocolate Sauce. The sauce can be made 1-2 hours in advance, transferred to a heatproof jug and left at room temperature then reheated very carefully in the microwave, in 10 second bursts and stirring in between each burst, until warm.