LEMON + BASIL OLIVE OIL LOAF

#cookwitholiveoil 2.

Here's the second one of our slowly-expanding library of recipes that showcase the beauty of embracing the heat and cooking with extra virgin olive oil. 

This time it's a stunning, fresh, sunshine of a cake by the talented Calypso @wildfloursalt. With basil and lemon-infused Honest Toil, it's guaranteed to light up any grey January morning. 

The cake is balanced, moist, and light. The citrus, basil, and olive oil are a fresh and earthy pairing that complements the sweetness. The cake is naturally vegan - the sparkling water acts as a substitute for eggs and helps to create a light texture. This also means the cake takes longer to bake, so make sure it is cooked all the way through. 

The flour can be substituted 1:1 for gluten free flour if needed. 

Ingredients: 

• 40g basil, roughly chopped
• 130g golden caster sugar
• 300g plain flour 
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 generous pinches of flakey salt (about 1 tsp)
• Zest of 1 lemon 
• 100ml Honest Toil extra virgin olive oil 
• 140ml sparkling water 
• 1 tbsp turbinado or demerara sugar 

Lemon peel and basil infused olive oil: 

• 25g basil, roughly chopped and big stalks removed.
• 100 ml Honest Toil extra virgin olive oil 
• Peel of 1 lemon

Lemon drizzle icing: 

• Juice of 1/2 lemon 
• 100g of icing sugar 
• 1 tsp of Honest Toil extra virgin olive oil (optional) 

Method: 

Find the detailed recipe on our blog (link in bio).

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 9x5inch loaf tin with baking paper. 
2. Infuse the oil: In a small saucepan, heat 100ml of olive oil on a low heat. Add the peel of 1 lemon and 25g of basil. Let the basil gently sizzle for about 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly - be careful not to let the basil burn. Then turn off the heat and leave to cool while you prepare the other ingredients. 
3. Grind the basil sugar: In a mortar and pestle (or blender), grind the rest of the basil (about 40g) with the sugar until you have a homogeneous green paste. 
4. Combine the dry ingredients: In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, flakey salt and lemon zest.
5. Add the wet to the dry: Remove the lemon peel from the saucepan and pour the oil with the fried basil into the flour mix. Stir in another 100ml of olive oil and the basil sugar paste until fully incorporated. 
6. Gently fold in half of the sparkling water until just combined to loosen the batter. Then fold in the rest of the water but don’t overmix - this will ensure the cake is light. 
7. Pour the cake patter into the lined loaf tin and gently smooth the top. Evenly sprinkle over the turbinado sugar.
8. Bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean and the top is golden and crunchy. 
9. Leave for 15 minutes, then carefully remove the loaf from its tin and let cool completely on a wire rack.
10. Once cooled, whisk together the ingredients for the lemon icing and drizzle over the cake. Decorate with fresh basil and candied lemon peel (optional).

Store in an airtight container and the cake will stay good for a few days.