Make Ahead

Blueberry Peach Olive Oil Cake

May  6, 2019
3
1 Ratings
Photo by Brittany Ward
  • Prep time 20 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Serves 12
Author Notes

This recipe is an adaptation of Maialino's Olive Oil Cake, which as I have found, is infinitely adaptable. For this version, the cake is studded with juicy chunks of fresh peaches and blueberries and is accented with just a hint of lemon for brightness. Not only is this cake easy to make, it will stay moist for days! —Brittany Ward

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Ingredients
  • 2 cups All Purpose Flour
  • 1/4 cup Milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 1 3/4 cups Sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Lemon zest
  • 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 cup Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
  • 3 Large Eggs
  • 1/4 cup Fresh Lemon Juice
  • 1 cup Fresh Peaches, Diced
  • 1 cup Fresh or Frozen Blueberries
  • 2 tablespoons Turbinado Sugar
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Spray an 9-inch round pan* with baking spray, then rub all over with a paper towel to evenly coat pan with spray. Line the pan with parchment paper. Spray lightly again, making sure to coat bottom and sides of the pan. Set aside. *If your pan does not have sides that are 3" high, I would suggest using a 9" springform pan to prevent the batter from overflowing.
  2. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add lemon zest.
  3. Sprinkle flour, baking powder, and salt over the top of the ricotta mixture and stir just until all the flour is incorporated. Gently stir diced peaches into batter. Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth the top with a knife or spatula. Sprinkle batter with 1/2 cup of blueberries and top with a tablespoon of turbinado sugar.
  4. Bake for 80- 90 minutes* or until cake springs back when lightly touched on the top and/or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top will be lightly golden. The top may crack slightly, that’s okay. *If you are using a springform pan, place on a cookie sheet to catch any drips.
  5. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes then invert onto a cooling rack and allow the cake to cool completely. When cool, transfer to a serving platter (keep flat, bottom side up) and serve at room temperature.

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2 Reviews

kirstyt May 25, 2020
First-the instructions are incomplete. Step one was good. After that the instructions were confusing and didn’t account for all of the ingredients so I combined the wet ingredients in my stand mixer and the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. I added the blueberries in with the flour so they would have a coating of flour and not sink in the dough as much. The cake baked well, but was getting very dark on top so I removed it about 10 minutes early. This was a mistake as it wasn’t fully cooked even though several toothpicks came out clean. I put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes, but it never really baked through and turned out very moist but too wet for my liking.
Next about the flavor-way way way way too much olive oil flavor-so much that it overpowered the fruit and didn’t really taste good. I think I could overlook the texture or the flavor and call it a moderate success because it’s such a beautiful and unusual cake, but the recipe needs some serious modification of both ingredients and instructions.
If I make this cake again I would decrease the olive oil by at least half, increase the lemon juice and flour, and bake for the full 90 minutes. I wish I had the ingredients to make another one because this recipe has great potential with some adjustments.
panania August 5, 2021
Just so I understand what you are proposing...
Reduce the oil to 1/2 cup
Increase the lemon juice to 1 cup
Increase the flour to 2 1/2 cups
Before step 3, mix the cheese, oil, eggs and lemon juice in a mixer (on low)
Bake for at least 90 minutes

Do you think that will work?

I'm very interested in what you think ~Peter