Lemon olive oil cake

The Mediterranean climate in Margaret River is perfect for growing olives, and from olives comes many things! With that in mind, I thought an olive oil cake with a very special olive caramel would be fun. The caramel can also be used in savoury dishes as well. Peter Kuruvita's Coastal Kitchen

• serves

  8

• prep

  40 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

Olive oil cake

• 230 g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 375 ml lemon-pressed extra virgin olive oil
• 280 ml milk
• 120 ml lemon juice
• 3 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp dried lemon myrtle
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 370 g plain flour, sifted
• Fresh lemon balm leaves, to serve

Blackberry cream

• 1.2 litres whipping cream
• 300 g fresh blackberries
• 100 g sugar

Poached blackberries

• 300 g sugar
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 2 strips lemon zest
• 600 g fresh blackberries

Black olive caramel

• 100 ml liquid glucose
• 400 g sugar
• 200 g pitted black olives

Chilling time 1 hour

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 170˚C. Grease and line a 24 cm round cake tin.

For the olive oil cake, using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment beat the sugar and eggs until thick and pale. With the motor running, gradually add the oil and mix thoroughly. Add the milk, lemon juice and bicarbonate of soda, then fold in the remaining ingredients until just combined. Bake in the centre of the oven for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake withdraws clean. Remove from the tin and stand on a wire rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, for the blackberry cream, place 1-litre cream, the blackberries and sugar in a large saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until reduced by half. While still hot, transfer to a blender, process until smooth, then strain and discard the seeds. Cool, then refrigerate until chilled. Beat the remaining 200 ml cream until soft peaks form, then gently fold through the cooled blackberry cream. Refrigerate until needed.

For the poached blackberries, place the sugar, thyme, zest and 600 ml water in a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat. Add the blackberries, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside. 

For the black olive caramel, place the glucose, sugar and 50 ml in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Using a pastry brush dipped in water, brush any sugar crystals from the side of the pan to prevent them from burning. Simmer the mixture until dark golden caramel forms. Remove from the heat and stand for a few seconds, then stir through the olives and another 50 ml water. Stand until slightly cooled, then transfer to a blender and process until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve and discard the solids. Set aside to cool completely.

To serve, cut the cake into portions and divide among plates. Spoon a little black olive caramel over the top, add a dollop of blackberry cream, a few poached blackberries and a little syrup. Garnish with lemon balm leaves. 

Peter Kuruvita's Coastal Kitchen airs 8pm, Thursdays on SBS and then you can catch-up on SBS On Demand. Visit the program page for recipes, videos and more.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.