Recipes

Olive Oil Cake With Brûléed Stone Fruit and Chantilly

Shop This Video

A bowl, a whisk, and a bottle of Texas olive oil is pretty much all you need for this rich but simple summery dessert.

By Susana Querejazu
May 19, 2023
Jump to the Recipe
3 Hours
12 Servings
Medium

For better or for worse, American bakers prefer butter over other fats, but elsewhere in the world oil-based cakes reign supreme. Especially in Italy, where good olive oil is revered and the boundary between sweet and savory is a bit more blurred. This recipe from Chef Susana Querejazu of Lutie's at Commodore Perry Estate relies on Texas-grown and bottled olive oil to add richness and tenderness to a very simple cake.

Little more equipment than a mixing bowl, a whisk, and a Pie Dish is required, making this the perfect quick (but still delicious) dessert for a Memorial Day gathering—or any other time. Here we use plums, but depending on the time of year and your own local climate, you can substitute in other stone fruits for an ever-changing seasonal flavor.

Olive Oil Cake With Brûléed Stone Fruit and Chantilly

A bowl, a whisk, and a bottle of Texas olive oil is pretty much all you need for this rich but simple summery dessert.

Susana Querejazu

3 Hours
12 Servings
Medium
Ingredients
  • For the cake:
  • Zest of 2 oranges (about 2 tablespoons)
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 233 grams granulated sugar (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon)
  • 180 grams Texas olive oil (about 7 ounces)
  • 184 grams all-purpose flour (about 1 ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 175 grams whole milk (about ¾ cup)
  • For the brûléed stone fruit:
  • 2 peaches, plums, or apricots, cut into ¼”-thick slices
  • 2 tablespoons extra fine, superfine, or caster sugar (or substitute granulated sugar)
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
  • For the chantilly:
  • 300 grams heavy whipping cream (about 1 ⅓ cup)
  • 30 grams extra fine, superfine, or caster sugar (or substitute granulated sugar), about ¼ cup
Instructions
    1.

    Bake the cake: Preheat oven to 375F.

    2.

    Reserve 1 teaspoon orange zest for serving. Beat eggs with a whisk to break up in a medium bowl. Add sugar a little at a time, whisking. Add remaining zest and whisk until very smooth.

    3.

    Stream in olive oil, whisking until emulsified.

    4.

    Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

    5.

    Sift flour mixture into egg mixture, whisking until combined, and stopping just as everything is incorporated and no pockets of flour remain. Then whisk in milk.

    6.

    Pour batter into Pie Dish.

    7.

    Place cake in oven and immediately reduce temperature to 325F. Bake until deeply browned, top springs back when touched, and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 55–65 minutes.  Allow to cool in Pie Dish until room temperature, about 1 ½ hours. (Olive oil cake is best served at room temperature.)

    8.

    Make the brûléed stone fruit: Arrange fruit slices on a parchment-lined Sheet Pan and sprinkle one  side with half the sugar. Flip and sprinkle remaining sugar on other side.

    9.

    Heat a large Carbon Steel Frying Pan over medium-high. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in Frying Pan and swirl to coat.

    10.

    Working in batches and adding remaining butter as needed, place fruit slices into Frying Pan in a single layer and cook until golden brown on underside, about 2 minutes per side.

    11.

    Transfer to a clean Sheet Pan or Platter and set aside.

    12.

    Make the chantilly: Combine cream and sugar in a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Whisk until medium soft peaks form.

    13.

    Cut cake into 12 slices and place each slice on a Plate.

    14.

    Add 4–5 brûléed fruit slices on top and finish with a dollop of chantilly. Top with a little reserved orange zest.