The New Sherry and Olive Oil Pound Cake
Recipe by Alice Medrich | Photo by Stacy Ventura
The New Sherry and Olive Oil Pound Cake
- Yield: Makes 1 large tube cake or 2 loaves 1x
Description
This update of my favorite olive oil pound cake, first created for Pure Dessert (Artisan, 2007), features Renewal Mill’s 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour and a terrific new olive oil glaze. Make it a day or two ahead, since the cake just gets better.
Ingredients
For the cake
- 3 cups (327g) Renewal Mill Gluten-Free Baking flour*
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 large bright-skinned orange, preferably organic or pesticide free
- 2 cups (400g) sugar
- 3/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup (215g) robust extra virgin olive oil (see olive oil notes)
- 5 large cold eggs
- 1 cup dry sherry or medium-dry amontillado
For the glaze
- 1/4 cup olive oil co-milled with citrus (see olive oil notes)
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
Equipment
- Electric mixer
- 1 (10-12 cup) tube pan or 2 (5–6 cup) loaf pans
Instructions
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour the pans or line loaf pans with parchment.
Mix the flour and baking powder thoroughly and sift onto a piece of wax paper. Set aside.
Finely grate the orange zest directly into the bowl of your stand mixer or large mixing bowl. Add the sugar, salt, and olive oil. Beat until blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating at high speed until the mixture is thick and pale, 3 to 4 minutes. Stop the mixer and add one-third of the flour mixture. Beat on low speed just until blended, scraping the bowl as necessary. Stop the mixer and add half of the sherry. Beat just until incorporated. Repeat with another third of the flour, followed by the remaining sherry, and then the remaining flour.
Scrape the batter into the pan(s). Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 45–60 minutes for either the tube or loaf pans. Set the pan(s) on a rack for about 15 minutes before removing the cakes. For loaves lined with paper, simply lift the liners and set the loaves on the rack. Otherwise detach the cakes by sliding a thin knife around the tube and sides of the tube pan, or just the sides of the loaf pans. Invert to remove the cake, then set them right-side up on the rack to finish cooling.
Make the glaze while the cake(s) are cooling: Mix the citrus olive oil with powdered sugar. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer to remove lumps—a tea strainer works fine.
Use a spoon or tiny pitcher to drizzle cake with glaze. Slice with a serrated knife. Cake lasts for several days at room temperature in a closed container.
Notes
*Renewal Mill is an award-winning ingredient company that fights global food loss by upcycling byproducts from food manufacturing into premium ingredients such as the gluten-free baking flour blend used in this recipe. They also have plant-based mixes for crave-worthy cookies and brownies. You can find a store that carries these products on the interactive map at renewalmill.com.
Olive oil notes: A robust, even peppery EVOO like the Tres Osos Robust Extra Virgin Olive Oil used here perfectly balances this cake’s sweetness and notes of citrus and sherry. Gild the lily (or not) by drizzling with a unique citrus olive oil glaze. The Bondolio California Mandarin Olive Oil added a beautifully vibrant flavor.
Alice Medrich is a self-taught pastry chef and chocolatier and an award-winning cookbook author who is credited with popularizing chocolate truffles in the United States through her influential dessert shop, Cocolat, in the l970s. She is currently working with visionary local and international startups, creating innovative recipes and plant-based products with upcycled ingredients. alicemedrich.com
