Michele Cranston

Cinnamon and cherry olive oil cake

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Preparation info

  • Serves

    8-10

    • Difficulty

      Medium

Appears in

A Simple Table

A Simple Table

By Michele Cranston

Published 2016

  • About

This cake is slightly sponge-like in texture and it’s always a surprise that it carries the weight of the cherries. I use bottled morello cherries because they have such a lovely sweet sourness and they can be sourced year round. They usually come with the seeds removed, but check them carefully before you add them to the base of the tin—an unexpected cherry seed comes as an unwelcome addition to any cake.

Ingredients

  • 680 g (1 lb 8 oz) bottled morello cherries
  • 3 large free-range eggs
  • 330 g (11½ oz/1½ cups) caster (superfine) sugar
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
  • 125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup)extra virgin olive oil
  • 300 g (10½ oz/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus extra for dusting
  • 300 ml (10½ fl oz) thickened cream, whipped

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Lightly grease a 22 cm (8½ inch) square cake tin and line the base and sides with baking paper.

Drain the cherries, reserving the liquid, and then arrange the cherries over the base of the tin.

Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, 275 g (9¾ oz/1¼ cups) of the sugar and the orange zest for about 5 minutes, or until thick and creamy. Add the olive oil and beat for a further 1 minute. Sift the flour and baking powder over the egg mixture and gently fold to combine.

Pour the batter over the cherries in the tin. Using a spatula, smooth the top of the batter, drawing the mixture up at the sides a little. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.

Meanwhile, put the reserved liquid from the cherries, the remaining 55 g (3 oz/¼ cup) of sugar and the cinnamon in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced by half.

Turn the cake upside down onto a serving plate and spoon the syrup over the cake. Top with the whipped cream and dust with extra cinnamon.