Shannon Swindle is executive pastry chef of Italian restaurants Funke in Beverly Hills and Felix in Venice, and he’s probably got a recipe or a hundred in his back pocket when it comes to simple yet impressive desserts. This olive oil cake is one of them: lush, comforting and not too sweet. He’s tweaked the recipe over the years to come up with just the right amount of olive oil and crème fraîche (or sour cream) for the type of cake you can have with your coffee for breakfast or serve to guests for a special occasion. He bakes his cake in a large 10-inch cake pan that’s 3 inches high. You also could use 8- by 2-inch pans; just mind the baking time. Start checking it for doneness (the top will be firm) at 40 minutes.
He calls this a seasonal cake, because you can add whatever fruit is in season as garnish. In the fall he likes to make candied fennel. This recipe makes more candied fennel than you’ll need for the cake, but it keeps well. (The candied fennel recipe is also easily halved.)
Pastry chef Shannon Swindle shows us how to make an olive oil cake that’s easy and elegant.
