TOTW: Olive Oil... Cake with Strawberries

The following post was written by my mom, WWW. Thanks, mom!

I am so excited for my dear friend, Mary Platis of California Greek Girl, who has paired with Laura Bashar to publish a brand new e-book, Cooking Techniques with Olive Oil. This beautifully photographed book contains 25 easy and delicious recipes influenced by Mary and Laura’s Greek and Persian cultures, all using olive oil as a means to poach, braise, marinate, bake, or infuse your recipes.

As an olive oil groupie, I love how this book provides so many different ways to use olive oil. Here is one of the recipes from their book, a moist and scrumptious chocolate strawberry cake. If you are gluten-free, replace the flour with an all-purpose gluten-free flour such as Pamela’s Artisan Flour Blend.

Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Strawberries 

Moist and filled with extra chocolatey goodness, use either a fruity or neutral olive oil, depending on your personal palate.

Yield: 1 9-inch round cake

Ingredients:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup dark cocoa powder
2 teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup nonfat Greek yogurt, plain
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¾ cup dark chocolate chips
8 large strawberries, halved with the tops removed 

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Apply non-stick spray to a 9-inch round baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
3. In a large bowl, mix the sugar, yogurt, eggs, vanilla, and olive oil together until combined.
4. In batches, mix the flour mixture into the yogurt and stir until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips, then pour the cake batter into the prepared pan.
5. Arrange the strawberry halves over the top of the cake.
6. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Allow the cake to cool on the pan for 15 minutes then gently run a knife along the side of the cake. Carefully remove the cake from the pan and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
8. Serve alone, dusted with powdered sugar, or add a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

For more about Cooking Techniques with Olive Oil go here. You can also purchase the e-book here.

Enjoy! 

Love, 

WWW