Sullivan Street Bakery: Torta D’olio D’oliva

Jim Lahey learned about great bread from his travels to Rome, Italy. He mastered the art, wrote a couple books and now supplies bread to over 300 restaurants in NYC. The food you’ll find at Sullivan Street Bakery and the recipes in his books are easy and delicious. 

Sullivan Street Bakery’s Torta D’olio D’oliva is a favorite among locals and sells like hotcakes. If you’re a fan of olive oil cake then this moist and flavorful cake is right up your alley. It’s really easy to make and you can eat it at any time during your cheat day. You can find this recipe and many more in Jim’s famous book The Sullivan Street Bakery Cookbook by Jim Lahey with Maya Joseph. 

Jim recommends making the Torta D’olio D’oliva with high-quality fruity extra virgin olive oil since the cake will take on its flavors. The cake is great with coffee, fruit and ice cream. 

Recipe

Tools: 8-inch round cake pan. 

Ingredients

200 grams (1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons) unbleached all-purpose flour

5 grams (1 teaspoon) baking powder

2.5 grams (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda 

4 grams (3/4 teaspoon) coarse sea salt

200 grams (1 cup) sugar

Grated or chopped zest of 2 large navel oranges

2 large eggs

63 grams (1/4 cup) fresh orange juice

158 grams (2/3 cup) whole milk

153 grams (3/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil 

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place a rack in the bottom third of the oven. Line the bottom of an 8-inch cake pan with a circle of parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine. Whisk the sugar, zest, eggs, orange juice, milk and olive oil in a medium bowl until well combined. 

2. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to mix together quickly and evenly until just combined. Take care to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to be sure you don’t miss any clumps. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake until the center of the cake springs back and there is a beautiful, even, nut brown crust — about 50 minutes. Allow the cake to cool on a rack in the pan for a few minutes. Run a knife around the edges and then turn it out onto a plate. 

Note: All the olive oil in this cake means you don’t have to oil the pan. The olive oil will also keeps the cake moist and flavorful for several days. You can safely bake this a day or two in advance of when you need it and serve it at room temperature.