Pine nut cake with olive oil

  • Portion size: Serves 6-8
  • Hands-on time 10 min, oven time 25 min, plus cooling
  • Difficulty: easy

Throughout the Mediterranean, pine nuts are often used in desserts as opposed to ground almonds or hazelnuts. This cake is typical of something you’d find in many pasticcerie in Italy.

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Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing
  • 4 medium free-range eggs
  • 125g caster sugar
  • Finely grated zest 1 orange
  • Finely grated zest 1 lemon
  • 125g plain flour, plus extra to dust
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp dessert wine/sweet sherry or marsala
  • 100g toasted pine nuts
  • Icing sugar to dust
  • Fresh or poached fruit to serve

You’ll also need

  • 23cm round springform cake tin
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Method

  1. Heat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/ gas 3½. Grease the base and sides of the cake tin and line with baking paper. In a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, whisk the eggs with the sugar until doubled in volume and the mixture leaves a ribbon-like trail when the beaters are raised from the bowl. Add both zests and whisk for one more minute.
  2. Sift the flour and baking powder onto a sheet of baking paper, then pour into the egg mixture. Add the olive oil and sweet wine/sherry.
  3. Working quickly but carefully, fold in the flour, oil and wine using a large metal spoon: cut through the centre of the bowl, scraping the bottom of the bowl with the spoon and lifting the flour and liquid up to distribute it through the whisked eggs. Turn the bowl as you go and continue until everything is well combined.
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  5. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 25 minutes. After 10-15 minutes (when the top of the cake feels firm), open the oven, slide the cake out and sprinkle over the pine nuts. Slide the cake back in the oven and cook for the remaining time until a skewer pushed into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave to rest in the tin for about 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and cool. Dust with icing sugar and serve with fresh or poached fruit (see box).

Nutrition

  • 308kcals Calories
  • 17.3g (2.2g saturated) Fat
  • 7.6g Protein
  • 29.1g (16.4g) Carbs
  • 1g Fibre
  • 0.3g Salt

Quick wins & tips

Measure out all your ingredients beforehand – it will make folding them in much easier and help keep the cake light.

Make Ahead

Make up to 24 hours in advance and keep in a sealed container – although it’s best on the day it’s made.

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