Blueberry Olive Oil Cake

This blueberry olive oil cake is a true cultural mashup...Italian olive oil cake paired with the very American concepts of blueberry upside-down cake and cornbread. It's ready in under an hour, and while it's still a dessert, the olive oil and cornmeal give it a nutritional leg up on your average butter and flour-based cake.

For Americans, it may sound strange to use olive oil in sweet dishes, but to many cultures around the Mediterranean Sea it's second nature. Olive oil cake has been made for centuries, and while this blueberry version isn't a traditional recipe, it goes a long way toward making the case for baking with olive oil.

Olive oil cakes are reminiscent of pound cake, with a moist, spongy texture and a light olive oil flavor. They are commonly flavored with citrus, but can be made with just about any fruit. I like to serve mine with a scoop of frozen yogurt in a complementary flavor (in this case, cinnamon or almond).

Is olive oil cake healthier than traditional cake?

The easy answer is yes, it is healthier than your average birthday cake. The qualifier to that is that it is still not health food. Olive oil cake is definitely still cake.

What makes it healthier than other cakes is the beneficial monounsaturated fats and health-promoting polyphenols in the olive oil. This gives it a leg up nutritionally over cakes that are butter or vegetable oil-based. This blueberry olive oil cake also gets a nutrient boost from blueberries and extra fiber from the cornmeal.

However, olive oil cake still should be treated as a dessert. My personal philosophy on dessert in the context of the Mediterranean diet is that it's totally fine to indulge once or twice a month or on special occasions. It's important, though, to watch your portion sizes and plan your eating around those indulgences according to your health and dietary needs.

Ingredients and substitutions

• Cooking spray - I use this amazing olive oil sprayer from Olivia Signature. It's one of my favorite things in the kitchen and it really works!
• Blueberries - Frozen blueberries will work. I recommend rinsing any ice off of them in a colander under cold water.
• Sugar - Cane sugar works best for the batter, but you can use any sugar you want to sweeten the blueberries.
• Flour - I use non-GMO white flour.
• Yellow cornmeal - I used Bob's Red Mill cornmeal to test this recipe. If you prefer not to use cornmeal, substitute the same amount of white flour.
• Baking powder - Make sure it's less than a year old!
• Salt - I test my recipes with Morton's kosher salt unless otherwise indicated.
• Eggs - Use large eggs and bring them to room temperature before adding.
• Extra-virgin olive oil - I recommend a fruity, balanced olive oil such as Cobram Estate 100% California - Classic Flavor.
• Greek yogurt - my favorite is Fage 2%. Using nonfat yogurt may result in a dry cake. Whole fat yogurt makes this cake super moist and tender.
• Almond extract - if you don't have almond extract, substitute extra vanilla extract.
• Vanilla extract - real vanilla extract is preferable, but use whatever you have.

Which olive oil should I use in olive oil cake?

The best thing about using olive oil in cake is the subtle flavor added by the olive oil. The more flavorful your oil, obviously, the more flavorful your cake will be. I like to use a fruity, balanced, high-quality oil for this recipe, rather than my regular daily cooking oil, or at least a blend of the two.

My favorite olive oil to use for baking is Cobram Estate's Extra Virgin Olive Oil 100% California - Classic Flavor. You can also opt for a lighter-flavored oil such as Pompeian Organic EVOO - Robust (which actually has a lighter flavor even though it is labeled "robust").

Storing leftovers

This cake will keep for 2-3 days in a sealed container at room temperature, or up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Did you make this recipe?

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