Ottolenghi's Apple and Olive Oil Cake

Ottolenghi apple and olive oil cake with maple icing is a fabulous fall dessert loaded with chunks of apple, flavored with cinnamon, and covered with a luscious maple frosting. If you are searching for the most delicious apple cake, your search ends here.

This cake recipe was created by the British-Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi and appeared in the famous "Ottolenghi: The Cookbook."

It is the ultimate apple olive oil cake made with fresh apples, extra-virgin olive oil, and a hint of cinnamon. Its maple frosting is simply irresistible.

This cake is not just delicious; it is an absolute crowd-pleaser. Customers at the Ottolenghi shop rave about it, with many admitting to ordering the cake just for the maple icing.

Apple and olive oil cake recipe

• Ottolenghi's apple and olive oil cake recipe is easy and straightforward.

• It is a must-make fall favorite dessert prepared with tart apples and sultana raisins to bring the texture, ground cinnamon and vanilla for beautiful flavors, and olive oil for the cake's moisture and depth of flavors.

• Maple icing made with maple syrup and cream cheese is a perfect frosting for other layer cakes, cupcakes, etc.

Ingredients

For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.

• Sultana raisins are one of the stars of the cake. Replace them with regular raisins if you desire.

• Flour: The recipe calls for all-purpose flour (the same as plain flour). But you can switch some parts of all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour or even buckwheat flour - the flavor of buckwheat beautifully pairs with apples.

• Ground cinnamon: The original recipe requires ½ teaspoon, although you can increase it to 1 teaspoon of the spice.

• Salt enhances the flavors of the cake.

• Leavening agents: baking powder and baking soda help raise the cake.

• Olive oil: Ottolenghi's recipe calls for a good extra virgin olive oil that brings moisture to the cake. Feel free to replace it with flavorless grapeseed or vegetable oil if preferred. Read more about how to make a cake moist.

• Sugar: Use granulated white or caster sugar interchangeably.

• Vanilla: Mr. Ottolenghi uses scraped seeds from ½ vanilla bean. Use ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract or alcohol-free vanilla flavor instead if desired.

• Eggs: The recipe calls for whole large eggs and large egg whites. Use chilled eggs and an egg separator to separate egg whites from the yolks.

• Lemon zest: Use one untreated lemon to get 1 teaspoon of lemon zest using a zester grater.

• Apples: Ottolenghi's recipe calls for Bramley apples, but you can easily replace them with Granny Smith apples. Please, always use medium-sized apples: you will need about 1 lb 12 oz. (800 g). Indeed, you can experiment with Pink Lady apples, Honey Crisp, Gala apples, or other types of apples.

• Butter: Use unsalted butter. Take it out of the fridge 2 hours before making the icing.

• Brown sugar: Use golden or dark brown sugar. To increase the molasses component, use light brown muscovado sugar instead.

• Maple syrup is the star of maple icing that is so delicious that you will never want to replace this ingredient.

• Cream cheese is an essential ingredient. Make sure to bring it to room temperature before you start.

Recipe variations

The original Ottolenghi’s apple cake is a layered cake sandwiched with delicious maple icing.

• Feel free to make a single-layer cake and use half of the icing on top.

• Add a fancy touch by decorating the top of the cake with caramelized apples and a couple of cinnamon sticks. Or simply dust the cake with icing sugar.

How to make apple olive oil cake

Step 1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Butter an 8-inch (20 cm) Le Creuset springform pan and line its bottom and sides with parchment paper.

Step 2. Using a flour sifter, sift dry ingredients (flour, ground cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda) in a large bowl.

Step 3. Place sultana raisins and water in a saucepan and simmer over low heat until the dry fruit completely absorbs the water. Set aside.

Step 4. Peel fresh apples with a vegetable peeler, remove the heart and seeds, and cut them into ⅓ inch (1 cm) cubes.

Pro tip: Use shredded apples instead of apple chunks for a tender cake texture.

Step 5. To make the cake, place olive oil, sugar, and vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat.

Pro tip: Alternatively, you can use a stand, hand mixer, or balloon whisk.

Step 6. Gradually add lightly beaten whole eggs and continue to mix until the mixture becomes smooth (photo 1).

Step 7. Then add apple cubes, sultana raisins, lemon zest grated with a zester grater, and combine with a large spatula (photo 2).

Step 8. Add the sifted flour mixture and mix (photo 3). In a clean bowl, beat egg whites with a stand mixer or an electric mixer until soft peaks.

Step 9. Add beaten egg whites into the main preparation in two additions and gently combine them with the spatula (photo 4).

Step 10. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin, even the surface using a rubber spatula or a spoon (photo 5), and bake for 90 minutes until golden brown.

Pro tip: Check doneness with a skewer: if it comes out dry from the center of the cake, the bake is ready.

Step 11. Remove it from the oven, place it on a wire rack, and let the cake cool in the pan (photo 6).

Step 12. To make the maple icing, place softened butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup in a bowl and beat until the mixture becomes creamy and smooth (photo 7).

Step 13. Add cream cheese at room temperature and beat till the cream becomes thick and homogeneous.

Step 14. To assemble the cake, remove the well-cooled cake from the pan and cut it horizontally using a serrated knife. Cut the top to even the surface if the cake is domed after baking.

Step 15. Place the bottom of the cake on a serving platter and spread half of the maple icing (photo 8).

Step 16. Place the top half of the cake on the cream layer and cover it with the remaining icing. Even the surface of the cake with a bent spatula or create waves.

Expert Tips

1. Bring butter and cream cheese to room temperature about an hour before you start.
2. Use an 8-inch (20 cm) round cake pan buttered and lined with parchment and precut circle cake pan liners. A springform form facilities the removal of the cake, but a regular cake pan works as well.
3. Every oven is different: adjust your oven settings to 375°F, 190°C, 170°C fan, or gas mark 5.
4. Use this simple cake pan converter to recalculate the amount of ingredients for different cake pan sizes. Modify the bake time accordingly: for a 7-inch (18 cm) cake, decrease the baking time by 10 minutes; to make a 6-inch (15 cm) cake, reduce the baking time by 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Make-ahead option: Bake the cake in advance, wrap it with plastic wrap, and keep it in the fridge for up to one week. Slice and assemble the cake with maple icing the next day or on the day of serving.

Storing

Store this olive oil apple cake under a glass dome in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Recipe FAQ

Love apple recipes? Try these next!

Try out some other apple desserts from the website if you liked this apple cake recipe.

• Apple Crumble Bread
• Apple Mousse Cake
• Apple Tarte Tatin
• French Apple Fritters
• Apple And Blueberry Crumble

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Recipe card

The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.

The recipe was adapted from https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/. It was originally published on November 21, 2018. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos.