Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Since I'm currently sharing an apartment in Berlin with six other people who frequently share food with each other, I've been trying to contribute baked goods to the kitchen from time to time. For Europeans, I like to bake simple desserts that aren't too sweet, which could serve as dessert, breakfast, or snack with tea or coffee. I started out with an almond cake, which went over well (and, incidentally, is gluten-free and incredibly easy), and then decided to work out a lemon cake. Lemon and olive oil being a proven flavor combination, I thought it would be nice to have an even quicker alternative to my lemon olive oil cupcakes.

I adapted this recipe from a French vanilla cake recipe; it's a simple, lightly sweet, and moist cake, with a touch of lemon to make it fresh. I replaced about a third of the melted butter with olive oil, added lemon zest and juice, and poured over some lemon glaze for a finishing touch. It formed a nicely browned crust in the metal loaf pan I used, so I'd highly recommend a metal pan if possible!

Lemon Olive Oil Cake

(so sorry, I don't have access to American measuring equipment here, so grams will have to do for now; use Chocolate and Zucchini's conversion page if necessary)

3 eggs

170 g sugar

zest of one lemon

160 g flour

1/2 T baking soda (about 1/2 European packet)

125 g butter

1/3 C olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C. Butter and flour a large loaf pan (i.e., rub butter along the sides and bottom of the pan, then pour about 1 T flour into the pan and shake it around to lightly coat each buttered surface, shaking the excess flour out into the sink or trash can).

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon zest until it becomes frothy and lightens in color. Pour in the flour and the baking soda and whisk it into the mixture as you pour.

Melt the butter in a small bowl, add the olive oil and the juice of half a lemon, and then stir the liquids into the rest of the mixture. Pour the entire mixture into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes; it's done when a knife or toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool.

Lemon Glaze

juice of 1 lemon

100-150 g powdered sugar

Place the juice in a small bowl. Stir in enough powdered sugar to thicken and sweeten the juice (it will still be a little runny, but the consistency is not super sensitive). Once the cake has cooled at least a bit, pour the glaze over the cake. Let it solidify, then serve!

Carrot Chocolate Scones with Citrus Glaze

I made these spur-of-the-moment for a houseguest this week; after being assigned to a jury and being crazed with grading papers at the same time, I needed to decompress with a little baking. These scones came to mind when I realized that I had carrots in the fridge, and handling the sticky dough was just the thing for my tired mind.

Originally they were carrot coconut scones, but in the absence of shredded coconut in my kitchen, I replaced the coconut with chocolate chips, which worked out really well with the citrus glaze. You don't really taste the carrot in this, but it adds nice color to the scones. Carrot is sweeter than we realize, so it does work well in baked goods.

Carrot Chocolate Scones

taken from Carrot Coconut Scones in Baked Explorations

2 3/4 C flour

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C rolled oats

1 T baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 C chocolate chips (or shredded sweetened coconut)

1/2 C (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch chunks

1 large egg

3/4 C buttermilk*

1 T vanilla extract

1/4 C carrot purée**

1 egg white, beaten and set aside

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and position the rack in the center. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, oats, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips (or coconut).

Add the butter. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until the butter is pea size and the mixture is coarse.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, vanilla and carrot purée. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until the dough just comes together. Gently and briefly knead the dough with your hands. The dough will be sticky and may need to be sprinkled with flour.

Roll the dough up, turn it on its end, and gently flatten it into a disk about 1 3/4 inches high. Do not overwork the dough.

Whisk the egg white with 1 T water. Set aside.

Cut the dough into 6 or 8 wedges (6 will make them very large) and place the scones on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with the egg white wash. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool completely. Place the baking sheet, with the parchment still on it, underneath the rack.

Citrus Glaze

1 T fresh lemon juice

2 T fresh orange juice***

1 C powdered sugar

Whisk all ingredients together in a medium bowl. The glaze should be loose enough to drizzle. If it is too thick, add a little more orange juice. If it is too loose, add a little more powdered sugar.

Drizzle the glaze over the cooled scones and allow it to set before serving.

*I never have buttermilk around, but it's easy to substitute milk curdled by apple cider vinegar; just add 1 T vinegar to 1 C milk and let it sit for a few minutes until you see some thickening/bubbling occur in the middle. In this case, I added 3/4 T vinegar to 3/4 C milk before I mixed the other ingredients, and by the time I needed the buttermilk, it was ready.

**I just buzzed up 2 carrots in the food processor, and that was more than enough, but the recipe recommends the following for the carrot purée: Place 1 medium carrot and 1/4 C orange juice in a microwaveable glass bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, until carrot is fork-tender. Blend/purée until smooth.

***Since I had no oranges, I juiced one lemon and then added 1/4 tsp orange extract, and that was sufficient liquid and flavor for the 1 C of powdered sugar.

Buttermilk Glaze

I am in love. with this glaze. this lusty, rich, buttery, scotchy glaze. As so often happens in affairs of the heart, I realized my true feelings when I saw my friend scooping the glaze off the serving platter with her finger, and thought "hey, I think I love that glaze!"


There was nothing wrong with the Sweet Potato Pound Cake that was dressed in the glaze, but the glaze's sneaky likeness to old fashioned donuts just got under my skin. I've found myself thinking about it, wondering what else to drench in it...chocolate cupcakes? homemade donuts? anything I can get my hands on?


So last night I made a classic Sandtorte Pound Cake, and took care to make the glaze early on so everything could cool sufficiently (warm cake + warm glaze = cake sauce all over my car two weeks ago). Then I experimentally dipped pieces of the pound cake in the glaze, at which point my affection for it deepened: this glaze can even make slightly burned cake taste good!

I also left a piece of the cake soaking in the glaze overnight to see how the result would be...only to find that my roommate had consumed the piece in the night. You see how alluring this glaze is? How utterly useless you will be in the face of it?

You have been warned:

Buttermilk Glaze
from Orangette, deceptively listed as "optional"

1/2 C low-fat buttermilk
1/2 C sugar
4 T (1/2 cube) unsalted butter, cubed
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch or flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine the buttermilk, sugar, butter, cornstarch, and baking soda in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a gentle boil. Remove from heat and stir well. Let cool. Stir in vanilla. You may want to pour this through a sieve if clumps of cornstarch remain.

Proceed to pour the room temperature glaze over desired cake, but beware of disappearing pieces and the affect this glaze may have on your soul!