You know how there are some TV personalities that you could just watch for hours on end? It doesn’t matter what they’re talking about or what they’re cooking, they’re just nice to look at and that makes for good TV! Those of you familiar with David Rocco and Dolce Vita know what I’m talking about. So I was really excited to try a recipe from his latest book ‘Made in Italy’.

This is the cake I mentioned in an earlier post, the one that I made for Father’s Day (although I meant to post it on Father’s Day, I was busy spending time with my dad). It might seem strange to use olive oil in a dessert but don’t worry, olive oil creates an incredibly moist cake with subtle residual taste from the oil. The orange zest and juice gives the cake a nice bright citrus flavor while the pine nuts and sprinkling of sugar give the cake a nice crunch. This is perfect to eat as an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee or as a dessert after dinner. I dare you to stop at just one piece!

Who are some of your favourite TV food personalities and why?

Torta All’Olio D’Oliva (Olive Oil Cake)
(Yield: 1-9″ cake)

Ingredients:

• 1 large orange
• 5 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing the cake pan
• 1 cup flour, sifted
• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 2 tablespoons sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9-inch springform cake pan with olive oil.
• Zest the orange and chop the zest into fine pieces and set aside. Juice half of the orange and strain into a bowl or measuring cup.
• Place the egg yolks and sugar into a bowl and beat on a medium high speed until the mixture turns a creamy pale color. About 2 minutes.
• Lower the speed of the mixer and add the olive oil, orange juice and orange zest to the egg mixture. Continue mixing until everything is combined.
• Using a spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold the flour into the mixture until fully incorporated.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites together with a pinch of salt in your mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold 1/3 of the egg white mixture into the yolk and oil mixture until combined. Repeat with the remaining egg white. Be careful not to overmix the batter.
• Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan, smooth the top if necessary with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
• Sprinkle the top of the cake with pine nuts and sugar.
• Bake in the oven at 350F for about 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• Cool the cake on a wire rack for about 15 minutes before removing the sides of the pan. The cake should cool for about an hour before you cut into it.

(Source: Made in Italy by David Rocco)

Recipe notes: If you’re worried about your cake browning too quickly, you can tent the cake pan with a piece of tin foil part way through the cooking process. The sides do fall slightly after the cake has cooled a bit.