Chocolate cake with olive oil and fleur de sel
The cake sounds horrible in English, but if I put it in French…
Gateau au chocolat à la fleur de sel et huile d’olive.
The cake definitely sounds so much sexier in French, don’t you think? In short, just as the title says, it is a chocolate cake with olive oil and sea salt (fleur de sel). Another recipe adaptation from the Nobody Does It Better… cookbook by Trisha Deseine. Olive oil and sea salt on a chocolate cake you say? Indeed. Trust me on this one, it is simply out of this world!
Chocolate has been daringly teamed with many unexpected flavours especially in recent years. According to the book, it was Pierre Hermé who made adding salt to chocolate popular. French chef Inaki Aizpitarte takes it one step further by adding olive oil and surprisingly, it works!
My first taste of olive oil being used in dessert no doubt was at Adriano Zumbo patisserie in the winter collection. Perhaps it was the combination of ingredients in the gateaux to be blamed, I actually did not think much of the olive oil and its role in general. One of us even described the flavour of that particular cake as “funky”. However, this recipe has definitely change my opinion towards olive oil in gateaux and finding myself loving it more and more.
Inaki’s philosphy towards food – as long as the flavours and technique are pure and simple and the ingredients of highest quality, anything is possible. He is absolutely right. The chocolate cake is simple, it is moist and dense like a chocolate brownie. The olive oil smoothes the palate, enhancing the depth of the bitter chocolate’s aromas while the crunch of fleur de sel makes the sweetness of the cake even more profound.
This probably one the best chocolate cake recipes I’ve used and definitely will safe keeping it for future reference. For those who remember my domokun cake, and those who were unfortunately had to eat it would know how dry and solid it was. But this recipe is definitely a keeper. The chocolate cake is more like a chocolate brownie, moist on the inside and crusty on top. I’ve also alternated the recipe a little by replacing Fleur de Sel with Himalayan Pink Salt (because that’s the only salt I’ve got in the pantry other than table salt). Himalayan pink salt supposedly to be purer than sea salt, but seriously, I don’t think it matters and I definitely can’t taste the different. But table salt is a no no.
So tell me readers, have you try any recipes that totally blow your socks off?
Chocolate cake with olive oil and salt Gateau au chocolate à la fleur de sel et huile d'olive Ingredients 200g dark chocolate (min 70% cocoa solids) 200g unsalted butter 4 medium eggs 150g caster sugar 60g plain flour 1½ tsp baking powder Extra virgin olive oil Fleur de sel (sea salt) Methods 1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Grease and flour a 22cm sandwich tin. 2. Melt the chocolate in a heat proof bowl over a saucepan of hot simmering water. add butter and stir well to mix the two ingredients completely. 3. Put the eggs and the sugar in a bowl and whisk with kitchen mixer until the mixture turns pale and doubles in volume. Add the flour, a tablespoonful at a time, and the baking powder. 4. Mix in the chocolate mixture, pour the lot into the prepared sandwich tin and bake for 30-40 minutes. The cake is cooked when a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. 5. Leave the cake to cool for 15 minutes before turning out. 6. To serve, cut the cake into slices, set them on plain white plates and pour some extra virgin olive oil around. Sprinkle with some fluer de sel on the cake and serve.
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A Table For Two (ATFT) is Billy Law's food blog that features best eats in Sydney and around the world with drool-worthy food photography to salivate your appetite. I also throw in a smidgen of my food and travel photography for good measure. Billy Law also happened to be a contestant on MasterChef Australia 2011. 
This looks outstanding! I love the flavor combination. I love salt & chocolate but never tried olive oil! Mmmm! Great presentation as well.
Haha food always sounds sexier in French
The chocolate cake looks so perfectly fudgy, I am totally going to give it a go!
.-= Steph´s last blog ..Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes (with popping candy!) =-.
Haha I couldn’t have said it any better than Steph! I thought fleur de sel sounded so sexy and was slightly disappointed when it turned out to be sea salt lol. Looks awesome, I’ll have to try it this weekend!
.-= Minh´s last blog ..Singapore, JAAN par André =-.
Ooh looks awesome. And sexy!
Mmm sounds great! I remember trying a chocolate cake with sea salt at Lotus and I thought it was amazing. I can imagine this tasting divine!!
.-= Betty´s last blog ..O Bal Tan Korean BBQ Restaurant, Haymarket =-.
Wow! These look fantastic =D. Such great but simple flavours!
.-= Lauren´s last blog ..Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake Bars =-.
Yum yum, I have quite a thing for salted chocolate these days.
And btw, the Himalayan pink salt was from me for the Pom’s b’day
Glad to see it’s being put to very good use!
.-= Helen (grabyourfork)´s last blog ..Concordia German Club, Tempe =-.
Ooh, definitely sexier in French than English…
.-= Tina´s last blog ..All’s fair in lovin’ food =-.
Ooooh, this looks amazing! I love the idea of unusual ingredients used with chocolate. I’m a HUGE fan of salt and chocolate, and olive oil also sounds like a really interesting addition!
.-= sara´s last blog ..Roasted Red Pepper and Black Bean Soup =-.
Your pictures look absolutely gorgeous! I like how dense it looks.
.-= Steph´s last blog ..TWD: Cran-Apple Crisps =-.
That cake looks so delicious and moist. I’ve never tried olive oil and chocolate together but I might give this a go someday!
.-= Jacq´s last blog ..Makan@Alice’s, Thornleigh =-.
I read the title and was like ‘huh?’ lol
But the cake looks so moist and rich!
Now I’m hungry for a nice chocolate cake….
.-= Von´s last blog ..Excellent Chinese Seafood Restaraunt =-.
Yum! I remember coming across an olive oil based chocolate mousse once a long time ago before starting blogging, but this sounds like an even yummier take on the flavour combo
.-= Chris´s last blog ..Jugemu & Shimbashi =-.
Have wanted to try making anything chocolate with olive oil since the first masterchef series. you just sold it to me. woohoo!
man that’s really looking sexy!
.-= Yas´s last blog ..Asparagus carbonara – with a sprinkle of failure =-.
Oh wow. I am speechless. That is one slice of cake. Goth comes to mind – in a good way!
I’m a salt-in-chocolate lover (seriously, canNOT get enough of that), but this is the first time I hear of combining it with olive oil. I’m up for new flavours, so will be trying this for sure!
PS: Great food styling!
that’s a very delish-looking chocolate cake! hello, i dropped by after i saw FFichiban’s tweet! hee
cheers,
Brad
.-= ladyironchef´s last blog ..Sweet Nibbles (Part 10): Let’s be sweet =-.
I am definitely going to try this one!
Anyone have a recipe of this that has converted measurements for american cooks?
I am French and Fleur de Sel is sea salt but the finest and most delicate part of the sea salt you find on the top, and there are places to make it, where you have squares of sea water in kind of wet land, I don’t know how to explain it in English, it’s called in french ” marais salants”…and it is kind of expensive and luxurous salt, with a very low amount of sodium.
We can often use salted butter in our cakes…and Pierre Herme created the savoury macarons, my favourite : olive oil-vanilla
This chocolate cake recipe is almost the same than mine which is really to die for, but I never tried it with salt and olive oil…I put olive oil in my Crepes mix though
i shall try this recipe tomorrow! should i warm the cake before serving?