Olive Oil Almond Cake

Please raise your hand if you absolutely despise the DMV and would do almost anything to avoid going there for the rest of your life.  If both of your arms didn't shoot straight to the sky, you my friend are a crazy person.

In case you were wondering, I spent a large amount of my Friday afternoon at the lovely Chinatown branch DMV.  It is a downright wretched place.  No one is happy, it takes forever, and something is bound to go wrong while there.  Just a few hours there and all happiness and positive outlooks on life seem to be sucked right out of you.  For all of you Harry Potter fans the DMV can be easily related to the Dementors of Motor Vehicles.

The moment I stepped out of the door and drew in my first refreshing breath in hours, I decided I had to go home and bake immediately.  I needed something to return my happy levels to the right place.  Even though several other unfortunate things happened between the DMV and this cake coming out of the oven, (like...my camera having a major booboo and being unusable :( which, I fully blame on the DMV for sending it's raincloud around with anyone who visits for the remainder of the day.) this cake made everything completely worth it.  Which was a nearly impossible task.

All of those bad feelings melted away as soon as I took my first bite.  It was unbelievable.  The olive oil.  The almond flavors.  The slight hint of citrus.  The perfectly toasted almonds.  The brown butter glaze.  Mmmm.  I would almost commit to another day at the DMV just to have another slice. But...since I could just make another one, that seems highly unnecessary.

Kaston scoffed at the sound of an "olive oil" cake but then was found secretly devouring his second slice an hour later.  So don't make his mistake.  Bake this cake, toast some almonds, drizzle it with the most heavenly glaze on earth, eat a slice, share with your friends, and then eat another slice.

Olive Oil Almond Cake...

adapted from Sassy Radish

Makes: 1 9-inch round cake   Prep Time: 10 minutes   Bake Time: 30-40 minutes   Total Time: 40-50 minutes

{Print Me}

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• grated zest from 1/2 an orange
• 1/2 cup orange juice

for the glaze:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons whole milk 
• few drops fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sliced, blanched almonds, toasted and cooled

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.  Grease a 9-inch round cake pan or spring form pan and place a layer of wax paper in the bottom.  Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt until thoroughly combined.  Set aside.
3. Crack eggs into a large mixing bowl and whisk them lightly to break up the yolks.  Add the sugar and whisk it in for about 1 minute.  Add the olive oil and whisk until the mixture is a bit lighter in color and has thickened.  Whisk in the extracts and zest, followed by the orange juice.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and whisk until everything is combined.  Continue whisking for about 30 seconds for a smooth batter.
5. Pour batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 30-40 minutes.  When the cake is done it will start to pull away from the sides of the pan and will spring back lightly when touched.
6. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then remove from the pan and allow it to cool completely on the rack.
7. While the cake cools, make the glaze by melting the butter over medium heat in a small saucepan.  After it is completely melted, lower the heat and watch the butter carefully, stirring occasionally.  When the butter begins to turn a light tan color turn off the heat and let the butter sit for several minutes.
8. While the butter cools, sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl.  Whisk in milk until completely smooth, then slowly whisk in the butter.  Taste glaze and add a few drops of lemon juice to balance the sweetness.  Stir in toasted almonds.
9. Pour glaze over cake and let it sit until the glaze is set.
10. Enjoy! 

P.S. - A big THANK YOU goes out to Ashley from The Uniqueness of Being for all of her tremendous help with the new look of the blog.  Seriously, she's amazing.  You should go visit her blog and remind her of that.  And while we're talking about it...what do you think?!  Do you like the new look?  Hate it?  Leave me a comment with some feedback!