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TORTA al cioccolato, arancia con olio di oliva!in italiano

Am I allowed to say this? I’ve never been a great fan of Nigella. Used to watch her on telly back in the 90’s when she was a rising star in the UK. Din’d find her that convising, really.

But I must admit I fell in love with this particular recipe. The Guinness Cake we used to make at SleekCafe was a bestseller. I loved that cake because is very moist and has a strong flavour.

So when I saw this recipe I thought I might get a similar finishing effect, similar texture and moist. I was right, but I tend (because I love doing it!) to chance recipes a little, anyhow, I slighty changed the quantity of the ingredients and I added Orange Jam in it.

Who doesn’t love chocolate and orange, come on!

The Olive Oil in this cake makes it deliciously fluffy, tremendously good with a scoop of vanilla ice-scream and a cup of filter coffee.

Ready for teh recipe? Here we go.

INGREDIENTS
for a 20cm tin

  • 135 ml of olive oil
  • 170g of sugar
  • 45g of cocoa powder (sifted)
  • 2 ts of vanilla extract
  • 120g of coconut flakes
  • ½ ts of bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 40g of flour
  • 115 ml of boiling water
  • 3 large eggs
  • 10 tbs of Orange Jam

METHOD

  1. Preheat oven to 170°
  2. Line a 20cm round tin with parchment paper.
  3. Sift the cocoa powder into a bowl and add in the boiling water and the vanilla extract, whisk until you have a smooth paste. Set aside and let chill.
  4. Use a mixer to beat the sugar, olive oil and the eggs together, for 3 minutes.
  5. Now it’s time to add in the cocoa mixture and keep beating as you go, for an extra minute.
  6. Add in the coconut flakes wit the bicabonate of soda, flour and the salt.
  7. Pour the batter into the tin and spread it evenly.
  8. Now take the orange jam, and use a spoon to spoon the jam on top of the cake, gently.
  9. Partially cover the jam with a little batter. (see picture).
  10. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes

It will not look dry and il will not raise too much, it will look a bit damp. Rather sticky in teh middle, so it is ok if the stick comes out slightly dirty.

Eat it slightly warm if you can, because the flavour will increase and it is a marvellous experince!

Inspired by a recipe by Nigella, featured in NIGELLISSIMA.