This week’s Ingredient is Olives, suggested to me by my darling friend Keri. Specifically, I’ll be using black olives. And olive oil.
I love olives. Olives and pickles. Pickles and olives. My two favorite snacks. As a child, olives had to be hidden from me. I’d pop one on each finger, eat them all and then re-load.
As an adult, this hasn’t stopped except I don’t put them on my fingers anymore. Well, usually not. At least not in public. While in DC at Eat, Write, Retreat in May, the nice folks at Lindsay Olives included cans of these delicious, green ripe buttery olives in our registration bags. I’m not too proud to mention again that I popped the top off of them and ate an entire can myself in the hotel room. Hey, at least booze isn’t my weakness. Solitary olive eating isn’t that bad, is it?
This week’s sweet is Black Olive Cake. I was inspired by this recipe from Almost Turkish Recipes. I’ve modified it quite a bit, making it gluten-free of course, along with dairy-free and changed some of the ingredients to fit my whims. I’m not a fan of mint in baked goods, I didn’t have any Black Seed handy. What I did come up with is good. It’s not quite as good as the Oatmeal and Onion muffins with sheep’s milk cheese, but if you are a fan of a slightly savory sweet, you’ll like this. Plus who doesn’t want to impress their friends by incorporating olives into a cake?!?
If I were on a dairy bender, I’m consider incorporating feta cheese into this one. Anyone tried a dairy-free feta?
Black Olive Cake
(Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
4 eggs
1 cup Amande plain cultured almond-milk yogurt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2-6 oz. cans black pitted olives, roughly chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 T. Aleppo pepper flakes
1 1/2 t. salt
1 cup almond meal (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
1 cup of My Favorite Gluten-Free Flour Blend
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. guar gum
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish.
Beat eggs, add in Amande yogurt and olive oil. Mix well.
Add olives, green onions, sundried tomatoes, Aleppo pepper flakes and salt. Mix well.
Add almond meal, gluten-free flour, baking powder and guar gum. Mix well.
Pour into baking dish. Bake at 375 for 30 to 35 minutes, until top is lightly browned and cake tester or toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Are there any soy free egg alternatives that would work in this recipe?
There's always Ener-g Egg Replacer powder, or flax seed might be worth a try. However, almond recipes can be a bit tricky to make egg-free in my experience, and this calls for 4 eggs, so it lends a lot to the recipe.
I love this recipe, Johnna, and am so glad Wendy introduced it to me. Olives are so yummy. This reminds me of an un-corn-cornbread, you know? I bet corn-free folks would really love it. And, well, I don't count as corn free but I really want to try it and see if my toddler would enjoy it. (She loves olives and is dairy-free too).
-Sea
@Anonymous I am going to work on an eggless version of this later this Spring. I'll update this post if I am successful. 🙂
@Sea Thanks for your comment! You nailed it with the un-corn-cornbread. It is like a sweet cornbread. I love that your kiddo digs olives. Really, there isn't a better snack. 🙂
This looks delish! I might try experimenting with it to make it totally grain free. And you're right, olives are their own, essential food group! If only I lived in a climate where I could grow my own.
Thanks for dropping by, Mars! I'd love to hear how this recipe turns out grain-free. Like you, I would love to try growing olives. I bought some fresh olives at a farmer's market while on vacation, wishing I could have them more often. Imagine the possibilities!