Easy chocolate olive oil cake

Ingredients

Cake

• 250g (1 2/3 cups) self-raising flour
• 80g (3/4 cup plus 1 tsp) unsweetened cocoa
• 250g (1 cup plus 2 Tbsp) caster sugar
• 50g (1/4 cup) brown sugar
• Pinch of sea salt
• 3 eggs
• 100ml olive oil
• 200ml buttermilk
• 200ml warm coffee or water
• 1 tsp vanilla bean extract or vanilla essence

Chocolate glaze

• 150g (3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp) 70 per cent cocoa chocolate, roughly chopped
• 50g unsalted butter
• Pistachios and coconut flakes to top, optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 22cm round tin with baking paper.
2. In a large bowl, sift the flour and cocoa, then add the sugars and sea salt. Mix to combine.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the olive oil, eggs, buttermilk, coffee and vanilla until smooth.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for around 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when tested. Another way to test for doneness is by lightly pressing the top of the centre of the cake. It should be soft but spring back when pressed.
5. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely. I like to keep it upside as it flattens the top slightly if it domed during baking. Once cool, transfer the cake to a serving plate.
6. For the glaze, place the chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl and sit it on a pot of simmering water. Make sure the bowl isn’t touching the water underneath as the intense heat can cause the chocolate to become grainy. Once the chocolate and butter has melted, remove from the heat and stir. It should be thick and glossy. Allow to cool for 2 minutes then pour onto the cooled cake. Using the back of a spoon, move in a circular motion to spread the glaze over the cake. Top with the pistachios and coconut, if using, and serve.