Bleeding Espresso

21 May 2008

what’s cooking wednesday: olive oil & limoncello cake

Yesterday just as I was seriously wondering whether I’d have something interesting to make for What’s Cooking Wednesday, I received an email from Salena of The Daily Rant, aka “The Camera Fairy.”

She included a link to a recipe for Olive Oil Cake from Saveur and asked if I’d be willing to be her test kitchen; not surprisingly, Salena’s truck-driving career doesn’t give her much opportunity to bake.

Of course I accepted the challenge.

As stated on Saveur’s site, the original recipe comes from Trattoria Dalla Rosa Alda, a restaurant in the Valpolicella region in the province of Verona in northern Italy. The cake is called Pissota con l’Oio and uses a special liqueur made by Dalla Rosa Alda.

In place of this unique booze, Saveur recommends “Grand Marnier or other sweet citrus-flavored liqueur.”

Well if you’re in southern Italy like I am, “sweet citrus-flavored liqueur” means limoncello, so that’s what I used.

I also added a half teaspoon of confectioner’s sugar because when I tasted the batter, it seemed really bitter to me. You’re welcome to use your own judgment.

I’ll definitely make this cake again and maybe add even a bit more limoncello and lemon zest next time for even more lemony goodness. I’m not sure that my texture came out the way it’s supposed to, but I do love it–kind of a lemon sponge and not dry at all (like Italian cakes can sometimes be).

And now I have yet another reason to love lemons.

Grazie mille Salena!

Olive Oil & Limoncello Cake
[adapted from Saveur]

Butter & flour for preparing pan
3 cups flour
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp lemon zest
3/4 cup quality extra-virgin olive oil
2/3 cup milk
3 tbsp limoncello
1/2 tsp confectioner’s sugar
2 tbsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C).

2. Grease an 11-cup bundt pan with butter and dust with flour, and set aside.

3. Beat eggs and sugar together in a large mixing bowl with electric mixer until pale yellow, about 1 minute.

4. Add flour, lemon zest, oil, milk, and limoncello and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. Add baking powder and confectioner’s sugar and stir until thoroughly combined.

5. Spoon batter into prepared pan and place in oven.

6. Bake until cake is deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer cake to a wire rack to let cool completely, in its pan.

7. Before serving, dust with confectioner’s sugar if you like. Incidentally, this cake goes fabulously with espresso.

Buon appetito!

27 beans of wisdom »

27 beans of wisdom to “what’s cooking wednesday: olive oil & limoncello cake”

Gil on 21 May 2008 at 8:14 am #

Sounds delicious! I agree with more lemon zest and limencello as you can never have too much limencello.

I’m with you there Gil, and now that summer is almost here…’tis the season
Mary on 21 May 2008 at 8:31 am #

Sounds delicious, I’ll have to try it. Like you, I often find Italian cakes very dry and I’m not crazy about the ones with all the alcoholic cream in the middle either. One thing we Americans do well is make cake.

Agreed Mary. In fact, this cake is so moist I’m almost certain I didn’t follow the recipe correctly Interestingly, you can’t taste the alcohol in the limoncello *at all* which is why I think that maybe a tad more would be good. I don’t like things dripping or drowning in the stuff, but I like a little kick otherwise why not just use lemon extract or something
Joanne at frutto della passione on 21 May 2008 at 11:09 am #

Oooh, how cool is it that we both posted about lemon cakes today???
I seem to be in a very lemon state of mind (think colour, not sour!!)
Have a fabulous day.

Joanne at frutto della passione’s last blog post..A little lemon goes a long way

Lemon’s in the air! Woohoo! Your cake looks lovely as well
erin :: the olive notes on 21 May 2008 at 1:25 pm #

oh yum! How very different…but so Italian with the ingredients. I will definitely try b/c we’ll be in FL with an oven soon

erin :: the olive notes’s last blog post..may flowers…and showers

This is horrible to say, but I’m actually surprised how much I like this, it being an Italian recipe originally apparently. Seriously–not dry at all! Woohoo for olive oil!
Bipolarlawyercook on 21 May 2008 at 1:54 pm #

This looks excellent. And I bet it would be great with a little cornmeal/polenta mixed in to replace some of the flour, too.

I have to admit I was eying up my almond flour….
My Mélange on 21 May 2008 at 2:17 pm #

Mmm…limoncello cake!! What could be better???? Yes, more limocello and lemon zest….that sounds good

Have to try that.

My Mélange’s last blog post..European Finds at Brimfield

Please do Robin; let me know how you like it!
Norma-ann on 21 May 2008 at 3:54 pm #

Wow-
it must be the “Sweet Tooth” edition of WCW!
This looks very good and a slice of that with some coffee…sounds fantastic.

Norma-ann’s last blog post..Angel Food Cake with Strawberries (and Mint)

We have lots of Sweet Tooth editions it seems…no complaints here! Thanks for coming by Norma-ann
amanda on 21 May 2008 at 4:06 pm #

Lemontastic cake! It’s the olive oil that makes it so moist. I love, love cakes made with olive oil and this one sounds great. Maybe a slice served with some fresh berries and more Lemoncello drizzled over the top?

amanda’s last blog post..Shameless

I’d like to try more cakes with olive oil…if you have any recipes to share, Amanda, please do! And I love the berries and drizzle idea…yum!
Giosue DiMeglio on 21 May 2008 at 4:16 pm #

Oh thank you!!! My grandmother used to make this incredible pound cake with lemon zest in it …. mmmmm. I forwarded this to my sister, she’s the baker. I hope I get to try this soon. Ciao

Hope you enjoy it! I’m about to have a piece for my afternoon snack….
Cherrye on 21 May 2008 at 4:25 pm #

Yum. Sounds great. Will you bring this to the next CWS?

Cherrye’s last blog post..Calabrian Womens Summit - 2008

Hmmm…I just might and give you and Peppe a night off from the oven
nyc/caribbean ragazza on 21 May 2008 at 5:25 pm #

I wish my stuff was here already from the States. I can’t wait to start baking. I love this combo.

nyc/caribbean ragazza’s last blog post..Enough with this rain, You’ve Got Mail, SJP on the cover of Vogue

I hope it gets here before the summer heats up! Not that *that* stops me from baking
jen of a2eatwrite on 21 May 2008 at 5:44 pm #

Oh, I so love olive oil cakes! And anything with lemon. I have to get some limoncello.

Ironically, my recipe includes Grand Marnier

jen of a2eatwrite’s last blog post..What’s Cooking Wednesday - Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler

Hah, Norma-ann’s recipe has Grand Marnier in too…must be something in the air
sisiggy on 21 May 2008 at 6:22 pm #

I’m definitely giving this a try. I’m always on the lookout for plain (as opposed to dripping with goo) lemon pound cakes, though I really need to find a cake no one else in the house likes so that maybe — just maybe — some would be left the next day.

sisiggy’s last blog post..…With the dogs

Oh no goo here! Maybe you should double the recipe and then hide a cake
Shan on 21 May 2008 at 11:23 pm #

Well it look like we all had the same idea today. This looks great! I love lemon anything.

Shan’s last blog post..what’s cooking wednesday - candy bar brownies

Great minds Shan!
Ice Tea For Me on 21 May 2008 at 11:26 pm #

Looks yummy and easy. That you can change the liqueurs to get different flavors is a plus too.

Thanks for sharing,
Linda

Ice Tea For Me’s last blog post..what’s cooking wednesday – fettuccini with caramelized bacon and onions

I like the versatility as well; I know some people make different “cello”s if you will with different fruits…they’d be great in this
simply...gluten-free on 22 May 2008 at 4:13 am #

Your cake looks so lovely. I love limencello. What a nice combo.

simply…gluten-free’s last blog post..Wedding Daze

Cake and booze are always good in my book Glad you enjoyed!
Jill on 22 May 2008 at 7:12 am #

Yum! I must try this!

Jill’s last blog post..Nespola

Let me know what you think Jill!
eleftheria on 22 May 2008 at 11:23 am #

I do love lemons!! After olives (my first great love) the second one is lemons!! We have a 35-40 year old lemon tree here in our summer house in greece and just seeing it in bloom and smelling the leaves.. yet alone all the lemons we get out of it…is amazing!!!
Baci
eleftheria

What a great tree you have there! I’m an olive lover too
Salena on 22 May 2008 at 8:23 pm #

Oh, life is so unfair that I don’t get to taste this cake!! I think the Limoncello was a great idea! And I like your idea of almond flour.

Thank you SO much for making this - I miss cooking a LOT when I’m on the road and although I love eating out, having breakfast, lunch and dinner in restaurants (albeit all over the country) can be a little boring after a while.

Although, my current trip is taking me up to the Atlantic Provinces of Canada (New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland & Labrador) this weekend and we’ll be there just in time for Lobsterpalooza 2008 (www.lobsterpalooza.ca) which I am very much looking forward to!!!

So thanks again for being the test kitchen and providing us with yet another great WCW treat!!!

Salena

Salena’s last blog post..I Might Have To Be Put In Restraints For Our Next Conversation

Any time Salena! I’m going to try this with different liqueurs eventually…I think Cointreau and some orange zest would be nice too
steffan on 22 May 2008 at 10:33 pm #

I think you have done things properly, I can’t even imagine how one could make a cake with almost a full cup of olive oil into a dry cake!

steffan’s last blog post..Quick Recipe: Broccoli with Olives

Apparently olive oil isn’t what many Italians are using in their cakes then, because you wouldn’t believe the dryness…funny my grandmother used it for *everything* else (but she made really good cakes without it)
Sara on 24 May 2008 at 11:12 pm #

I just wanted you to know that I not only read and drooled over this recipe when you posted it, but also that my true love and I went out and bought a small bottle (what they call a “nip” — just about three tablespoons, I think) of limoncello last night just so I could make it next.

“Wait, why do you want this?” my true love asked while we waited for the nip to be located in our local posh convenience store.

“Because Michelle in Italy just posted a recipe of a cake made in a bundt-type pan with limoncello and olive oil and dusted with powdered sugar.”

I don’t know how to transcribe the yummy noises he made.

I continued. “You know that really good lemon sorbet we love, the one that’s so intensely lemony that it almost makes you thirsty?”

“Yes?”

“Well, besides a whole lemons, this is what else is in that.”

“Ooooh.”

Right. Can’t wait.

If you like a strong lemony flavor, Sara, you might want to throw even some lemon juice or lemon extract or something in; there was just a hint in this recipe as written, but I’d like more. Let me know what you come up with!
Sara on 25 May 2008 at 1:13 am #

hahahaha

My brain (which itself, incidentally, from some angles now looks like a dessert into which someone has dipped a spoon) read “¼ t lemon zest” as “¼ C lemon zest” (possibly because of brain damage, or possibly because of a logic fault, because who on earth only uses ¼ t of lemon zest for anything bigger than a demitasse of espresso?) which then automatically translated into “grated zest and rind + a little pulp and juice of one whole lemon, regardless of precise measurement.” Also, a “nip” of limoncello turned out to be 4 T, not 3 T, but what am I going to do with an extra T of limoncello sitting around in my pantry? So you know where that went — all the sooner to recycle the bottle, of course.

It’s in the oven now. I will let you know how it comes out.
Sara on 25 May 2008 at 3:11 am #

Okay, the verdict: yum.

Not possessing a proper bundt pan, I baked mine in a tube pan. With all the extra moisture, and possibly just the vagaries of my own oven, I ended up baking it another ten minutes before the tester came back dry. The resulting cake is light and fluffy, moist, not terribly sweet, nicely accented but not overpowered by the powdered sugar sprinkled on top, and the flavor is mostly just pure cakey cakeness, but each bite comes with a noseful of the most heavenly aroma, and that’s where most of the lemon went. It’s what I expected, a very grown-up, sophisticated kind of cake, and yes, I think it would be delicious with espresso. I think it would also be lovely served with a little pinch of fresh fruit, one or two thinly sliced strawberries or a few raspberries for example.

Thanks, Michelle! A winner, for sure.

Yes fresh berries would definitely go well with this. So glad you liked it! Thank Salena as she’s the one who found the recipe! I’m actually thinking of making this again today. I’ve recently received quite a few neighborly gifts so I must return the favors….
Judith in Umbria on 25 May 2008 at 11:39 am #

Interesting. This is like the torcolo that every Umbrian makes and eats for breakfast, merenda and dessert. Except for the lemon. Which I happen to love. Going to make it.

Judith in Umbria’s last blog post..Help for bee and hornet stings– maybe

Calabrians (at least those around me) really don’t bake many cakes, even for party desserts; is the torcolo good?
Jana on 25 May 2008 at 10:43 pm #

I had this cake with my morning latte and it was fabulous! Here’s a pic (though given how overcast it is around here today, I had to use flash and the result wasn’t terribly aesthetic).

The pic is lovey Jana–I’m so happy I could play even a bitty role in the celebration. Happy birthday!
Marie on 28 May 2008 at 3:23 am #

Oh, I want to make this right now! This looks beautiful! I know already it tastes superb!!

Marie’s last blog post..I’M BACK!!!!!

Please let me know if you make it Marie–I think you’ll love it
Robbert on 22 Jun 2008 at 3:28 pm #

Could you add a “print” button here? I would like to print the recipe, but I don’t want the comments printed too!? It probably tastes delicious!

Robbert’s last blog post..Taxateurs aangepakt voor hypotheekfraude

I’ll have to figure out how to do that Robbert…right now, I suppose I’d suggest copying and pasting to something like Word?