Chocolate Olive Oil Cake (Gluten Free)

For those who are intolerant to wheat or dairy, this lusciously dark, velvety chocolate olive oil cake is for you.  Made with almond meal instead of flour and no butter, it is dense but not heavy.    Olive oil, full of beneficial fatty acids and powerful antioxidants, is good for baking as well as cooking.  Last week, I participated in a local olive oil pick 'n' press event which hauled in a total of 1.5 tonnes of olives just from trees in the neighbourhood.  They were transported to York, about an hour's drive from Perth, and pressed into beautiful extra virgin olive oil for consumption. If you think chocolate and olive oil is a curious mix,  they actually work deliciously well together and the cake stays moist for days.  Serve it warm like a pudding with ice cream or enjoy it as is. 

Serves 8-10

INGREDIENTS

• 50g / 1¾oz good quality, unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup (125ml / 4.2fl oz ) boiling water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or extract
• 1½ cup (150g / 5½oz) almond meal
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• a pinch of salt
• 1 cup (200g / 7oz) caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• ⅔ cup (150ml / 5fl oz) olive oil 
• 1 teaspoon icing sugar, for dusting

METHOD

1. Line a 22cm / 9" round springform or loose base cake pan with baking paper.
2. Sift cocoa powder into a bowl and whisk in boiling water until you have a smooth paste.  Stir in vanilla and set aside to cool. 
3. In another bowl, combine almond meal, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
4. Put sugar, olive oil and eggs into bowl of a freestanding electric mixer or a large mixing bowl with whisk arrangement.  Beat the mixture vigorously for about 3 minutes until thickened and creamy.  Add the cocoa mixture.  Beat again a little until just combined.
5. Add the almond meal mixture.  Stir until well combined with a spatula.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.  
7. Bake in a preheated 160°C/320°F oven for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out fairly clean.
8. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  Ease the cake out of the pan and dust with icing sugar.  Serve it warm or leave to cool completely on a rack.