Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Earl Grey Glaze

Moist, fragrant and bright this cake is perfect for morning tea or snack time and since it’s made with yogurt, olive oil, almonds, maple and tea—it could even pass as a breakfast treat. I made this cake for my friends at Rishi Tea to feature their incredibly fragrant Earl Grey. I can’t take credit for the idea to pair a lemon olive oil cake with a bergamot infused glaze, it was theirs. Honestly, I wasn’t really that inspired to create this recipe—I felt like the combination of flavors wasn’t anything special but boy was I wrong! I decided to try infusing coconut oil with the Earl Grey allowing it to cool before sweetening it with raw honey—it is nothing short of addictive and I can’t wait to use it with other desserts.

For the cake I turned to the Easy Almond Cake chapter (in Whole Food Cooking Every Day) and started playing around with the ratios of flour to almonds and added yogurt, lemon and additional leavener.

It’s a lovely bright cake for anytime of year and great while we await fresh berries later in the spring.

Happy Spring!

Amy xo

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NOTES:

Since I happen to be sharing this recipe right before passover I was remembering flourless almond cakes I’ve eaten during passover. In my search to find a lemon one suitable for passover I found this post that could be helpful if you’re looking for a dessert recipe to serve. This glaze is great on most flourless cakes—especially citrus.

I know many of you will ask about egg substitutes and I’ve not yet tried replacing them but you could follow the vegan version for the Easy Almond Cake base recipe. Generally you need to increase the flours and the leavener when leaving out eggs. Egg free cakes that are also gluten free can’t take so much liquid, in my experience.

I like the rustic look of the cake baked in folded parchment paper but if you prefer you can cut a parchment circle for the base of the pan and oil the sides.

The glaze will thicken as it cools so I like to wait until it’s the consistency of maple syrup before pouring over the cooled cake, that way it won’t run off the sides too much.

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LEMON OLIVE OIL CAKE WITH EARL GREY GLAZE

Makes one 8-inch cake

Cake:

1 cup (100g) blanched almond flour

1 cup (100g) brown rice flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

½ cup maple syrup

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

⅓ cup whole milk yogurt or coconut yogurt

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)

2 teaspoons vanilla

½ teaspoon flakey sea salt

Glaze:

¼ cup extra virgin coconut oil

2 tablespoons Rishi Tea & Botanicals Earl Grey tea leaves

¼ cup raw honey

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Make the cake:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line an 8-inch cake pan with parchment paper, folding to fit the sides and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl combine the almond flour, brown rice flour, baking powder and baking soda. Use a whisk to combine and break up any lumps of almond flour; set aside.

In another medium bowl whisk eggs, add maple syrup, olive oil, yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt. Whisk well until emulsified and add dry mixture. Stir with a spatula until combined and pour into prepared pan. Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a rack until cool enough to handle then carefully lift cake out with excess parchment paper. Allow cake to cool to room temperature before serving.

Make the glaze:

In a small pot over medium heat combine coconut oil and Earl grey tea leaves. Once mixture begins to simmer remove from heat and set aside for 10 minutes to steep. Strain into a small bowl and whisk in honey and lemon juice, continue whisking until emulsified. Set aside to cool to room temperature while the cake cools.

To serve:

Place your hand on the surface of cake and flip cake and cooling rack over, while holding the cake on your palm remove parchment paper and place cake bottom down on a cake plate. Pour glaze over surface of cake, spread it out so it drizzles down the sides. Slice and serve with tea. Left over cake keeps well for a couple of days in a sealed container in the fridge.

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