Clementine & Olive Oil Pound Cake

I've become especially intrigued lately with baked good recipes that call for olive oil in lieu of butter, so when I saw a pound cake flavored of sweet clementines, and calling for this special ingredient, I instantly bookmarked it. With Easter arriving just tomorrow, I thought it would be a great time to experiment, which is exactly what I did after getting off of work yesterday. My home was the sweetest it had ever smelled. The combination of the clementine zest and sugar filled the air. A simple, straightforward cake turned out to yield very pleasing results.

This pound cake is best left simple, as to not kill the slightly sweet and citrus bite it lends to it's taster. Best served alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a sprinkling of powdered sugar with a cup of tea, this little loaf most certainly felt like Spring in a cake tin. If you're looking for a new twist on your average pound cake, I highly recommend this. I took it upon myself to add some lemon to the recipe I found on Cafe Fernando's blog, and felt it really lifted the clementines out, and the taste a bit stronger.


Clementine & Olive Oil Pound Cake


Ingredients

- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp clementine zest*
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup clementine juice*
- lemon juice (from half a lemon)

* Depending on size, 2-3 clementines would be enough for the zest and juice.

Preheat the oven to 375* F. Grease and flour one 12 x 4 inch loaf pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and clementine zest and rub together with a wooden spoon to extract the fragrant oil from the zest.

Add olive oil and mix quickly until completely combined (preferably with a whisk).

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix slowly.

Add half of the clementine juice and continue mixing.

Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by the rest of the clementine juice, lemon juice and the remaining flour mixture and beat until combined between each addition.

Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven, wait 10 minutes for it to cool down and then remove from the pan.

The 'Less Is More' Healthy Cookie

Here's one for you: flour-less, egg-less, butter-less (and potentially sugar-less) cookies! I know what you may thinking, "You're losing it, Liz", but as unappealing as it may sound (for a cookie), I was intrigued by the ingredients (or lack thereof). Honestly, as much as I wanted to try them, I didn't think that they were going to be this good (and that I'd keep going back for more)... Sweetened and held together by overly ripened bananas and almond meal; mixed with rolled oats and chocolate, they really are a treat. And one that you can feel good about eating, at that.

I'm so happy to have found this recipe, as it's going to have to become a regular when I'm craving a chewy , delicious treat. Filled with chocolate and smelling of sweet, ripe bananas and Cinnamon - you can't go wrong. I owe it all to 101 Cookbooks (once again) and her article on her friend, Nikki's 'Healthy Cookies' recipe. In my version, I used both dark chocolate chunks and carob chips; coconut oil was replaced with olive oil since it would be one less thing to buy, and almond meal/flour was out of my price range, so I made my own by pulsing raw almonds in my Cuisinart to a fine, sand-like consistency (beware not to over do it, or else you'll end up with almond butter).

The 'Less Is More' Healthy Cookie (Nikki's Cookies)

Yields about 3 dozen bite-sized cookies

Ingredients

- 3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, barely warm - so it isn't solid (or alternately, olive oil)
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 2/3 cup almond meal
- 1/3 cup coconut, finely shredded & unsweetened
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 6 - 7 ounces chocolate chips, carob chips or dark chocolate bar - chopped

Preheat oven to 350*F, racks in the top third.

In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla extract, and coconut/olive oil. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks/chips. The dough is a bit looser than a standard cookie dough, but don't worry about it. Drop dollops of the dough, each about 2 teaspoons in size, an inch apart, onto an oiled pan. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes. I baked these until golden brown on top, but soft on the inside. They were perfect. About 17 minutes baking time in my oven.