Believe it or not olive oil is a great tasting, healthy substitute for butter or when baking. This recipe is adapted for high altitude baking so give it a try and enjoy!
For the Cake:
1 cup Pistachios, shelled
½ cup Almonds
¼ cup Sicilian Lemon Olive Oil
¼ cup Grape Seed Oil
1 cup Sugar
1 tsp. fresh Lemon Juice
3 Eggs
2/3 cup Flour, sifted
2 tsp Baking Powder
2 tsp fresh Lemon Zest
For the Topping:
½ cup sugar
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Cherry Balsamic Glaze
1. Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Lightly oil a spring-form pan.
2. Prepare the nuts: Chop 2/3 cup of the pistachios and all of the almonds until very, very fine. Set aside to add to the cake at a later time.
3. Mix the sugar and oil: With a mixer on medium speed, beat the Sicilian Lemon Olive Oil, Grape Seed Oil, and sugar. Once well combined add the fresh lemon juice.
4. Add the eggs: With the mixer still on a medium speed add one egg at a time. Beat until light & fluffy.
5. Add the dry ingredients: Slowly add in the ground pistachios and almonds. At the same time add the sifted flour, baking powder, and lemon peel. Beat until well combined.
6. Transfer to a pan: Spoon the batter into the prepared spring-form pan. Coarsely chop the remaining 1/3 cup pistachios and scatter them evenly over the top of the cake.
7. Bake the cake: Place the cake in the pre-heated oven and cook for approximately 30 minutes or until the cake has risen and springs back when touched with a fingertip.
8. Create the glaze: In a small glass bowl mix the lemon juice and sugar together to make a syrup.
9. Finish the cake: Immediately after removing the cake from the oven drizzle with the lemon glaze. The heat of the cake will help melt any un-dissolved sugar and allows the glaze to penetrate the cake nicely. Serve with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of Cherry Balsamic Glaze.