Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Chia Seeds

You know how there are some cookbooks where all of the recipes look pretty good, but they just don’t ever turn out right?  Or the recipes just have too many steps and require too many tools for your average home chef?  Well, I’m happy to tell you that has not been the case with Chloe Coscarelli’s cookbooks.  I got her first cookbook last summer and have probably made half of the recipes in it—I have liked just about every one!  So when I heard she was coming out with a new cookbook of just dessert recipes I put myself on the pre-order list!  It arrived last week and I have already read it cover to cover, drooling along the way!

My brother was in town this past weekend so I got to host my family (at least part of it) for dessert.  I chose to make the Lemon Olive Oil Cake from Chloe’s Vegan Desserts.  I’ve been wanting to try a lemon olive oil cake for a long time, so I was thrilled to see a recipe included.  It was delicious!  Moist, light, and really lemony, and so easy to put together—no heavy duty mixers required—just a whisk and a bowl or two!  I only made one addition to the cake—I added 1 tablespoon of chia seeds, a la Lemon Poppy Seed Bread.  I served this for dessert, but I think you could serve it as a sweet breakfast item too!

With my mom and my brother Andy, taking a break to let David play at the park while on a family walk

I served the cake with Coconut Whipped Cream and a simple raspberry sauce (just a bag of frozen raspberries heated on the stove top with a few tablespoons of water and a ¼ c of sugar, blended and strained to remove the seeds).

Lemon Olive Oil Cake, with Chia Seeds, from Chloe’s Vegan Desserts
2 c flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
½ t salt
1 T chia seeds (my addition)
½ c extra virgin olive oil
¾ c maple syrup
¼ c water
¼ c lemon juice
2 T lemon zest (two lemons)
1 T lemon extract
powdered sugar for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a bundt pan.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and chia seeds.  In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, maple syrup, water, lemon juice and zest, and lemon extract.  Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until just combined.  Do not overmix.

Fill the prepared bundt pan evenly with the mixture.  Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out dry with a few crumbs clinging to it.  Rotate halfway through the baking time.  Cool the cake completely before unmolding.

Serve with coconut whipped cream, fresh berries, berry sauce, or a sprinkle of powdered sugar.  Enjoy!