ALMOND AND OLIVE OIL CAKE ( ITALIAN WAY)

Beautiful and light texture cake with almond flour and almond essence. It just makes the house smell so good when it is in the baking process. I bet you will love this cake.

Makes 1, 9'' cake 

Time: 35-40 minutes

For the cake

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup almond flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 eggs

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup oil/ olive oil

1 tsp vanilla 

1 tsp almond essence

1 tsp grated lemon zest

1/2 orange juice

For the glaze

2 tbs salted butter

1 cup icing sugar

3 tbs warm milk/water

A few drops of lemon juice

2-3 tbs chopped almonds for garnishing

Method

Sieve the plain flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In an another bowl beat the eggs and the sugar first for a minute then pour in the oil, vanilla/almond essence. Beat the mixture for one more minute till the mix looks bit pale. Then beat in the orange juice. Once mixed, fold in the dry ingredients. Mix it well into a smooth batter.

 

Pour the batter into a well-greased pan. I used a fluted pan but you can use a normal round pan. Bake the cake in a preheated oven at 180'C for 35 -40 minutes till springy to touch. Remove the cake from the oven and let the cake cool in its pan for few minutes then remove. 

As the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. To prepare it, first mix the butter and the icing sugar well. Then mix in the warm milk/water ad stir to get the consistency you would prefer, then add the lemon juice. I like it bit thick so that the glaze sticks properly on the cake. Pour/spoon the glaze over the cake and garnish with the chopped almonds. Let it sit for few minutes to harden the glaze or just serve it right away.