Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Let's talk olive oil and baked goods.

Until a few months ago, my only encounter with olive oil used in baking was an accident. During college, one of my roommates made cupcakes from a box mix and assuming all oils are created equal, mixed olive oil into the batter. Well needless to say, the rest of us in the apartment had a field day with this little mix up and continued to joke about the olive oil cupcakes for years to come.

Fast forward to my 25th birthday, which I celebrated at Rosemary's - a great Italian spot in Greenwich Village. After an amazing Italian feast, the waitress brought us one final treat for our taste buds. The treat was  none other than their signature olive oil cake....guess the joke is on me!

For those who don't know, a Meyer Lemon is a cross between a regular lemon and a mandarin orange. This combination results in a sweeter tasting lemon - perfect for lemon flavor minus the sour kick. Meyer Lemons have become en vogue in the past few years and now can be found in most grocery stores. I recalled seeing a Meyer Lemon version of olive oil cake while paroozing different blogs, so with the itch to make an olive oil cake, I decided this would be the perfect application. I also was about to get in trouble with my roommates if the Meyers my mom so graciously gave me a week ago continued to take up space (and slowly deteriorate) on our kitchen counter. 

This cake is not overly sweet, but the citrusy notes make for a palate pleaser. The use of cake flour and the proportions of egg, oil and yogurt create a light, airy, yet moist texture. I'm officially a believer in olive oil desserts!

Note: Tastes best after it has been removed from the oven and has cooled for about 20-30 minutes. The cake becomes more dense the longer it goes uneaten! 

The recipe:

1 3/4 cups of cake flour* (see substitute below)

2 teaspoons baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 cup granulated sugar

Zest of 2 Meyer lemons

3 eggs

1/4 cup lemon juice (from ~2 lemons)

Scant 1 cup whole-milk plain yogurt

2/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

¼ cup powdered sugar to sprinkle on top of the cake

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Remove from the oven and cool for 20 minutes. Remove from the cake pan and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar.

*If you do not have cake flour on hand, or do not want to buy any, substitute with all-purpose flour and corn starch. Measure out flour, remove a scant 2 tbsp of flour and return to the container. Measure out a scant 2 tbsp of cornstarch and add to the flour. Sift the new flour mixture 3-5 times so the flour and cornstarch are fully incorporated. 

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9 1/2 cake pan with olive oil, then dust it with flour.

Add the zest to the granulated sugar and rub together to infuse the sugar with the zest’s lemon flavor. Add eggs to sugar mixture and beat together for about 2 minutes until the mixture has lightened in color and grown in size. (If you have an electric mixer use whisk attachment for 2 minutes).

Whisk in the lemon juice and yogurt. Slowly pour a stream of olive oil into the mixture and continue to stir until combined. Mix in flour a small amount at a time until the mixture is combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 40-50 minutes.

Tastes best served warm.

Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes with Blackberry Jam

As time would have it, some of my co-workers are starting to become privy to my blogging (and general food obsession). You can only get so excited about the purchase of a mini-food processor without people starting to wonder....

So when my desk neighbor asked me what was next up on the blog, I decided to take a poll on which recipe should be featured next...without much debate the quinoa cakes won out. Can't say I'm complaining - I think my appreciation for quinoa aka "the superfood" has been evidenced over the past year +.   

Often times, the inspiration behind my recipes is as simple as having ingredients around that I don't want to go to waste. And let me say, it's a good thing sweet potatoes have such a long shelf-life because I put this off for much too long. The flavors of the fresh herbs, caramelized onions and sweet potatoes all come together very nicely into a healthy little cake. The original recipe called for a fresh blackberry salsa accompaniment, but for simplicity sake I decided to use blackberry jam instead - a perfectly acceptable stand-in, but next time I'll go for the salsa!  

The recipe
(From HowSweetEats)


1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup cooked quinoa (be sure to rinse the quinoa before cooking!)
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add 1/2 tablespoons olive oil. Add in sweet potato, onion, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, stir, cover and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until potato is soft. Remove lid and add garlic, cooking for 30 seconds.

Transfer potato mixture to a large bowl (slightly mashing potato with a fork) and add quinoa, breadcrumbs, cheese, herbs, remaining salt and pepper and mix well. Once combined, add in egg, then mix until moistened.

Using your hands to bring it together, form equally-sized patties to desired size. Heat the same skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Add cakes and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Serve with blackberry jame (or salsa, below).

Blackberry Salsa
1 pint fresh blackberries, chopped
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/2 jalapeno, finely diced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
the juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste

8 Vegetable Soup

I'm still holding out for the day when my office aka second home (sigh) finally masters the art of temperature control, but until then, I will continue complaining and my scarf will stay on (acquiring a work appropriate snuggie is a work in progress). Given these arctic conditions, I think my co-workers would agree it's perfectly acceptable to crave soup year-round, but particularly to combat the January blues.

Upon moving to New York, I quickly learned about a great soup spot known as Hale & Hearty. Despite abusing my right to "sample" a soup every time I go, I always seem to default back to their delicious and low-calorie 10 vegetable soup as my final selection. It still isn't entirely clear to me which 10 vegetables they claim to have in their soup, but I decided it was time I attempt a version of my own...8 vegetable soup.

The recipe:
Seasonings:

4 cloves minced garlic

2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp red pepper/chili flakes

2 tsp. everyday seasoning (Trader Joe's version combines sea salt, mustard seeds, black peppercorns, coriander, onion, garlic, paprika, and chilli pepper - talk about a spice medley)

1 bay leaf

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Vegetables:

4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced in rounds
1/2 onion, diced
3 celery stalks, sliced
4 baby potatoes, quartered or in sixths
2 c. leeks (I used pre-sliced frozen, slice if fresh)
1 c. peas
2 handfuls chopped kale
1-14.5 oz. can diced low sodium tomatoes
1-32 oz. container low sodium vegetable broth

Prepare and cut onion, carrot and celery then add to a stock pot with ~1 tbsp. olive oil. Saute for a few minutes until the vegetables begin to soften. Add minced garlic and potatoes. Stir and season with basil, salt, pepper and 1 tsp. everyday seasoning.

Saute for another few minutes then add in tomatoes and the remaining tsp of everyday seasoning. Add broth, bay leaf and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 20 minutes.  Then add frozen peas, leeks and kale. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

For added flavor serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top!