Hazelnut Olive Oil Cake

Ingredients

• 150g (1 3/4 cups firmly packed) (ground hazelnut, sub almond meal)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda / bicarbonate soda , sifted
• Zest of 1 orange or lemon , finely grated (about 2 teaspoon or so)
• Pinch of salt
• 150 ml (135g) extra-virgin olive oil
• 200 g caster sugar / superfine sugar (sub ordinary/granulated sugar)
• 3 large eggs , at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Optional decoration:

• 1/4 cup whole hazelnuts, toasted then roughly chopped
• Icing sugar / confectioners’ sugar , for dusting
• Crème fraîche (dollop for company)
• Rhubarb, stewed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 170°C (150°C fan). Grease a 20 cm/8" springform pan with olive oil then line with baking paper (parchment paper), then grease the paper. (Note 6)
2. Dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, mix the hazelnut meal, baking soda, lemon and salt.
3. Beat wet ingredients: In a large bowl, beat the olive oil, eggs and sugar for 2 to 3 minutes on speed 7 of a handheld beater or until it becomes pale and thick (like pouring cream).
4. Add vanilla and beat on speed 1 for 10 seconds.
5. Mix in dry: Add the Dry ingredients and mix in gently using a rubber spatula.
6. Bake 45 minutes: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes. It will puff up dramatically in the oven but it collapses as it cools.
7. Cool: Remove from the oven and allow the cake to fully cool in the pan before releasing from the springform pan. This is a rustic cake that has higher edges and a flatter centre. Perfect proportions, I say: plenty of meringue-like edges and not an overwhelming amount of the rich brownie-like centre of the cake!
8. Decorate: Sprinkle with hazelnuts and dust with icing sugar, if desired. Serve fully cool.