Every year for my birthday my Mom and I collaborate and bake a dessert together. Some years it is cupcakes but this year it was cake. While I didn’t get to celebrate on my actual birthday, the flavors and moistness of this cake were extraordinary and made up for it!
I am not really sure where my desire to make an olive oil cake came from but for some reason this year I had my mind set on making one. When my Mom and I ran across this recipe I was very drawn to the use of whole fresh fruit and tea. It reminded me of London and I knew it would be a perfect cake to celebrate with.
My favorite part about this cake were all of the layers and flavor profiles. While the recipe only makes two cakes, you split them both in half to make a four layered cake. It does make for a pretty large cake but it makes eating it so much more enjoyable because the balance between cake and frosting is much more appropriate. You get to taste all of the flavors together and enjoy when they pop.
Something I did differently with this recipe is that I added some fresh lemon zest to the mascarpone frosting. This added freshness and acidity really helped the fresh berries in the cake shine and also added another complementary flavor profile.
One note is that I baked this cake for much longer than the recipe called for. We had already taken the cake out of the oven and were about to frost it but I noticed that the middle was still pretty sticky. I insisted that we put it back in the oven and ended up baking it for an additional 20 minutes. My Mom and I were very glad we put it back in because after a total bake time of 55 minutes the cake was perfectly moist and fluffy. I 100% recommend keeping the cake in the oven longer because otherwise the middle of your cake might be raw.
While this cake may seem like a tall order, the flavors and fun baking process make it worth it. Whether you are a chocolate or vanilla cake person, this cake is truly a crowd pleaser and everyone who ate it found it absolutely delicious. I hope you find the time to test out this tasty recipe and hopefully it will encourage you to start trying more unique flavor combos!
