Recipes

Rosemary, olive oil and spelt cake

Feb 26, 2016
Spelt cake recipe

Ciambella di farro, olio d’oliva e rosmarino

 

I grew up in family where sweets, cakes and desserts were a very rare occurrence. My nonna and zia did not make cakes very often and for special occasions my mother would dispatch my father to buy a tray of delicious pastries at the “Pasticceria”. We all loved the pastries of course, but I was probably the one who ate the least of them. I do not like overly sweet desserts, so I am always searching and testing recipes that are different and somewhat more complex than your normal run of the mill cakes. This is such a cake. I searched three weeks for a spelt and rosemary cake recipe that had no chocolate. In the end, rather frustrated, I tested my own idea and the result was outstanding. I loved this cake, I am sure you will too, it is just so different and healthy, I highly recommend you give it a whirl!

If you’d like to learn how to cook Italian cakes and other dishes, take a look at Sandra’s Melbourne cooking classes.

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Ingredients for 8 people

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100 gr of organic spelt flour
180 gr of “00” flour
140 gr of caster sugar
1 and half tsp of baking powder or 1 sachet of instant Italian yeast for cakes (available in continental delicatessens)
A pinch of salt
3 large eggs
260 ml of extra virgin olive oil
190 ml of full cream milk
30 ml of blood orange juice (or the juice of one lemon)
2 tbs of fresh rosemary leaves finely chopped

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Cooking Method

Warm the oven to 180° centigrade fan forced. Make sure your oven is warm enough!
You will need a 22 cm round spring form cake tin or a 22 cm Bundt cake tin.
Generously butter the cake tin and sprinkle with flour to coat the tin thoroughly.
All ingredients need to be at room temperature.
In a large bowl whisk the eggs thoroughly. Add the extra virgin olive oil, milk, orange juice and rosemary and whisk again.

Sift the flours and baking powder (or yeast) into a large bowl, add the salt and mix these dry ingredients together.

Start pouring the flour into the egg mixture and gently continue incorporating with the mixer at low speed. Add the flours a little at a time, in three to four batches. Work quickly and delicately until all ingredients are combined.

Pour the batter into the buttered cake tin, spreading it evenly and smoothing the top.

Bake in the warm oven for 30 minutes (do not open the oven door during this time) after 30 minutes check the cake is cooked by inserting a toothpick. It will probably need another 5 to 10 minutes cooking, depending on the cake tin you have used and your oven.

Test the cake is cooked again by inserting a toothpick in the center. When the toothpick comes out clean the cake will be ready. The cake will be domed and golden brown on top and a little darker around the edges.
When done remove from the oven and allow it to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Then remove from the tin and transfer to a cooling rack. Sprinkle liberally with icing sugar.

The cake is beautiful warm or cold. It will keep very well for at least two days.

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Brilliant for breakfast or for dessert with a berry coulis. Buon appetito!

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