Baking

Feeling a bit unsettled after this past week, I decided to bake yesterday. I've always found baking to be soothing, the rhythmic kneading of dough, the scents emanating from the oven.

I bought a mini bundt pan a few weeks ago and hadn't had a chance to try it out so I pulled it out of the pan cupboard along with a recipe for olive oil bundt cakes I've been wanting to try. I've never had an olive oil cake before and was a little worried they might be heavy or greasy, but they turned out the opposite. The recipe below is a from a family friend. I hope you enjoy it.

Mini Olive Oil Cakes

Butter or Olive Oil Cooking Spray (I used Pam Olive Oil Spray.)
1 cup All Purpose Flour
1 1/3 cups Sugar
2 tablespoons Lemon Zest
2 large Eggs
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2/3 cup Milk
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray mini bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside. Whisk together the sugar and lemon zest in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add eggs one at a time, whisking after each one. Next add the olive oil and milk. Whisk mixture together with a strong whipping motion to ensure all the ingredients are will combined.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking powder together. Add to the egg/sugar mixture mixing just enough so that everything is combined. (The same way you'd make muffins from a box mix.) Pour batter into the individual bundt areas in the pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cakes should be golden brown and spring back when lightly touched. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack. (My pan is a six mini cake pan. If you have a 12 mini cake pan, you may need to adjust the baking time down a little.)

I serve glaze on the side because some of my family members don't like it. (Crazy, I know.) For the glaze, mix 1 1/2 cups of confectioner's sugar and 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice to taste depending on how lemony you want it to taste. Whisk until smooth and and drizzle over the cakes.

This recipe makes 12 cakes.