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Chocolate and clementine olive oil cake. My cake
A few years ago I wanted to find my chocolate cake, something I could call Giulia’s chocolate cake. I was searching for a cake I could whip up in a moment, without even thinking about it, mixing all the ingredients almost with closed eyes. It’s your cake when you are guided more by textures and smell than by precise doses. I wanted an unpretentious everyday cake.
I was searching for a cake which could be the staple at my nieces’ birthday parties. I would also make it on a Sunday morning if I knew I had friends over for dinner: even if they would have brought gelato, nothing beats a slice of warm chocolate cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But above all I was searching for a deeply aromatic cake, with the juice and zest of seasonal clementines and the a remote hint of good olive oil.
I tried it, and what came out, the olive oil and tangerine chocolate cake, later became my chocolate cake. Perhaps it could be also yours, if you give it a try.
I gradually grew fond of my cake: we shared birthday parties, contemplative moments with a cup of black coffee and lazy breakfasts when the new day struggles to start. I love it from the first perfect slice to the last delicious chocolaty crumbles on the plate. I am so fond that we made a video recipe.
You can use a stand mixer if you are in a hurry, or enjoy the making with a bowl and a whisk, as you can see from the video. If you feel the urge to leave your desk and start collecting all the ingredients on the kitchen table, I will understand!
It is an uncomplicated cake, comforting as a friend’s hug or a cup of tea in the afternoon. It has a soft and almost wet crumb, with a thin crisp crust. Look at it, it’s my cake. You can serve it with a dusting of icing sugar, which adds even more charm to its rustic look.
Now I leave the video recipe made, as always, with Tommaso, who also had the good chance in these days to eat the whole cake, slice after slice, for breakfast!
Chocolate and clementine olive oil cake, the video recipe
If you prefer to read through the ingredient list and the step by step procedure, this is the written recipe. Tell my if you fell in love with it!
Chocolate and clementine olive oil cake
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Share by EmailIngredients
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 120 g ½ cup - 4,23 oz raw cane sugar
- 120 g ¾ cup - 4,23 oz 50% dark chocolate
- 50 g 3 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Juice and zest of 2 organic clementines
- 100 g 1 cup lightly packed - 3,53 oz almond flour
- 100 g ½ cup - 3,53 oz wholewheat flour
- 8 g 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- Icing sugar to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F - gas mark 4).
- Whip the eggs with the raw cane sugar until light and pale.
- Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie and stir in the extra virgin olive oil, the clementine juice and the finely grated zest.
- Combine the liquids to the well beaten eggs and sugar and mix well.
- Sift the almond flour with the wholewheat flour, the baking powder and a pinch of salt and fold into the mixture gently.
- Grease a 20 cm round mould cake and dust slightly with flour.
- Spoon the chocolate batter into the mould and bake for about 25 minutes until dry, almost crisp on the surface and moist inside.
- Let cool completely before dusting with icing sugar to serve.
… what about the next video recipes?
Do you have any special request? we want to do something that you will like, so I’m waiting for your suggestions and ideas in the comments! and now everyone in the kitchen to make the cake!
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I love your videos! This is one wonderful chocolate cake.
Cheers,
Rosa
Thank you Rosa! we are so enjoying filming these new videos!
This looks delicious! I have a whole box of clementines that will need to be used soon, so this is a great idea. I do have a question: What is the cloth you lay in the pan before baking?
Oh, right! this is a good question! It’s parchment paper. I crumple it, then rinse it under cold water, then squeeze it well. At the end it will be soft and easy to use to line a baking tin! 🙂
wow, I must be living under a rock…..how come I never knew this trick? My paper is always stiff and difficult to work with when lining the pan…..will give it a try. Grazie!
Great idea for the parchment paper! Does it work with cheesecake?
This recipe looks terrific–thanks for sharing it.
Hi Nina! I think it can work also with cheesecake, as it keeps its non sticking ability, but it’s just more easy to use!
Love all your cakes! and I have to try this one asap.
Jasmina
Let me know if you try it!
Hi there,
Wonderful recipe! Have a quick question:
1. What’s the size of the pan?
2. Can I substitute clementine with navel oranges? If I could then, I guess I will b using one 1 navel orange instead of juice of 2 clementines, as clementines are much smaller than navel oranges, right?
Hello Farah,, yes, you can substitute the 2 clementines with one navel orange! So happy you’ll be making the cake!
I am going to make this as soon as I figure out the US conversion from metric! I love olive oil cakes and citrus, haven’t tried the chocolate combination yet! Can’t wait.
Made your chocolate bread pudding, and am posting it next week.
Thank you!
Ciao Stacey, I forgot to write down the US conversions! Now you have them ready to use, you can bake the cake!
Happy you liked the chocolate bread pudding, let me know when it is on line!
Jul, thank you so much for doing that for me!
I will bake this cake tomorrow! Grazie!
Stacey
Thank you Stacey, let me know the result!
Love your receipes! Can the flour in this one be substituted for us non gluten people? Perhaps chestnut flour? Thanks!
Hello Mary Frances! Chestnut flour would make it almost fondant, different from this cake but amazing. I would reduce the sugar amount, though, as the chestnut flour is already quite sweet.
Otherwise, you can try to use buckwheat flour, which instead would add a delicious nutty flavour.
Otherwise, potato starch would make it soft! Let me know what you decided for!
Hi Juls = just loving what you do. I have a request – many years ago I tasted the divine combination of a chocolate cake and lemon meringue made as one cake = I tried to make this combination as best I could – and the results were not that bad – maybe you have a better idea.
thanks for a great job.
Hello Carol, thank you so much! This is completely new to me, but I would try to use lemon curd and meringue as a filling. Wow, sounds amazing!
And did you try it? It sounds amazing,probaably it is also possible as kind of a lemon-ch0colate marble cake thingy….but probably not with meringue,wgich surely doesn’t work inside a choc cake …but…who knows?Did you try something like that?
Hi, Jul!
I totally fell in love with this cake, and the light and happy video as well =)
Going to groceries for some clementines!
Thanks!
YAY! happy you like the video and the cake!
Oh, I’m in love with this cake…it’s so delicious!!!
Thanks for the recipe!
Juls,
I baked the cake but took the liberty of icing it with blood orange icing……it was DELIZIOSO!
Here is the post…..thank you for translating the measurement to US for me!
http://www.staceysnacksonline.com/2015/02/more-cake-chocolate-clementine-w-blood.html
xo Stacey
Thank you! x
Made this lovely chocolate cake for a dinner party a week ago and today I made another. Today it was a request from my husband that has seemed to fallen in love with it. I had to guess on the amount of juice as my clementines were pretty big (gave me about 125 ml) so just used one. The hint of orange with the chocolate is so refreshing. Thank you for sharing.
I am so happy you are appreciating this recipe, and nothing makes me more happy than knowing your husband requested it! thank you for your sweet feedback!
I made this cake last week-end for a familiy gathering and it was a hit ! It is really excellent, with a good balance between all different tastes in it, so that all are present without hiding the others.
Thanks for this recipe, I will definitely make it again.
It is the first one I cook from your blog, the beginning of a long series I’m sure 🙂
thank you so much Céline, I really appreciate your feedback! you began from my favourite cake, we’re already friends! 🙂
I would like to substitute blood oranges for clementines. I think that would work.
Yes, it will work! lovely flavour combination and colour!
Hello! I was so excited to make this cake. I made it today for tomorrow and it completely fell in the middle. The sides stayed up but the middle sunk in. I tested the center with a cake tester and it came out clean so I am pretty sure it was baked all the way through. I am not sure what I did wrong. Any ideas?
Probably it might have been too much baking powder? or the oven was too hot? if it was cooked through, I have no idea why it sunk! so sorry! I hope it was still good to eat!
It’s my bad, I didnt notice that u hav already mention the size of the pan. Plz do answer my other question Blessings!
Dear Giulia,
I’ve tried out your chocolate cake yesterday and it turned out really well!
I was a bit skeptical at first about pouring olive oil into a cake, but was quickly convinced! I find the olive oil harmonizes perfectly with the clementines, and together this gives a really nice, slight fresh taste to the cake! 😊 I used “normal” flour (no whole-wheat) and ground almonds 50/50, and a little more chocolate 😉 Next time I think I will skip the baking powder since I prefer moist chocolate cakes and feel that this one is almost a bit too “fluffy”. – And maybe I will use even more clementines! 🙂 Thanks for this recipe!
Best,
Laura
Thank you Laura for your feedback! I’m so happy I managed to convert you to extra viring olive oil! 🙂