Chocolate Cake with Olive Oil

For this years' Thanksgiving, I wanted to make a simple Chocolate Cake. For me, chocolate cakes are either a hit or a miss because they are often either too moist or too dry. By chance, I saw this book by Brian Hoffman "Bake from Scratch" and saw this recipe.

Thankfully, this recipe is very simple to make. I did cut the measurements for the frosting as I felt it was too much for a one layer cake.

My family really enjoyed it, as the smooth frosting added the perfect amount of sweetness to the cake and further enhanced its chocolate flavour. Though we stored it in the fridge for a few days, the cake maintained its flavour and did not get dry.

As an easy decorating tip, feel free to top it off with small candies. In this case, our coconut flavoured marshmallows paired nicely with the chocolate, while the pearls gave it a simple yet elegant look.

Yield: 10

Author: adapted from the book Bake from Scratch by Brian Hoffman

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Chocolate Cake with Olive Oil

Decadent chocolate cake with olive oil.

Ingredients

Cake

• ⅔ cup Dutch process cocoa powder, sifted (50 grams)
• ½ cup boiling water (20 grams)
• 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar (220 grams)
• ¾ cup olive oil (168 grams)
• 3 large eggs (150 grams), room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (4 grams)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 grams)
• 1¼ tsps baking powder (6.25 grams)
• 1 tsp salt (3 grams)

Chocolate Ganache

• 158 grams dark chocolate
• ¾ cups heavy whipping cream (150 grams)
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Put some parchment paper on an 8-inch springform pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a small bowl, combine cocoa and ½ cup (120 grams) boiling water. Let it cool.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together sugars, oil, eggs, and vanilla until well combined.
5. Alternately, combine flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Whisking just until combined. (Batter will be thin.) Pour it to the prepared pan.
6. Bake around 40 to 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Ganache

1. In a saucepan, bring the whipping cream into a boil (about 3 minutes).
2. Pour the whipping cream in the chocolates and let it sit for a minute before stirring.
3. Add the butter and vanilla.
4. Stir until it is smooth. Transfer to a bottle with cap and tip so it is easier to drizzle. Pour on top of the cake.