Frankie's Olive Oil Bundt Cake

There is this great little homey Italian restaurant in Brooklyn called Frankie's Spuntino.
I love the cozy casual atomsphere and the rustic food they serve.

Well, this month's Food & Wine had an article with some of their recipes inside.

I made Frankie's unusual olive oil bundt cake.
Why do I say it's unusual?

Well, for one, it has a teaspoon of sea salt in the recipe, which really hits you when you take a bite. It's an interesting and nice combo using good Sicilian olive oil and the orange zest.



They use a special olive oil from Sicily, and it really makes a difference.
I happen to have a bottle of Frantoia from Sicily, which I treat myself to every once in a while, and save only for special occasions. It's so delicious, I can sip it.

Let's not get carried away here.

It's pricey, so I don't use it for cooking. I use it in small quantities, except for this recipe, which calls for 1 cup.

It was worth every drop.

After a few days, the cake got a little dry, so I couldn't resist saving it by making an orange juice and confectioner sugar glaze, and it was even better!

Frankie's Olive Oil Bundt Cake: (adapted from Food & Wine)

5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups cake flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt (I used Fleur de Sel)

Preheat the oven to 325° and butter and flour a 10-cup bundt pan. In a bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar and orange zest at medium-high speed until smooth. Gradually beat in the olive oil until creamy, about 2 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk the cake flour with the baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture in 3 batches, beating on medium speed between additions.



Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the center of the oven for about 50 minutes (the recipe says 1 hour, but mine was done in less), until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a rack. Let the cake cool completely before cutting into slices and serving.



This is not a cake for everyone.
If you like a sweet, icing type of cake, skip this one.
But if you are like me, and like an interesting taste with every bite, special and great with a cup of coffee at 3 pm, then this cake is for you.