So, my experimentations of using olive oil and herbs in cakes continue. Today’s cake has basil and part of the flour used for the batter is corn flour. The strawberry sauce is optional, however it adds a very rich taste indeed.

 

 

This cake is easy and fast to make. However, if you want to serve with strawberry sauce, which is optional but I recommend, then you need to plan ahead and make the sauce a day earlier. The sauce’s flavour really gets rich during that day one in the fridge.

 

 

 

If you make the strawberry sauce, there are several ways to serve it with the cake. You can pour the whole sauce on top of the whole cake and then slice it. The sauce is quite much so you can pour about half of it on the whole cake and then add a tablespoon more with each slice. Or, you can only pour some on each single slice, this way you can pour the sauce on the side of the slice instead of the surface. Each of this tastes delicious.

 

 

Fresh basil adds a really fresh taste to this cake. I adapted this recipe from Better Homes and Gardens website. In the original recipe the amount of basil used was not that much so I increased it significantly because I wanted to have a strong but not overpowering basil taste.

 

The cake gets a little dry the next day so you’d better bake it the day that you want to serve it. You’ll probably eat the whole thing if you’re inviting your friends over! Enjoy!
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Ingredients:

 

Difficulty: Easy
(makes 1 cake in 22cm springform pan)

 

Printable PDF-recipe (no photos)

 

For the strawberry sauce (to be made a day earlier):
250 gr. strawberries, trimmed
2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp granulated white sugar

 

For the cake:
3 dl + 4 tsp (or 1 1/3 cups) all-purpose flour
1 dl + 4 tsp (or 1/2 cup) corn flour (aka corn meal)
1.5 dl + 2 tbsp (or 3/4 cup) granulated white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 dl + 4 tsp (or 1/2 cup) olive oil
1 dl + 4 tsp (or 1/2 cup) milk
4 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil

 

1 tbsp granulated white sugar to be sprinkled on top of the cake batter before baking

 

 

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1. (1 day before) Make the strawberry sauce: Put all sauce ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, cover with a stretch film and put in the fridge until serving the cake.

 

 

 

2. (Making the cake the next day) Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 22cm cake pan and cover the base with a baking paper.

 

 

3. Put the dry ingredients (first 5 in the list) in a bowl and mix well.

 

 

 

4. In a large mixing bowl, put eggs and whisk.

 

 

 

5. Add olive oil and milk and continue to whisk well.

 

 

 

 

6. Add dry ingredients mixture and fresh basil and whisk well.

 

 

 

 

 

7. Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan. Smoothen the surface with a spatula if needed. Sprinkle the extra 1 tbsp sugar on top the batter. Put in the oven, in medium rack, and bake for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes after baking and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve with strawberry sauce: you can put the whole sauce on the cake and then slice it, or you can pour a little sauce on each individual slice separately. Enjoy!