This Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Cake is the Crème de la Crème of Dessert

Save this dark chocolate cake recipe for a rainy day because, trust us, the kids are gonna want to help — down to the last lick of batter off the spatula. To satisfy any sweet tooth big or small, we took a page out of Simple Fare, the mouth-watering cookbook from our friend Karen Mordechai of Sunday Supper, a culinary community focused on simplicity and seasonality. Made with extra-virgin olive oil and unsweetened cocoa, her take on dark chocolate cake is the crème de la crème of sweet-meets-savory. Before digging in, have the little ones help top it off with seasonal fruits and a sprinkling of fresh-picked petals for a presentation that’s as stunning as the cake is delicious. 

Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

Serves 8

Ingredients

¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan

½ cup good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder

½ cup boiling water

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup superfine sugar

3 large eggs

Cyprus flake salt

Toppings

For the cardamom cream

½ cup heavy cream

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

For serving

1 teaspoon dried rose petals

½ cup chopped unsalted pistachios

Cyprus sea salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease a 9-inch springform baking pan with a little olive oil and line the base with parchment.

Sift the cocoa into a medium bowl and whisk in the boiling water until smooth. Whisk in the vanilla, then set aside to cool slightly. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the sugar, olive oil and eggs until you have a light, fluffy cream, about 3 minutes.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the sides are set and the top of the cake still looks slightly moist. A cake tester inserted into the center should come out clean or with just a few crumbs on it. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

While the cake is baking, in a chilled metal or glass bowl using a hand mixer, beat the the cream on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 4 minutes. Add the cardamom and beat until stiff peaks form, about 1 to 2 minutes mores. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Run a knife around the edge of the cake and release the sides of the pan. Transfer the cake to a serving plate or cake stand. Sprinkle with more flaky salt. Serve each slice with a dollop of the cardamom cream and a sprinkling of rose petals, pistachio and flaky sea salt.