I have probably mentioned this in columns past, but I am a “cake over frosting” girl.
As such, pound cake and olive oil, regulars on the post-meal table when I was growing up, are top of the list when I’m yum-scrolling on Instagram.
It’s the opposite of doomscrolling because my feeds are almost literally end-to-end reels of people unhinging their jaws to eat giant sandwiches with fries and hot honey, or tightly shot recipes of bomb desserts that activate my sweet tooth in very real ways.
Always impressive, because I’m also, largely, a “savory over sweet” girl.
Scientifically Sweet, a website/social media account from food scientist, product developer and pastry chef Christina Marsigliese, is one of my most bookmarked, but a relatively recent visit to Spanish River Grill out in New Smyrna Beach, where pastry queen Michelle Salgado’s olive oil cake, with its vermouth citrus rosemary glaze, is always a non-negotiable part of the meal (even if I have to take most of it home), had me at my most vulnerable.
That’s when Marsigliese’s Almond & Apricot Olive Oil Cake showed up in my feed.
Olive oil cake replaces butter with (duh) olive oil. The result: an incredibly moist crumb, in this cake made extra fragrant with lemon zest and a bit of almond flour. In this version, crisp almonds and a whisper of confectioner’s sugar atop stone fruit that caramelizes during the bake make it beautifully summery.
August happens to be National Peach Month. And since this recipe is very versatile (any stone fruit works), I was thinking in that direction when I headed to market, but the idea of apricots (so petite! so fuzzy! so wonderfully sweet-tart!) was nagging at me. Should I stick with the original?
The produce department made the decision for me: there were no apricots to be had. And the peaches? Well, they were either far from ripe or already getting soft. Great if I wanted to make the dessert that day, but potentially unforgiving if the news cycle had other plans (which it almost always does).
Up front, though, in cute little baskets, were a thing called apriums.
Crossbred over generations and, according to the Food Literacy Center, non-GMO, apriums are a hybrid fruit, 70 percent apricot and 30 percent plum.
They have the fuzzy skin of the apricot and, in this particular case, the purplish skin of the plum, with traits of both on the inside. Sweet flesh, tart skin. And remembering what was probably the most beautiful dessert I’ve ever made in this column — a Ricotta Cheesecake with Plums for National Cheesecake Day — tipped my scales in favor of this lovely, plump Frankenfruit.
This dessert easily rivals that cheesecake, for both beauty and texture. You can tell the moment you run the knife through its crumb.
I took a few pointers from the comments section, sugaring the sides of the pan and the top of the cake before baking. I also crunched the lemon zest in with the sugar for several minutes, allowing all the oils to seep in and the citrus flavor to penetrate a little deeper into the moist, velvety crumb. I sifted the flours, as well. These are simple steps, but highly recommended.
This is not a super sweet cake. Frosting junkies need not apply. But for the rest of you, it’s a simple recipe that bakes in one pan in less than an hour and looks stunning on the table. My grandma would be proud.
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Almond & Apricot Olive Oil Cake
Recipe courtesy Scientifically Sweet (scientificallysweet.com/apricot-almond-olive-oil-cake/#recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup fine almond flour or ground blanched almonds
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (zest of about 1 lemon)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup whole milk, warmed slightly
- 5-6 apricots sliced into quarters or 6ths if they are large
- 1/3 cup (35g) sliced almonds for sprinkling
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the base of a 9-inch round springform pan with a round of parchment paper.2. Combine flour, ground almonds, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl and whisk to blend evenly so there are no lumps of sugar. Sift the flour first for an extra fine texture if you want to go the extra mile.3. Add olive oil, eggs, sour cream and vanilla and begin whisking to break up the yolks of the eggs. The mixture will be thick. Before it is all combined, pour in the warm milk and whisk until it forms a smooth batter.4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out evenly. Arrange sliced apricots on top in any way you like, while being sure to place them right to the edges of the pan and not just in the center because then the middle of the cake will be slow to bake through.5. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and bake for 35-40 minutes until the cake is golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the inside edges of the pan and remove the sides of the springform. Let cool on the rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.