Almond Cake with Blood Orange and Olive Oil

Well, I mean... it may be Citrus Week in my house, but a small treat fits in as well, definitely. I got the idea reading here (which in turn refers to this article, recently turned into this paper thing - and for those who are curious, no, I didn't buy the book, in fact I haven't even looked at it (oh well, only a peek), because to me, the dining section of The New York Times and its bookish extensions mean exclusively one thing, aka Mark Bittman; but I promise to return on this soon, I hope very soon, given that these days - apart from citrus - I'm hooked on M.B., and I feel compelled to share...), ok, where was I? ah, yes, Citrus Week. Just to make it a little less healthy, I thought I'd sneak in this cake. The suggestion came to me through the streets of the ether that I mapped above, but then I ended up changing the recipe and adapting it to my taste, and I added the almonds to make it a lot less light and vitamin-loaded. Or much more energetic, take it as you please. :-)


Almond Cake
with Blood Orange and Olive Oil
for a 9" loaf pan

flour 225 gr
almonds 100 gr
sugar 185 gr
eggs 3
extra-virgin olive oil 125 ml
plain yogurt 120 gr
organic blood oranges 3 large
baking powder 1/2 package (= 8 gr)
almond extract 1/2 teaspoon
salt 1 pinch
butter and flour for the pan as needed

Grate zest of the oranges and mix it with sugar, taking care not to remove the white, bitter part. It would be best to do this somewhat in advance, so that the sugar is well soaked with orange aroma. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Toast almonds in the oven for about ten minutes, grind them in a food processor until they're reduced to a powder, and add to flour. Keep aside.
Squeeze the oranges in order to have 125 grams of juice (and please mind the precision with which I've measured it... oh yes, it's a tough life that of a fooblogger; one can never bake a simple cake in full relax!).
Beat eggs with orange infused sugar until the mixture becomes sort of fluffy; add almond extract, olive oil, yogurt and orange juice. At the end mix flour and almonds, stir well and pour the batter into the pan that has been previously buttered and floured. Bake at 350 for about 60-70 minutes, or until the classic toothpick stuck in the center comes out nice and clean.