It’s fresh berry season! There’s nothing better than fresh local strawberries, blueberries and any other berries for that matter. I was so happy to get a quart of fresh strawberries from Sunny Acres Farm at Growing Roots’ Farmers Market in Malvern.
Since I pre-ordered them earlier in the week for pick up on Saturday, I had some time to think about how to serve them. I decided on a path where I’d make a cake using some fresh herbs from my garden. And, use olive oil as the fat since that goes well with herbs.
I have recently been experimenting with using small batch non-GMO flour in place of gluten-free flour (see European Peasant Bread Revisited). My flour of choice is Deer Creek Malthouse’s all-purpose flour (made in nearby Glen Mills, PA) which I also procure at my local farmers market. I have been making pizza, bread and sweet treats with it and had great success. Oh, they also make some pretty good beer (so says, Ed!) and have yeast in stock for making bread and pizza.
Mixing together some fresh thyme, flavorful olive oil and lemon zest with the remainder of the ingredients resulted in a perfect light sponge cake that paired perfectly with fresh strawberries. Oh, it smelled so good! The thyme flavor was subtle – if you want it to be stronger, use an additional teaspoon in the batter. Don’t have fresh thyme? Other fresh herbs such as rosemary or sage would work well, too. And, of course, this would be a perfect complement to other berries, as well.
Looking for another olive oil cake that’s perfect for berries? Try my Lavender and Lemon Olive Oil-Cornmeal Cake (Gluten-Free). It can be made using gluten-free or regular flour.
Gluten-Free/Wheat-Free Note: While I haven’t made this with gluten-free flour, I’ve done enough gluten-free baking to know it would work well. My go-to gluten-free flour is Cup4Cup.
| Lemon-Thyme Olive Oil Cake | | Print |
- 1-1/2 cups regular or gluten-free all-purpose flour plus more for dusting pan (see Notes)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
- 2-1/4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves (divided) (see Notes)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup buttermilk (see Notes)
- ½ cup fruity extra-virgin olive oil plus more for dusting pan
- Confectioner’s sugar
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush the inside of a 9-inch cake pan with a little of the olive oil or use olive oil spray. Over the sink, spoon two teaspoons of flour into pan and tilt it until it is completely coated. Invert and tap to release excess flour.
- Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Stir and set aside.
- In another medium bowl, whisk eggs with vanilla, lemon zest and 2 teaspoons thyme until frothy.
- Whisk in sugar and beat until well blended, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in each addition of ⅓ flour mixture, followed by all the buttermilk, followed by ⅓ flour mixture, followed by all the olive oil, and finish with the final ⅓ flour mixture. Batter should be smooth.
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake the cake about 40 to 45 minutes until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean and top is golden brown.
- Cool the cake on a rack for 5 minutes, then invert onto the rack. Cool completely and invert onto a platter.
- Sift confectioner’s sugar over the top and sprinkle remaining ¼ teaspoon thyme.
- Cake keeps three days wrapped at room temperature.
* The thyme flavor was subtle – if you want it to be stronger, use an additional teaspoon in the batter.
* I recommend using SACO Cultured Buttermilk Blend in place of fresh buttermilk. You’ll find it in the baking section of your grocery store. Follow directions on the container for use. It keeps for a few years refrigerated so you always have buttermilk on hand.
* You could also use a stand mixer or hand held mixer – just use the whisk attachment.
* Cake freezes well.
* Recipe can be doubled – eat one now and freeze one for later.
Source: Variation of a recipe from Improvised Life
Made this for a family dinner last night…nice and moist and delicious with local strawberries picked the same day. The lemony flavor was wonderful, but the thyme did not come through (maybe required finer chopping?). Grayson (our 4-year-old grandson) had a temper tantrum because he wasn’t allowed to have a second piece.
Susie – I’m so glad you liked it and love that Grayson wanted more – that is too cute (not the temper tantrum part!). Hmm… maybe my time was more potent? It was subtle but I could taste it. I’ll update the recipe with your feedback.