Olive oil chocolate cake

The fruity flavour of good quality extra-virgin olive oil takes this cake to the next level!

Makes 1 cake • Preparation: 20 minutes • Baking time: 50 minutes Oven temperature: 180°C

• 625ml cake flour

• 125ml cocoa powder

• 7.5ml baking powder

• 3ml bicarbonate of soda

• pinch of salt

• 300ml castor sugar

• 250ml light brown sugar

• 5ml vanilla essence

• 250ml extra-virgin olive oil

• 250ml milk

• 3 large eggs, at room temperature • 125ml boiling water, slightly cooled OLIVE OIL GANACHE

• 80g dark chocolate

• 30ml extra-virgin olive oil

• pinch of sea salt flakes

1 Preheat the oven. Grease a 2L cake tin and set aside.

2 Sift the dry ingredients in one bowl and beat the rest of the ingredients together (except for the boiling water) in another. Beat the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add the boiling water and beat until just smooth. Scrape all the batter into the prepared tin, make the top level and bake for about 50 minutes or until a test pin comes out clean. Let the cake stand in the pan for about 20 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

3 Melt the chocolate and olive oil carefully and stir in the salt. Allow to cool slightly and pour the ganache over the cooled cake on a pretty platter. Fresh figs go well with this treat.