i just got back from spending 10 days in the delightfully summery weather of socal & vegas. returned to the typically cold, grey foggy weather of a San Francisco summer.
i've subbed fleece & socks for my tank tops & reefs & i know i'm facing another 3 months of this crap before SF gets its whopping 2 weeks of summer. so i thought i'd pretend it's summer here in SF by making an olive oil cake.
with some fresh strawberries.
which turned out to be citrus-infused olive oil cake with balsamic-macerated strawberries, fresh rosemary & balsamic whipped cream.
oy.
the cake recipe was based on the lemon olive oil cake at epicurious.com. i made mini cakes instead of 1 (9")round in a springform. i used tangerine-infused extra-virgin olive oil from stonehouse which was fabulous & subbed in an orange for the lemon.
i'll make this short:
YES to citrus-infused olive oil cake.
YES to balsamic-macerated strawberries with fresh rosemary.
a big huge NO to balsamic whipped cream. <-- BLEH. next time, the whole shebang is getting topped with plain old sweetened whipped cream.
& what do you know it's summer in my San Francisco kitchen.
citrus-infused olive oil cake
3/4 cup tangerine-infused extra-virgin olive oil
1 orange (grate for 1 1/2 tsp zest; squeeze for 1 1/2 Tbsp juice)
1 cup cake flour
5 egg yolks
4 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Place rack in middle of oven. Preheat oven to 350.
Grease a 9" springform pan, line bottom with parchment, grease parchment.
Whisk zest with flour.
In a large bowl, beat yolks and 1/2 cup sugar on high until thick and pale. Reduce speed to medium and add olive oil and reserved orange juice. Beat just till combined, mixture will appear separated. Add flour-zest mixture to yolk mixture & stir with a spoon just until combined. Do not beat.
In a large bowl, whip egg whites with 1/2 teaspoon salt at medium-high until foamy. Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, a little at a time, beating at high soft peaks form.
Gently fold one third of whites into yolk mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites.
Transfer batter to springform pan and gently rap against work surface once or twice to release any air bubbles.
Bake until puffed and golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
Cool cake in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a thin knife around edge of pan and remove side of pan. Cool cake to room temperature, about 1 1/4 hours.
Remove bottom of pan and peel off parchment, then transfer cake to a serving plate.
balsamic-macerated strawberries
1 lb strawberries
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
wash & slice strawberries. toss gently with sugar, balsamic & fresh rosemary. let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
balsamic whipped cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar, or to taste
1 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
chill large bowl & beater.
beat cream, sugar and balsamic at medium till soft peaks form.
