Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Berries & Mascarpone Cheese

Photos by Ciao Floretina

The lemon olive oil cake of your dreams, dressed festively with layers of whipped mascarpone cheese, lemon curd, a honey lemon blueberry sauce and finished with fresh blackberries. The perfect marriage between the classic Italian lemon olive oil cake and Tiramisu.

What goes really well with lemon ?

Blueberries and blackberries!

So here you have a quick honey lemon blueberry sauce on the stove top, that is going to make your lemon olive oil cake not just extra delicious but also add tons and tons of moisture!

Though it might seem like a self involve recipe, it is really easy actually. There are a few steps that you can do in advance, like a day before you can:

· make the lemon curd

· make the blueberry sauce

· whip the mascarpone filling      

Then the next day, just bake your easy lemon olive oil cake, cool it off and dress it nicely with all the goodies, like it’s going places.

Some variations on this Italian Olive Oil Cake:

If you aren’t in the mood for creamy lemony cheesy layers, blueberries and blackberries, you can still bake the lemon olive oil cake on its own and serve it with just a sprinkling of powder sugar.

OR

· replace the blueberries and blackberries with fresh strawberries

· cover your lemon olive oil cake with this blueberry glaze

· go for these balsamic figs as a sauce and decorate with fresh figs

· turn it into a chocolate olive oil cake and finish with a chocolate glaze

· decorate with candied oranges or toasted coconut

Ingredients

·      1 c extra virgin olive oil

·      1/3 c ricotta cheese

·      2 c all purpose flour

·      5 eggs organic pasture raised

·      1 1/4 c granulated sugar

·      1 tsp baking powder

·      1/4 tsp baking soda

·      Zest from 1 lemon

·      A pinch of sea salt

·      1 lb blackberries

·      1/4 c edible flower blossoms

Blueberry Sauce

·      1/2 lb blueberries

·      1/2 lemon juiced

·      2-3 tbsp wild honey

·      1 tsp vanilla extract

Mascarpone Cream

·      4 large egg yolks organic pasture raised

·      4 tbsp granulated sugar

·      1 lb mascarpone cheese

·      2 c whipped cream organic

·      zest from 1 lemon

Lemon curd

·      1/2 c lemon juice freshly squeezed

·      Zest from 1 lemon

·      5 large egg yolks organic pasture raised

·      1/2 c granulated sugar

·      5 tbsp butter cut into 5 pieces.

Instructions

Make the Blueberry Sauce:

1.   Start by adding the blueberries with the lemon juice, vanilla and honey to a small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer and cook for a couple of minutes, just until the blueberries burst. Remove from flame and adjust sweetness to your taste with more honey. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Make the Lemon Curd:

1.   To make the lemon curd, prepare a double boiler with 2 inches of water in the bottom pan. Bring to gentle simmer.

Add the egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice to the top pan. Whisk together over the steam until combined well. Keep whisking for a few minutes until the curd has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. About 5 to 10 minutes or so. Turn off the flame and whisk in the butter until melted. Transfer the curd to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cooled completely.

2.   Preheat your oven to 325"F.

3.   Prepare a 10 inch spring form pan by lightly buttering it with a dab of butter. Place on a baking sheet.

Make the Olive Oil Cake:

1.   In the bowl of a mixer add the eggs, lemon zest and sugar and using the whisk attachment beat them together until well combined. A few minutes.

2.   Pour in theolive oil and continue whisking on medium low speed until all incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese and sea salt and whisk till combined.

3.   Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and slowly mix or fold everything together until incorporated.

4.   Transfer the cake batter into the buttered spring form pan.

5.   Bake the olive oil cake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.

6.   Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

Make the Mascarpone Cheese Filling:

1.   Add the egg yolks and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Use a mixer with a whisk attachment to cream the sugars and egg yolks until fluffy and pale in color.

2.   Add the lemon zest and spoonfuls of the mascarpone cheese until incorporated.

3.   Using a spatula fold the whipped cream into the whipped mascarpone cheese until combine. Make sure to not over mix. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Assemble the Cake:

1.   Once cooled off, remove the cake from the spring form pan by releasing the sides first, then remove the bottom.

2.   Very carefully slice a thin layer off of the top to remove the top crust and expose the inside of the cake.

3.   Extra carefully slice the cake in half using a serrated knife.

4.   Place the bottom part on a plate or cake stand.

5.   Using a small spatula spread the chilled lemon curd on top of the olive oil cake. 

Spoon half of the mascarpone filling on top and then top it with half of the blueberries from the blueberry sauce and some of the fresh blackberries. Reserve as much of the blueberry sauce as possible for the next layer.

6.   Add the next olive oil cake layer and spoon all the remaining blueberries with the sauce on top. Add the remaining whipped mascarpone and with the back of a spoon or spatula rustically spread it over the top. Place the fresh blackberries all over the top, reserving some to decorate the sides of your olive oil cake.

7.   Garnish your lemon olive oil cake with edible flower blossoms and enjoy chilled.

 by Ciao Florentina