A Cake for Beginners & Big Feelings
It also a killer make-ahead dessert.
Hi!!!
How was your May? Mine whizzed by.
Big Feelings & Brushing Teeth
The other day, I called my friend Mikaela–even though I knew I only had five minutes before I had to run out the door. I started brushing my teeth while we talked. Then she said she had to brush her teeth. So we both brushed and incoherently spoke. I peed, and then we hung up.
Still, in that short window, we got the what we needed to talk about. Big feelings. One of our kids was having them. Some days are like that. They just come in stronger, and louder. It doesn’t matter if you're nine or ninety.
That same day, another friend texted me this photo below, and said: “This is my mood.” (Photo says it all.)
It feel like a lot right now doesn’t it? As I’ve got older I’ve learned to not let the big feeling days take me down for too long. I try to let the thoughts blow over me and not get caught up in the (often distorted) narrative I’m telling myself. Some days it works, some days it doesn't.
If you have a friend who this might resonate with, share this recipe with them. Cake helps. Seriously. It’s also great for your next dinner party dessert.
Why Olive Cake Always Works
My first cookbook, Simple Cake, explored these in-between moments–outside of birthdays and celebrations–when cake helps. Cake can bribe, seduce, console. It can be a make-ahead dessert, a snack with a morning coffee, or a gift to a friend who is having one of those big feeling days.
Recently I had a photo shoot with the women’s clothing brand Eleven Six. I woke up early and baked my Olive Oil cake before I blow-dried my hair. Yep, this cake comes together while your hair partially air-dries.
I’d forgotten how good and SIMPLE it is.
This weekend, why don’t you bake this very, very moist, not-too-sweet cake? All it needs is a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, a dollop of whipped cream, perhaps thin slices of Asian pear.
Olive Oil Cake
Honestly, this cake is a killer. It’s sophisticated, yet good for young and old, day or night. If you’re looking for a daytime pick-me-up or a simple dessert for your next dinner party, here it is. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream. For the cupcakes and mini Bundts, I drizzle with a simple citrus glaze.
Makes:
One 9 by 2-inch round pan. Bake for about 40-45 minutes.
Two 8-inch pans. Bake for 30-33 minutes. (One for you, one for a friend.)
Approximately 12 mini individual Bundts (fill tray cavities two-thirds full) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Two 12-cup cupcake pans (fill liners three-quarters full). Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.
Ingredients
2 cups (260g) (all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 1⁄3 cups (265g) granulated sugar
3⁄4 cup (160ml) mild-flavored extra-virgin olive oil
1⁄2 cup (120ml) whole milk
1⁄2 cup (120ml) buttermilk, shake carton
1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind
1⁄4 cup (60ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease two 8 by 2-inch round pans with olive oil or butter, line the bottom and sides of the pans with parchment paper. (If using individual Bundt pans or fluted cupcake pans, grease them generously with butter, using your fingers to get into all the grooves, then lightly dust with flour, shaking off any excess.)
Place a large sifter or a sieve in a large bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and sift.
Using an electric mixer with beaters or a paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium speed until pale and aerated, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the oil, milk, buttermilk, juice, and rind. Continue beating on low speed until combined and frothy like a milkshake, about 1 minute.
Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk or beat until just combined and smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan/s.
Bake in the center of the oven on the same rack for 30 to 33 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, and the cake bounces back when lightly pressed.
Remove the cakes from the oven and let them stand for 10 minutes. Run a butter knife around the cake to gently release. Remove any parchment paper, and cool on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.
If you don’t own a copy of Simple Cake, and you like cake recipes that can be made with a bowl and wooden spoon. You should grab a copy. It also makes a great gift.
A Meditation For Big Feelings
I had coffee this morning with my friend Marte Kamzelas who’s visiting New York from Germany. We were catching up, and I was telling her my challenge right now is to not get blown around emotionally week-to-week by life’s responsibilities and the early days of launching this Substack. I’m trying to play the long game, be patient, learn, iterate, and come back to the why whenever I get wobbly or overwhelmed by the to-do list.
If I were in my twenties or thirties, I don’t think I could have done this. Back then, my emotions would have controlled me more. I guess that’s the gift of getting older. Still, some days, I have to consciously rein them in.
So very impulsively we ran back to my house, hugged Hank, sat in my bedroom, and recorded this meditation. It’s for those big-feeling days. I hope it helps.
LOVED this whole email, Odette.
Can’t wait to make it. Your cakes are like the perfect cut offs and white button downs of cakes. Easy breezy and perfect.