Strawberry Olive Oil Cake

The simplest of snack cakes—a soft sour cream and olive oil cake studded with sweet, fresh strawberries.

In case you’ve missed it, I have spent the last month harping on and on about the beautiful, perfect strawberries that I picked at a local farm. I filled a flat with warm summer berries, ate a significant number on the drive home, and then I got to work. I made strawberry preserves, fresh strawberry ice cream, and this cake.

This was a whim recipe. I had planned on the preserves and ice cream, but quickly realized that I still had a bounty of berries, so I thumbed through Yossy Arefi’s Snacking Cakes to see if I could riff on one of her recipes. This cake is as simple as it gets—extra moist from the olive oil and sour cream, studded with a layer of sweet berries. We spent a few days cutting off a little sliver every time we walked through the kitchen. It’s the perfect, low-effort summer cake.

how to make a strawberry olive oil snack cake

Guys, this is truly the easiest cake around. You only need a handful of ingredients (most of which you probably have on hand), it only takes one bowl, and the adaptations are endless.

You’ll need:

Sugar: Granulated sugar for sweetness, plus a little more to create a crunchy layer on top of the cake. You can play with demerara or turbinado sugar for the topping for an extra crunch.

Eggs: Two large eggs help provide both moisture and structure for this recipe.

Sour Cream: I love baking with sour cream because it adds tenderness, flavor, and density to my cakes. You can sub in greek yogurt, ricotta, or even créme fraîche if you’re feeling fancy.

Olive Oil: You want a good grassy olive oil for this cake. The olive oil flavor pairs so well with the strawberries, and since it’s an oil-based cake, you know it will be extra moist.

Vanilla: I used the seeds scraped from a vanilla bean for this recipe, but you could use vanilla bean powder, paste, extract.

Flour: Just simple all purpose flour, though if you’re feeling experimental, subbing in 25% spelt flour would be nutty and lovely.

Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Baking powder is used for leavening here, while the baking soda helps to counteract the acidity of the sour cream. If you’re interested in learning more about the difference between the two—read this.

Strawberries: The real star of the show. I used warm, freshly picked berries for this recipe because the flavor will really shine. Slice them thinly to prevent sogginess, or sub in black, blue, or raspberries.

Yield one 9" cake

Author Anna Ramiz

Prep time

20 Min

Cook time

50 Min

Total time

1 H & 10 M

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Strawberry Olive Oil Cake

The simplest of snack cakes—a soft sour cream and olive oil cake studded with sweet, fresh strawberries. Adapted from Yossy Arefi's book Snacking Cakes.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar, plus 2 tsp for sprinkling
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup (220 g) sour cream
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) olive oil
• 1 vanilla bean, scraped
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/4 cup (160 g) all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 160 g strawberries, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a 9" cake pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until frothy.
3. Add the sour cream, olive oil, and vanilla bean seeds and whisk again until smooth and homogenized.
4. Add the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda and whisk again until just incorporated and no flour streaks remain.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and top with the sliced strawberries. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tsp of sugar and bake for 40-50 minutes, until the top of the cake is deeply golden brown and the center is set.
6. Let the cake cool completely in the pan. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

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Roasted Grape and Olive Oil Cake

A classic lemon olive oil cake, topped with bright, late summer grapes, roasted with brown sugar and fennel.

Baking with grapes is just so much fun. All through pastry school, we never touched grapes. We used lots of berries, created a bunch of cakes with bananas, and even played with tropical fruits like mango, pineapple, and passionfruit. But grapes, those were basically for snacking and really nothing else. The idea of creating desserts with grapes truly did not even cross my mind until I was working on the pastry team at Blackberry Farm. We were the most spoiled pastry chefs in the world and would daily get garden deliveries from both the farmers at the resort and other local farmers in the area. Produce deliveries were the highlight of the day and we’d smoosh together (obviously pre-COVID) around cardboard boxes of warm summer strawberries and peaches, snacking as we cleaned them and transferred them to sheet trays (where we would continue to snack off of them all through service…half of the good produce made it into desserts, the other half went straight into our bellies.

Then, in early August, our daily berry haul started to turn into grapes. We got baskets of dark, seedy concord grapes and moon grapes that looked like baby eggplants. They made the most stunning colored sorbets and were worked them into all kinds of desserts on the menu. My mind was blown. But then I returned home where I was greeted with sad, grocery store grapes meant for lunch boxes. Until we moved to Minnesota.

I’ve talked before about our cute little co-op across the street literally bursting with local, seasonal produce. I walked in a few weeks ago to find little satchels of bright, seasonal concord grapes lining the shelves and it took every single ounce of my willpower not to bring them all home with me that very minute. I did, however, start brainstorming about this little cake recipe.

how to make a roasted grape cake

For this cake, I really wanted to grapes to shine so we made them the focal point. A very simple, lemon olive oil was the perfect canvas for our little grape babies. We make the cake by simply whisking together flour, sugar, lemon zest, leavening agents and salt. I added a little semolina flour for a bit of texture, but if you don’t have it, you can just substitute more all purpose flour. Then we mix together the wet ingredients—eggs, buttermilk, lemon juice, and olive oil. The wet ingredients join the dry ingredients and are whisked until the batter is very smooth.

While the cake is baking, we roast the grapes. Simply toss the grapes in brown sugar, some crushed fennel seeds, and olive oil and transfer it to a baking dish. Let the grapes roast until they are beginning to blister and burst (like cherry tomatoes) and the liquid is bubbly. Then spoon the roasted grapes over the cooled and sliced cake and enjoy!

And, if you have any leftover grapes and juices, save them for spooning over ice cream or serving with a dollop of creme fraiche and some shortbread cookies. The flavors in this super simple dessert will impress all your friends, I promise!

Yield

one 9" cake, or 8 servings

Author

Anna Ramiz

Prep time

15 Min

Cook time

50 Min

Total time

1 H & 4 M

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Roasted Grape and Olive Oil Cake

A classic lemon olive oil cake, topped with bright, late summer grapes, roasted with brown sugar and fennel.

Ingredients

for the roasted grapes

• 10 oz (300 g) grapes
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tbsp olive oil

for the olive oil cake

• 1 1/4 cup (250 g) granulated sugar
• Zest of one large lemon
• 1 1/2 cup (180 g) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (80 g) semolina flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• Juice of one large lemon
• 1 cup (200 g) olive oil
• 1 cup (227 g) buttermilk, at room temperature
• 3 eggs, at room temperature

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Roughly chop fennel seeds and place them in a large bowl. Add the grapes, brown sugar, and 2 tbsp of olive oil and stir to coat. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish and roast for 20-25 minutes, until grapes are soft and have just begun to burst. Remove from the oven and let cool.
3. Grease a 9” springform pan with olive oil and line with parchment paper, set aside.
4. In a large bowl, combine granulated sugar and lemon zest. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar until well-mixed. Add the flour, semolina flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the sugar mixture and whisk everything to combine.
5. In another medium-sized bowl or large glass measuring cup, whisk together olive oil, buttermilk, lemon juice, and eggs until smooth and homogenous.
6. Slowly pour wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and whisk until the batter is smooth and no clumps of flour remain.
7. Pour batter into your prepared springform pan and smooth into an even layer using a knife or offset spatula. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until the cake is dark golden brown in color, the sides are beginning to pull away from the pan, and the center is set and no longer wiggly. (If the top is getting too brown, but the center is not yet set, you can loosely place a piece of foil over the top to slow down the browning.)
8. Let the cake cool completely in the pan before inverting onto a plate. Slice the cake and spoon the roasted grapes over top of each slice.

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Grapefruit and Thyme Olive Oil Cake

This easy olive oil cake recipe features bright, citrusy grapefruit and fragrant thyme to give an elevated twist on a classic recipe.

I know that everyone and their mothers have said it, but 2020 has been quite a year. Between an election and a pandemic, things have felt wild and out of control most of the time this year and normal life just isn’t so normal anymore. Martin and I were chatting and reflecting the other night and it feels weird because this year has been so unexpectedly challenging for so many people, but for us, in our little bubble, it’s actually been a pretty good year. We’ve both been in fairly challenging work situations, but ones that have pushed us to really grow. We adopted sweet little Tahini this year, who has become the little furry joy of our lives. And somehow, we were able to continue saving money, scraping together enough to buy our first home. All of this sweetness doesn’t negate the exhaustion, though, so we took a little getaway. I’m writing today’s blog post from the very, very cozy bed of a little AirBnB on the beach and it’s just a dream. We’re sleeping in, and lounging by the pool, and drinking wine and it’s the most relaxed I’ve felt in a good, long, while.

So in the spirit of relaxation, let’s continue to chat about one of my very favorite topics: cake. I think that a good olive oil cake is a non-negotiable for any self-respecting home baker. They are quick and easy to throw together, endlessly adaptable, and just so moist and delicious that they rarely need extras like frosting or glaze. This one is thick, flavored with grapefruit and thyme and holds well for a couple of a days. A little note to remember about olive oil cakes—because they have a pretty high liquid content, they take a good long time to bake. If your cake is starting to brown too much while the middle is still jiggly, just tent it with a piece of aluminum foil. Also, I baked this in a deep 9” springform pan and any smaller cake pan will probably result in a very messy cake/oven situation. If you are baking this in a smaller cake pan, I’d half the recipe, or bake it in a rectangular 9x13” pan.

And just so I don’t forget, happy day 3 of 12 Days of Christmas Desserts!

Yield: makes one 9" springform pan

Author: Anna Ramiz

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Grapefruit and Thyme Olive Oil Cake

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 50 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

Ingredients

• 2 cups (260 g) all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cup (270 g) granulated sugar
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• zest from two medium grapefruits
• 1/2 cup (115 g) grapefruit juice
• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 cup (225 g) olive oil
• 1 cup (243 g) buttermilk, at room temperature
• 3 eggs, at room temperature

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9” springform pan with olive oil and line with parchment paper, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine granulated sugar, fresh thyme, and grapefruit zest. Use your fingers to rub the zest and the thyme into the sugar until well-mixed. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the sugar mixture and whisk everything to combine.
3. In another medium-sized bowl or large glass measuring cup, whisk together olive oil, buttermilk, grapefruit juice, and eggs until smooth and homogenous.
4. Slowly pour wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and whisk until the batter is smooth and no clumps of flour remain.
5. Pour batter into your prepared springform pan and smooth into an even layer using a knife or offset spatula. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until the cake is dark golden brown in color, the sides are beginning to pull away from the pan, and the center is set and no longer wiggly. (If the top is getting too brown, but the center is not yet set, you can loosely place a piece of foil over the top to slow down the browning.)
6. Let the cake cool completely in the pan before inverting onto a plate and serving.

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