Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

After being invited to Friday night dinner, we were asked to make a dessert that was dairy-free to accommodate an allergy in the host. Dr. S suggested something vegan, but I landed on this olive oil cake with a small modification.

The recipe comes from Cook’s Illustrated Nov/Dec 2023, and is an adaptation of the author’s previous olive oil cake. To make a long story short, you can’t just replace some of the flour with cocoa powder. I made it totally dairy-free by swapping out the milk and using 1/2 cup of coconut milk.

On its own, it looks quite plain. But dressed up with berries, it is quite an elegant end to a meal. My only criticism is the sugar topping: it’s supposed to produce a crunchy surface, but we didn’t sprinkle very evenly so much of it didn’t dissolve and looks out of place. This cake was moist and rich, and a great dairy-free recipe to have in your repertoire.