Orange Flower Olive Oil Cake

Everyone needs a recipe in their back pocket for a great olive oil cake. This cake does it all: It looks elegant on the table, topped with fruit for a dinner party, or simply sliced on the kitchen counter for a treat with your morning beverage. It goes with all kinds of lightly sweetened fresh fruit, all year-round. It turns out with a perfectly spongy texture and keeps for days. It might be even better the next day - if it lasts that long. Make this easy cake in no time - you don’t even need a mixer.

1 cup + 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, unbleached (160 g)
1 orange, lemon or Meyer lemon zest, freshly grated
¾ cup Monk Fruit Sweetener with Erythritol (Granular) (160 g)
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. sea salt
1 extra large egg
¾ cup buttermilk (180 mL)
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil (80 mL)
1 tsp. orange flower water, optional
Monk Fruit Sweetener with Erythritol (Powdered), as needed

To Serve:
fresh berries or sliced fresh stone fruits, optional

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C/140°C fan, Gas Mark 3). Lightly grease an 8” cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, zest, sugar, baking soda and salt.

In another bowl, whisk the egg with the buttermilk, olive oil and orange flower water, if using, until everything is combined.

Pour the buttermilk mixture over the flour mixture and stir until they are completely combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan with a spatula.

Bake until the cake is golden and the top springs back lightly against your fingertip, 30-35 minutes.

Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, then gently invert it onto a rack and carefully pull off the parchment paper. Let the cake cool completely.

Sprinkle the top of the cake with confectioners’ sugar or serve plain, topped with fresh fruit.