Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
by Nigella. Featured in NIGELLISSIMAIntroduction
Although I first came up with this recipe because I had someone coming for supper who — genuinely — couldn't eat wheat or dairy, it is so meltingly good, I now make it all the time for those whose life and diet are not so unfairly constrained, myself included.
It is slightly heavier with the almonds — though not in a bad way — so if you want a lighter crumb, rather than a squidgy interior, and are not making the cake for the gluten-intolerant, then replace the 150g ground almonds / 1½ cups almond meal with 125g plain flour / ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour. This has the built-in bonus of making it perhaps more suitable for an everyday cake.
Made with the almonds, it has more of supper-party pudding feel about it and I love it still a bit warm, with some raspberries or some such on the side, as well as a dollop of mascarpone or ice cream.
For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
Although I first came up with this recipe because I had someone coming for supper who — genuinely — couldn't eat wheat or dairy, it is so meltingly good, I now make it all the time for those whose life and diet are not so unfairly constrained, myself included.
It is slightly heavier with the almonds — though not in a bad way — so if you want a lighter crumb, rather than a squidgy interior, and are not making the cake for the gluten-intolerant, then replace the 150g ground almonds / 1½ cups almond meal with 125g plain flour / ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour. This has the built-in bonus of making it perhaps more suitable for an everyday cake.
Made with the almonds, it has more of supper-party pudding feel about it and I love it still a bit warm, with some raspberries or some such on the side, as well as a dollop of mascarpone or ice cream.
For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
Ingredients
Yields: 8-12 slices
- 150 millilitres regular olive oil (plus more for greasing)
- 50 grams good-quality cocoa powder (sifted)
- 2 teaspoons best vanilla extract
- 150 grams ground almonds (or 125g plain flour / 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour)
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 pinch of salt
- 200 grams caster sugar
- 3 large eggs
- ⅔ cup regular olive oil (plus more for greasing)
- 6 tablespoons good-quality unsweetened cocoa (sifted)
- 2 teaspoons best vanilla extract
- 1½ cups almond meal (or 125g plain flour / 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 cup superfine sugar
- 3 large eggs
Method
- Preheat your oven to 170°C/150°C Fan/gas mark 3/325ºF. Grease a 22 or 23 cm/ 9inch springform tin with a little oil and line the base with baking parchment.
- Measure and sift the cocoa powder into a bowl or jug and whisk in 125ml/½ cup of boiling water until you have a smooth, chocolatey, still runny (but only just) paste. Whisk in the vanilla extract, then set aside to cool a little.
- In another smallish bowl, combine the ground almonds (or flour) with the bicarbonate of soda and pinch of salt.
- Put the sugar, olive oil and eggs into the bowl of a freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment (or other bowl and whisk arrangement of your choice) and beat together vigorously for about 3 minutes until you have a pale-primrose, aerated and thickened cream.
- Turn the speed down a little and pour in the cocoa mixture, beating as you go, and when all is scraped in you can slowly tip in the ground almond (or flour) mixture.
- Scrape down, and stir a little with a spatula, then pour this dark, liquid batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the sides are set and the very centre, on top, still looks slightly damp. A cake tester should come up mainly clean but with a few sticky chocolate crumbs clinging to it.
- Let it cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, still in its tin, and then ease the sides of the cake with a small metal spatula and spring it out of the tin. Leave to cool completely or eat while still warm with some ice cream, as a pudding.
- Preheat your oven to 170°C/150°C Fan/gas mark 3/325ºF. Grease a 22 or 23 cm/ 9inch springform tin with a little oil and line the base with baking parchment.
- Measure and sift the unsweetened cocoa into a bowl or jug and whisk in 125ml/½ cup of boiling water until you have a smooth, chocolatey, still runny (but only just) paste. Whisk in the vanilla extract, then set aside to cool a little.
- In another smallish bowl, combine the almond meal (or flour) with the baking soda and pinch of salt.
- Put the sugar, olive oil and eggs into the bowl of a freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment (or other bowl and whisk arrangement of your choice) and beat together vigorously for about 3 minutes until you have a pale-primrose, aerated and thickened cream.
- Turn the speed down a little and pour in the cocoa mixture, beating as you go, and when all is scraped in you can slowly tip in the ground almond (or flour) mixture.
- Scrape down, and stir a little with a spatula, then pour this dark, liquid batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the sides are set and the very centre, on top, still looks slightly damp. A cake tester should come up mainly clean but with a few sticky chocolate crumbs clinging to it.
- Let it cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, still in its tin, and then ease the sides of the cake with a small metal spatula and spring it out of the tin. Leave to cool completely or eat while still warm with some ice cream, as a pudding.
Additional Information
MAKE AHEAD:
Store in an airtight container in a cool place for 2-3 days or freeze for up to 3 months, wrapped in a double layer of clingfilm, followed by a layer of foil. Unwrap and defrost at room temperature for about 3 hours.
MAKE AHEAD:
Store in an airtight container in a cool place for 2-3 days or freeze for up to 3 months, wrapped in a double layer of clingfilm, followed by a layer of foil. Unwrap and defrost at room temperature for about 3 hours.
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Show more commentsShout out to NorthWestSam from three years ago who gave me the idea to make this as muffins instead of a single cake, for faster baking and easier portion control. Delicious cake, very easy to make, and quite forgiving of substitutions.
Excellent cake, and it’s gluten free! Amazing. I make two cakes and put them together to make a single cake with cream cheese/ricotta frosting. Because gluten free cakes lack structure, it’s easier to make two rather than cutting a single cake in half. Also, beware, it is difficult to apply frosting without ripping the cake. To get around this problem I pipe the frosting using a pastry bag and lightly smooth the frosting with an offset spatula. Frosting the side is easier, though I recommend using a bench scraper for this task.
I made this for an al fresco dinner party - it was a huge hit! used US almond flour (which I'm not 100% sure is the same thing as ground almonds). It was done after 35 minutes in a 325F oven. The only issue I had was it developed a huge crack after turning out. I just covered it with raspberries and served with whipped cream. Devoured by 7 people. Highly recommend!
I did try it with half ground almonds and half flour, not on purpose as I had less almond flour than I thought. It turned out delicious, with good texture. I also top with an orange chocolate glaze by melting a 70% orange chocolate bar and pouring over the cooled cake.
So good - moist and surprisingly light textured. I didn’t have almond meal so used hazelnut meal instead. The result was delicious.
I have made this cake more times than I can count since I first discovered this recipe in 2018 and it is always a hit. Yesterday I made it for a party we were invited to in evening and discovered too late that I had no vanilla essence...but I did have a good almond essence so I used just one teaspoon of that and I added toasted almonds to the top for decoration. It was so good. There were many cakes on offer but this one was the first to disappear and lot's of oohs and aahs!
My friend who first made this for our book club, then gave me the recipe, cannot eat sugar and shared that you can sub in mashed golden raisins for the sugar in this recipe. I have tried both ways, and I almost like it better with the raisins, I think. Try this for anyone who’s diabetic but can still have sugar on special occasions, especially if you also use the almond meal instead of flour (i.e. not on insulin).
This time I infused the olive oil over night with the zest of 3 oranges. I decorated the cake with candied orange slices and pistachios. My guests, who are all very familiar with this cake, absolutely loved it!
Doubled the recipe but only used 120gm of sugar and 20gm extra cocoa. Spooned some into 6 muffin cups (3/4 full) and put the rest of the mix into a 9 1/2 inch pan. The muffin cups came out before the cake so I could scoff some down with greek yogurt and cake will be sliced and frozen because I have been known to go back for fourthseys and fithseys. So chocolatey and light and a little too morish.
This is the best cake, it always works and has some healthy ingredients in there too. I don’t put as much sugar in it and it still tastes delicious. Thanks Nigella
I baked this just a week ago. Initially, my roommate was kind of skeptical with the thought of olive oil into chocolate cake? To her surprise she loved it. Just yesterday she baked this recipe herself and shared the cake with her colleagues at work.
Really good.