I know, I know, I have been very MIA lately. Life just gets really busy sometimes, ya know? In my last post, I mentioned that my boyfriend and I were taking a little roadtrip to Zion National Park. Well, we came back from that trip ENGAGED! Yes, yes, he proposed. It was a great trip filled with gorgeous red mountain hikes, stunning scenic views, good food for our belly’s and great food for our souls. As soon as we were back from that trip I started working on a new secret fun project. I can’t say too much about it right now, but I’ll tell you one thing: it rhymes with shmookbook. Oh and I’ve also been working full time at the restaurant as well. We opened back up for regular dine in service about a month ago. We’re all doing our best to stay a safe distance from one another. My mom was even gracious enough to make my team matching masks! We are all just doing what we have to do to get our lives back to some kind of normality.
Let’s talk about CAKE! I love putting unique twists on cake flavors because I am just plain sick of vanilla and chocolate cake! Let’s make it a little more interesting! This olive oil cake is so *moist* you can eat it happily without any other frosting or filling whatsoever. It’s perfection on it’s own. Lightly flavored with lemon zest and vanilla, and has a little tang from the buttermilk. I have to use fresh apricots when they’re in season, so I filled the cake with a tart apricot filling. No filled cake is complete without a frosting, right? I wanted something complimentary and easy, so a simple cream cheese frosting was the way to go. I love using just enough to coat the cake, so you don’t get a whole mouth full of frosting when you bite into it. I love the “naked cake” look, when you can see the layers of cake after it’s been frosted, but feel free to decorate your cake however you choose!
Also, I wanted to give a special shout out to my cousin Rob for making this epic cutting board! Shown in the first couple pictures with the fresh apricots!
Olive Oil & Apricot Cake
Yield 2 8” cakes
Olive Oil Cake
Flour 3 cups
Baking Powder 1 ½ tsp
Baking Soda 1 tsp
Salt 1 tsp
Eggs 3
Sugar 1 ½ cups
Olive Oil 1 cup
Buttermilk 1 ½ cups
Lemon Zest 1 Tbsp.
Vanilla 1 tsp
Apricot Jam
Apricots, sliced 1 lb.
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Sugar ½ cup
Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream Cheese, room temp 1 lb.
Butter, room temp 1 cup
Powdered Sugar, sifted 1 cup
Directions:
To make the apricot jam, pit and slice apricots. Put them in a sauce pot with lemon juice, zest, and sugar. Cook down until thick, stirring frequently, until most of the water has evaporated. The fruit will break down but will still be chunky. This will take about 25 minutes. Chill apricot jam until ready to use.
To make olive oil cake, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine olive oil and sugar in a mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment. Add in eggs, then alternate dry and wet ingredients. Line 2 8” pans with parchment paper and spray the sides with non-stick baking spray. Divide the batter between both pans and bake for about 35 minutes, or until edges pull away from the sides and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cakes cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, then invert into plastic wrap. Wrap and chill for 4+ hours, or overnight.
To make frosting, combine cream cheese and butter in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix until smooth, add in powdered sugar, and mix until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides as needed. Transfer ¾ of the frosting to a piping bag.
To assemble, cut each cake in half. Use an offset spatula to smooth on a layer of cream cheese on the top of each cake. Make a dam by piping an edge of frosting on the edges of each cake. Fill center with apricot jam. Stack each cake on top of eachother, filling the center of each with jam. Cover the sides and top with more cream cheese frosting and use an offset spatula to smooth out the cake.
Chill cake for 2+ hours before slicing and serving. Enjoy!