Simplicity at its finest. A humble vanilla cake, topped with a mosaic of apple slices, and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar—only this one is made using olive oil, which gives it a rich, Mediterranean taste. Tried and true, it will tempt you to make it time and time again!
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) light olive oil, plus more for greasing
- 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or seeds from 1 vanilla bean
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons milk or almond milk
- 1 3/4 cups (200 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into thin slices
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon light or dark brown sugar
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Line the base of a 9-inch (23-cm) springform pan with parchment paper and grease the base and sides with oil.
- Using a handheld electric mixer, or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the 1/2 cup (120 ml) oil, sugar, and vanilla. Beat until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each until incorporated. Add the milk and stir on low. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, add to the wet ingredients, and mix on low until incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and arrange the apple slices on top of the batter, pressing the apples slightly into the batter in any motif you may like. Sprinkle the cinnamon and brown sugar over the top of the apples, and bake in the oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
- Set the cake on a rack and let cool completely before unmolding and placing on a cake plate to serve.
- Make-Ahead Tip Apple and olive oil cake may be made and wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in a cool place for up to 2 days.
- Can I Freeze It? Apple and olive oil cake may be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw the apple and olive oil cake on the counter for a few hours.
- From "I Emoji Kosher: Beautiful Recipes from My Kitchen" by Kim Kushner (Weldon Owen, 2018), photo by Kate Sears.
Born in Montreal, Canada, Kim grew up in an Orthodox home, learned to cook from her Moroccan-born mother, and spent summers with family in Israel. A graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education, Kim worked as a recipe developer for “Food & Wine” and “Chile Pepper” magazines and a private chef before becoming an instructor; her classes have been sold out for the last four consecutive years. She has appeared on The Today Show and been featured in The New York Times, SAVEUR, The Huffington Post, The Chicago Tribune and many other top tier media outlets. Her third book, “I Kosher: Beautiful Recipes from My Kitchen,” (Weldon Owen, 2018) sold out of its first printing in less than three weeks and continues to be on bestseller lists in its category. She has two previous bestselling books, “The New Kosher” (Weldon Owen), which continues to be at the top 3 of its category on Amazon since it published in August of 2015 and “The Modern Menu,” (Gefen Publishing) which won “The Best New Kosher Cookbook of 2013” by joyofkosher.com. Kim lives in New York City and New Jersey (in the summer) with her husband and four children.
