Easier Cake-Making

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake? It sounds yummy to me.

The N.Y. Times has a recipe for it that accompanies this article about ways to make cakes without all the typical time and fuss. The article was written by Melissa Clark, who says:

I’ve been building up a small repertory of quick, easy cakes that I can whip up without turning on (and later cleaning) the food processor or electric mixer.

The key is using liquid fat (oil or melted butter) that doesn’t require creaming, and chemical leavening (baking powder or soda or both) to eliminate the vigorous beating of eggs.

. . . Unlike the blander oils, good olive oil has character. I’ve had olive oil cakes and liked their pronounced flavor. I even baked one once, though it required beating yolks and whites separately with an electric mixer, which disqualified it from the quick category.