Citrus Olive Oil Cake

In my youth, I baked a cake with olive oil, deviating from the recipe, and it was disastrous. Discovering that it can be done, and be done right, was really exciting. This is a modified recipe from one I found online, because I still have a tendency to deviate - but have learned much about replacements and processes. Enjoy!...Sasheen Kanzler, Operations Administrator

Ingredients:

2 C. all-purpose flour*

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. aluminum-free baking powder

¾ tsp. fine sea salt, grind if coarse

½ C. granulated sugar*

½ C. brown sugar*

Zest of orange and Meyer lemon* (grate rinds before juicing)

½ C. juice from orange and lemon*

1/3 C. olive oil*

1/3 C. unsweetened applesauce*

½ tsp. vanilla extract*

Step 1

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 350F. Lightly oil 9” round cake pan, then dust with flour.

Step 2

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Step 3

In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, juice and zest from orange and lemon, olive oil, applesauce, and vanilla extract.

Step 4

Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until batter is smooth.

Step 5

Pour batter into prepared pan. Rotate pan to level the batter and tap it lightly on the counter. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until cake is golden brown, the sides have pulled away from the pan and a tester inserted in the center of the cake is clean.

Step 6

Place cake pan on a cooling rack. Dust with powdered sugar.

*Organic ingredients

Note: Applesauce is a perfect egg replacer in vegan baking. Banana is another alternative, but its flavor is not as neutral as applesauce, and may not aerate as well depending on ripeness.