Chocolate cake with olive oil and chocolate ganache

I discovered a long time ago that pure cocoa and oil work very well together. Personally, I love cakes made with butter, but olive oil gives a unique flavour and texture to cakes made with cocoa.

Normally cocoa is astringent, the lack of fat tends to dry out the dough so that the cake is not as moist as those that contain chocolate, and therefore butter. However, when extra virgin olive oil is used, it emulsifies very well with the ingredients helping the cake to be moist and soft , and so juicy that you won't believe it (almost like a brownie).

The finishing touch to this cake is a soft and fluffy chocolate cream that makes it a dream come true.

KitchenAid Artisan 5KSM175 food processor and PushPan non-stick removable pan

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 50 g pure cocoa powder
• 120 ml of boiling water
• 200 g granulated sugar
• 220 g brown sugar
• 175 ml of extra virgin olive oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 250 g of flour
• 1¼ teaspoon baking powder
• A pinch of salt

For the ganache:

• 200 g of dark chocolate at least 60%
• 200 ml of liquid cream with 35% fat content
• 30 g butter at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. We cover the bottom of our 20 cm push pan mould with baking paper and grease the entire mould well.
3. In the Kitchen Aid glass bowl , mix the sugar (both types) with the eggs and beat at medium-high speed until slightly foamy. Then add the vanilla and oil and beat for one minute.
4. In a small bowl, mix the cocoa with the boiling water.
5. Add the salt and baking powder to the bowl with the eggs and sugar and begin adding the flour to the mixture alternating with the cocoa mixture and beating each time just until combined after each addition.
6. Pour the batter into the mould and bake for about 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the mould comes out clean. The batter will be moist in the centre, but that's what it's all about.
7. Let it cool in the mold for about 10 minutes and then remove from the mold, allowing it to cool completely.
8. While it cools, we prepare the chocolate cream or ganache.
9. We put the chopped chocolate in a bowl.
10. Boil the cream and pour half of it over the chopped chocolate. Let it sit for 30 seconds and starting from the centre of the bowl, stir slowly with a Le Creuset spatula until well combined.
11. Then add the remaining boiled cream and stir slowly. Now add the butter and vanilla, stirring until fully incorporated.
12. Chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes and then beat with a whisk until the color lightens. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until the mixture thickens and forms stiff peaks.
13. We spread our chocolate cream over the cake and serve. I like to cut it with a very sharp knife so that the layers of cake and cream are well differentiated. And enjoy!

KitchenAid Artisan 5KSM175 food processor , PushPan non-stick removable mould and Miyabi Santoku Japanese Damascus steel knife .