Plum, Orange, Olive Oil and Almond Cake

Think of baking a cake and the usual ingredients come to mind, the holy grail of any sponge: butter, sugar, eggs and flour. But what if you replace the fat of the cake - butter - with olive oil? If you were in the Mediterranean or the Middle East, you wouldn't bat an eye at this. But I've found that when I serve a piece of cake to somebody here in the UK and then tell them it's made with olive oil, the response is often a twisted face followed by the word, 'Sorry?'

Using olive oil in cakes creates a surprisingly moist crumb and of course replaces the saturated fat of butter with healthier monounsaturated fats. It's best using a mild olive oil which doesn't overpower the cake with its natural pepperiness. But no harm in using extra virgin olive oil, with the fruitiness and savoury tones often enhancing the flavour.

In Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Spain and Italy, olive oil is the key fat for use in their wonderful concoctions, particularly when combined with zesty fruit such as lemons, limes and oranges as well as ground almonds or ground maize. It also enriches the bitterness of a decent dark chocolate too. So perhaps give it a go in your next cake and see the results of the faces when you tell them the 'surprising' ingredient.

Ingredients

1 small punnet of plums

50g soft brown sugar

Zest and juice of one orange

For the sponge

200g soft brown sugar

200ml olive oil

3 large eggs

150g self raising flour

50g ground almonds

A pinch of salt

1 - Pre-heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/GM4. Line a large ovenproof deep sided frying pan with baking paper. Sprinkle in the sugar and put on a medium heat.

2 - Half and stone the plums and line the bottom of the pan cut side down. Squeeze in the orange juice and simmer for 5-minutes until the plums are starting to soften and colour. Remove from the heat and allow to rest. 

3 - In a large mixing bowl, add the sugar, olive oil, orange zest and eggs. Whisk thoroughly. Then sift in the flour, add the almonds and fold in thoroughly.

4 - Pour over the plums then place on the middle shelf. Cook for 40-minutes then test to see if is cooked properly by inserting a clean sharp knife or sponge tester in the middle. If it comes out clean, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan.

5 - Turn out onto a serving plate and serve.