Raspberry Almond Olive Oil Cake with Agave

This cake came out of the need to find a low-sugar dessert for a birthday picnic. Talking through some recipes with a friend, I landed on my Berry Lemon Almond Tea Cakes, which I thought sounded like the perfect summer cake, and could easily be adapted to be low-sugar. This new version, is simply an adaptation of a previous recipe, but made with agave syrup instead of raw sugar.

Agave syrup is a naturally derived sweetener from the agave plant native to Mexico; it tastes comparable to honey, although not as sharp, and with major hits of toasted malt. But what makes agave syrup different (and fantastic) is that it has a significantly lower glycemic index compared to granulated sugar/raw sugar, etc., meaning that for those trying to watch their sugar/carb consumption because of diabetes or even just weight management, agave syrup offers a natural sweetener without spiking blood sugar. While it’s definitely not a “free” food, it can be viewed as a healthier alternative for those trying to watch their sugar intake, without resorting to chemical artificial sweeteners—which seriously shouldn’t be classified as “food”.

The take-away from my long-winded ramble above is that agave works perfectly as a good low-sugar option for baked goods, as long as you know the ratio, which is pretty simple. Just use 2/3 cup of agave syrup for every 1 cup of granulated sugar, reduce other liquids in whatever you’re baking by ¼ cup to account for the added liquid coming from the agave syrup, lower the oven temperature by 25 degrees and bake. This cake is proof that this substitution works well and the result of this birthday cake experiment is a gloriously light almond cake punctuated with intense bursts of sweet and tart raspberries. Dollop with some homemade unsweetened almond whipped cream (whip cream until you have soft peaks, add ¼ teaspoon of pure almond extract and stir to combine—dollop on top of cake).

Apologies over the absolutely terrible—and only—shot of the cake. It was, after all, meant for a birthday picnic, and this was the only shot I could get—paper plate and all.

Raspberry Almond Olive Oil Cake with Agave
Adapted from London Bakes via my Berry Lemon Almond Tea Cakes
Yields: 1- 8” cake

Ingredients

• 4 medium eggs
• 1/3 cup agave syrup
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour/almond meal
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• Almond whipped cream to serve

Baking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300F and grease, flour, and line your cake pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the eggs and agave syrup until the mixture is light and fluffy and has tripled in size (approx.10 minutes). Add the olive oil and vanilla and continue to whisk until it has been incorporated. Remove from stand mixer if using. Carefully fold the whole wheat flour and almond flour into the mixture with a rubber spatula, trying not to lose any of the air. Finally fold in the raspberries and lemon zest. Carefully pour cake batter into prepared pan and bake for approximately 35-45 minutes, until sides of cake begin to pull away from pan and toothpick comes out clean. Serve with almond whipped cream dolloped on top.

I’m Still Here…and a Recipe for Berry Lemon Almond Tea Cakes

First off, let me thank those of you who stuck around and are still reading this blog. It’s been quite a while since my last post with lots happening since then—trips to visit family, new job, birthdays, moved to a new house/neighborhood. The aforementioned new job also came with a daily four-hour commute, which although it pumped me full of crazed-I-hate-driving-in-LA-road-rage, it left me totally bereft of any energy for positive things, such as spending time in the kitchen, or maybe some exercise to work off all that time spent in the kitchen. But, I’ve now moved closer to work (read: 15 minute commute! Hooray!) and have found myself with time to actually do something I enjoy. So, here it is, I’m back at it. And what better way to re-acquaint myself with you than with these easy, cloud-like cakes scented with almond and filled with summer berries and delicate wisps of lemon. I saw this recipe on Kathryn’s amazing blog, London Bakes, one of my faves, where it was originally made with raspberries, and just knew this was a recipe I wanted to make—immediately. I came home from work with a mission: make these cakes and blog about it. This was just the recipe inspiration I needed to get back to the blog. Also, it having almond flour as one of its main components helped, as I seem to have this obsession with the ingredient. I’ve been staring at my bag of almond flour waiting for a recipe that would make good use of it—and this is it. I’ve adapted it by adding blueberries and some lemon zest and turned them into darling little tea cakes, just lightly dusted with a flurry of powdered sugar—but served with a dollop with freshly whipped cream would, of course, be fantastic, too. Who says no to whipped cream?

 

 This cake recipe is genius as it could be adapted a hundred different ways to use up any seasonal fruit you have on-hand: apricots would be amazing, any berry, cherries, pears—all perfect and begging to made into this simple cake. The key to the batter is whipping the eggs with the sugar until it becomes light and fluffy and then carefully fold in the other ingredients.

It couldn’t be simpler and the reward is delicious—a not too sweet, very light cake perfect with a cup of tea—or for breakfast, which is what I plan on doing tomorrow!  The healthier ingredients (whole wheat and almond flour and extra virgin olive oil) are also a clever way to fool yourself that you’re actually eating something healthy—okay, healthy-ish.

So, here it is, thanks for staying—and thanks to my lovely friend Yvonne, who asked me why I wasn’t still blogging. Since I couldn’t come up with a proper reason it looks like I’m back at it. Apparently that was just the small kick in the ass I needed.

More posts to come soon.

Berry Lemon Almond Tea Cakes

Adapted from London Bakes

Yields: 12 cupcakes or an 8” cake

Ingredients

• 4 medium eggs
• 1/2 cup raw/unrefined sugar*
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour/almond meal
• 1/2 cup raspberries
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• Powdered sugar to dust on top

Baking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325F
2. Line your muffin tin with cupcake papers.
3. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the eggs and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy and has tripled in size (approx.10 minutes).
4. Add the olive oil and vanilla and continue to whisk until it has been incorporated.
5. Remove from stand mixer if using
6. Carefully fold the whole wheat flour and almond flour into the mixture with a rubber spatula, trying not to lose any of the air.
7. Finally fold in the raspberries, blueberries, and lemon zest.
8. Using a tablespoon, or small ice-cream scoop ladle the batter into each cupcake paper, filling to 3/4 full.
9. Bake for 20 minutes until the cupcakes are golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
10. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before removing from muffin tin.
11. To serve, dust with powdered sugar— or serve with freshly whipped cream on the side.

*Unrefined/raw sugar is made from the juice of the sugar cane plant and has trace minerals and nutrients not found in processed/refined sugar, making it a much healthier sweetening option.

**You can find almond flour (sometimes called almond meal) and raw/unrefined sugar at many health food stores and Trader Joe’s.

***These cakes are best eaten straight away, while they’re still light and fluffy. If you don’t manage to eat all, the best way to store them is lightly covered with plastic wrap.