Mario Batali's Orange Olive Oil Cake

In recent months, we have become obsessed with a new neighborhood restaurant called Bar Stuzzichini, an Italian tapas bar with unreal appetizers in the Flatiron district of New York City. We took our authentically Italian friend, Donata, there and she was immediately smitten! We always start our dinner with the "Stuzzichini Misti", which is a choice of 5 appetizers for 2 people for a well-priced $24! Highly recommend the ceci (chickpea) and/or caponata crostini, polpo (grilled octopus), the carciofi (heavenly fried artichokes) and the polpette (meatballs). Everytime I go, I order the grilled tuna with a cool pesto. Many of the people I have taken there love the orecchiette e cavolfiore (little ears with cauliflower and breadcrumbs).

I recently started finishing off my meal with the orange scented olive oil cake and decided to try to replicate at home with Mario Batali's recipe from a cookbook Donata bought me for Christmas a few years ago!

We brought it over to our friends' delicious dinner party last night and it was a very good cake especially when served with vanilla ice cream. It's great for a brunch party or a dessert. Perhaps I am my own worst critic, but I would have preferred it to be more moist and spongy. Please feel free to make suggestions on how I can moisten it up. I saw that Giada has a version with whole milk, more citrus juice and normal, all-purpose flour- I will try that next.

Olive Oil & Orange Cake
Mario Batali's "Simple Italian Food, Recipes from My Two Villages"
Serves 8

6 medium oranges
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 Tbsp baking soda
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
confectioners'/icing sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350. Oil a 9 inch round cake pan.

Remove the zest from the oranges and juice one of them. Set fruit aside for another use. Sift the flour and baking soda together onto a piece of waxed paper.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and salt together with an electric mixer until frothy and light, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the sugar, continuing to mix 2 minutes longer. Add the flour and baking sida gradually to the egg mixture, then mix 1 more minute.

In another bowl, combine the olive oil, orange zest and juice. Using a spoon, stir it into the egg mixture, folding until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Invert onto wire rack.

Cool to room temperature, dust confectioners'/icing sugar onto cake, cut into wedges and serve with vanilla bean ice cream.