Seeking Sweetness in Everyday Life

Not so very long ago, the California Olive Ranch sent me some olive oil with which to try out some baking.

YES!

So, I looked up recipes, because I have been really wanting to try out an Olive Oil Cake. But I specifically wanted a loaf cake type. I don't know why. Well, OK, yes I do. I have an adorable loaf pan. It's by Emile Henry and it's green. I think it's very cute. Plus, when you bake cakes in loaf form, they sort of resemble bread, and in my mind, that kind of makes them health food.

So I found a recipe which looked good, but I decided that instead of blood oranges, I wanted to use lemon. And I like lemon poppyseed, so I added some seeds. And, well, just to be a bit zany, I decided to add a dash of almond extract to the glaze.

And so, with all of these little additions and amendments, I ended up with Olive Oil Lemon Poppyseed Cake with Lemon Almond Glaze.

DEAR GOD was this thing good. While it may look like a pound cake, the olive oil sets it apart, taste-wise. While a pound cake is delightfully dense, this had a more tender, layer cake-like crumb, but a rich flavor that while not buttery, was very delicious--luxuriant and lightly fruity-nutty. It is hard to describe, so rather than fetch my thesaurus I am going to suggest that you break out some olive oil and give it a try. I'll give you one more reason why you should try it:

Aw yeah. Here's the recipe.

Olive Oil Lemon Poppyseed Cake With Lemon-Almond Glaze

For the cake

1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
zest of 1 large lemon [about 1 tablespoon]
juice of 1 large lemon
1/2 cup milk
3 large eggs
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon poppyseeds

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 5-by-9 inch loaf pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Combine sugar and zest together in a bowl; using your fingers, rub together well. Add juice and milk, and whisk to combine. Add eggs and oil, and whisk to combine.

Add flour mixture to the milk mixture, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the seeds last, stirring until evenly distributed.

Transfer batter to the pan, and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 40-50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

Turn cake out on rack, and using the tines of a fork, gently poke small holes on the top surface of the cake. Apply half of the glaze while cake is still warm. When cake has cooled, apply second half of glaze.

For the Glaze

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup confectioners' sugar
dash of almond extract
squeeze of lemon juice

Mix all this stuff together. If it's too thin, add a little more sugar. If it's too thick, add more lemon juice or milk or cream.