Almond Olive Oil Maple Cake

I was invited to my friends house to help wish another friend a happy birthday. The birthday man doesn't like butter and the man whose house we were invited to has had gall bladder problems. Hence the olive oil.... and I love a food related challenge. The cake turned out to be quite a hit so I wanted to share. Another secret ingredient is maple crystals. These are from crystalline maple syrup. I made my meringue with them... fantastic volume and lovely tan color and a very nice subtle mapley sweetness.

Here is the recipe... no gluten, no sugar, no cholesterol no fooling!

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 cup ground almonds
1 cup oat flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pinch of salt

6 egg whites
1 cup maple crystals
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8" cake pan with olive oil cooking spray. In a large bowl combine the first 6 ingredients. In an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment add the egg whites. With the machine on high add the maple crystals slowly until the meringue is complete, stiff but not dry.

 

Fold one handful of meringue into the olive oil mixture.

Add this back to the meringue and fold gently to make a batter. Place the batter into a sprayed 8" cake pan. Sprinkle the top with the sliced almonds. Bake for 45 minutes until the cake is set and almonds are golden.

Recipe, writing and photos by Karen Pickus
Courtesy Karen Pickus, 2011