What fond memories does Mother’s Day conjure up for you? Your mom’s smile, a fun experience you shared with her, or perhaps a unique way she showed that she loved you?
One of my favorite childhood memories is of my mom decorating beautiful cakes for our birthdays. She made a kitty cake when I was really into cats, a pirate ship cake for my brother’s pirate-themed birthday party, and countless cakes in her signature style: two layers with colorful frosting swooshes along the edges, topped with a birthday message in lovely frosting calligraphy.
Mom always added almond extract to her frosting, and I came to associate that distinctive flavor with celebrations, and with Mom performing a labor of love to make us feel special on our birthdays.
Sometimes the Apple Falls Far from the Tree
I have wonderful memories of those birthday cakes, but as an adult I wasn’t much of a cake person until recently. Why, you ask?
- I found the texture of boxed cake mixes kind of underwhelming.
- The cakes I made from scratch were even underwhelminger.
- I am not artsy at all. Given the cake art I grew up with, it’s hard to get excited about cake that looks like a kindergartner decorated it.
I had pretty much sworn off cake until I learned that simple olive oil cakes are popular in Italy. I was curious (what the heck would an olive oil cake taste like???), and frankly, I trust the judgement of Italian cooks. Since they gave us delicious things like pizza, gelato, and lasagna, maybe this cake had a chance of turning out well.
I began scouring the web for promising olive oil cake recipes. When I found one with almond extract in it, I thought of my mom and decided to give it a try.
What If Your Olive Oil Tastes Absolutely Horrid?
During my flurry of olive oil cake research, multiple bloggers assured me that I didn’t need to use high-quality olive oil for olive oil cake. The nuanced flavors of great olive oil disappear when you heat it, so it’s best to just use decent olive oil for cake and save the fancypants artisan stuff for vinaigrettes and such.
Taking these experts at their word, I headed to the store and bought the cheapest bottle of extra virgin olive oil I could find. It turned out to be really poor quality oil with an atrociously bitter flavor. The cake batter tasted awful, and I wondered whether the resulting cake would even be edible.
To my astonishment, the cake turned out really well. I tasted just a hint of bitterness in my very first bite, then my taste buds got over it and the rest of my slice was fine. My family didn’t notice any odd flavor at all, and they loved the moist, almond-infused cake. The kids even asked to take slices of it in their lunches the next day.
These days, I tend to use better-quality olive oil when I make this cake. The batter always tastes strongly of olive oil, but the cake never does. It’s kind of magical, really.
And We Lived Cakily Ever After
Almond olive oil cake has become my go-to recipe when I’m asked to bring a dessert to a party, or when I feel like baking something special on a whim. Everyone loves it, and it’s so easy to make with things I always have on hand. In fact, I can have the batter ready almost before the oven finishes heating up.
I also like that it’s healthyish, as cakes go. I’m not saying you should eat it for breakfast, but it’s nice to make a delicious dessert with heart-healthy olive oil instead of butter. The olive oil also keeps the cake moist longer than butter would. In fact, this cake is actually better on the second day, if you can wait that long. (I just ate a day-old slice to confirm that. I take my duties as a blogger very seriously.)
What’s more, this cake is so good on its own that you don’t need to frost it. That’s better for your health, but it also means you can simply dust the cake with a bit of powdered sugar and serve something that looks elegant in a not-decorated-by-a-kindergartner sort of way.
Best of all, the almond flavor reminds me of my sweet mother, who took the time to make us feel extra special on our birthdays.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. 🙂
More Great Recipes for Mother’s Day:
Instant Pot Potato Soup (with Stovetop Directions Too!)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- ⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil (any brand is fine)
- ⅔ cup buttermilk, sour cream, or plain yogurt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup powdered sugar (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray JUST the bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan with some baking spray with flour (such as Baker’s Joy).
- In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar at high speed for 30 seconds. Mix in the olive oil, then the buttermilk, beating until combined. Stir in the extracts.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to egg mixture, beating until combined, stopping to scrape sides of bowl if needed. Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake until center of cake is firm when lightly tapped with your fingertip, about 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack. Store at room temperature, covered or wrapped in plastic wrap.
- If desired, place powdered sugar in a sieve and sprinkle over cake just before slicing.
