Dark chocolate and olive oil cake

This is the cake we are asked for more than any other, the one that appears at birthdays, leaving dos and quiet Tuesday afternoons. It is dense, glossy and deeply chocolatey, and because it is made with olive oil rather than butter it stays moist for days. Once you have made it a couple of times you will not need the recipe at all.

Serves: 10. Takes: 1 hour, plus cooling.

What you need

• 150ml Arbequina extra virgin olive oil, plus a little for the tin
• 150g dark chocolate (our sea salt caramel bar works beautifully), broken up
• 3 large free-range eggs
• 180g light brown soft sugar
• 80g ground almonds
• 40g cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• a shot of house espresso blend, cooled
• a good pinch of sea salt

Method

1. Heat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan) and line a 20cm round tin with baking paper.
2. Melt the chocolate over barely simmering water, then stir in the olive oil and the cooled espresso.
3. Whisk the eggs and sugar for four to five minutes until they are pale and have roughly doubled in volume.
4. Fold in the chocolate mixture, then the ground almonds, cocoa powder, baking powder and sea salt.
5. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the top is set and cracked and a skewer comes out with a few crumbs.
6. Cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then turn out. It sinks a little in the middle, which is the best part.

Why olive oil

A mild, buttery oil is the right choice here, which is why we reach for the Arbequina. It carries the chocolate instead of competing with it, and it keeps the crumb soft and fudgy for four or five days. Butter would set firm in the fridge and need bringing back to room temperature, whereas this cake is just as good cold from the tin. We tested it once with a bold, peppery oil and the chocolate disappeared behind it, so save that bottle for the salad.

To serve

Serve it in thin wedges with a spoon of crème fraîche or a scoop of good vanilla ice cream, a few raspberries and a scatter of flaky sea salt on top. A drizzle of the same olive oil over each slice sounds odd until you try it. Kept in an airtight tin it stays at its best for four days, and it freezes well for a month if you can bear to wait for it to thaw.