This is Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Olive Oil cake from her book Nigellissima. It is the best chocolate cake recipe I’ve ever tasted and one that I make frequently as it’s always a huge hit with friends and family. I’m not a fan of chocolate cakes or desserts but I love this one especially as it’s dairy and gluten free.

It always sinks a bit in the centre after I’ve taken it out of the oven but that never bothers me. Just fill the centre with fresh raspberries if you haven’t already cut a slice because you can’t even wait for it to coo!

In the pics below I’ve made it in the last month for a birthday and for Easter and the third image is one I made today. You can sprinkle it with icing sugar for a better presentation!

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

Nigella Lawson (Nigellissima book)

150 ml regular olive oil (plus a little for greasing the tin)

50 g good quality cocoa powder

125 ml boiling water

2 tsp best vanilla extract (not vanilla essence)

150 g ground almonds

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Pinch salt

200 g caster sugar

3 eggs

1 x 22 cm or 23 cm springform cake tin

Preheat oven to 180c (gas mark 3). Grease the springform tin with some oil and line the base with baking parchment

Measure and sift the cocoa powder in a bowl or jug and whisk with the boiling water until a smooth and still runny (only just) paste. Whisk in the vanilla extract and set aside to cool

In another smallish bowl combine the ground almond with the bicarbonate of soda and pinch of salt

Put the sugar, olive oil and eggs into the bowl of a freestanding mixer and beat vigorously for about 3 mins until you have a pale-primrose, aerated and thickened cream

Turn down the speed a little and pour in the cooled cocoa mixture, beating as you go then slowly add the ground almond mixture

Scrape sown and stir a little with a spatula then pour into the tin. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until ad sides are set and the centre on top still looks slightly damp. A cake test should come up mainly clean but with a few sticky chocolate crumbs clinging to it.

Let it cool for 10 mins in its tin on a wire rack and then ease the sides of the cake with a small metal spatula or knife and spring it out of the tin. Leave to cool completely or eat warm with ice-cream