f you can’t find arbequina oil, use a Spanish extra virgin olive oil (unfiltered if possible) labelled “mild and fruity”. Oil from Italy, Greece and Tunisia tends to be a bit too grassy and bitter for cake and ice cream. Keeps 3 days in an airtight container. Freeze 3 months. It is delicious with my arbequina olive-oil ice cream — you’ll find the recipe here.

Method

• Preheat your oven to 180°C. Lightly oil a 23cm spring-form or loose-bottomed cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.
  

• Put the eggs, yolk, sugar, salt, lemon zest and juice in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, or in a medium bowl if using hand-held electric beaters. Beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy and has tripled in volume, about 4 minutes.
  

• Gently fold in the flour by hand, taking care not to knock out the air, then gently stir in the olive oil.
  

• Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes; start testing after 25 minutes in case your oven runs slightly hot — you don’t want to overbake this moist, tender cake.

• Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Run a knife round the sides of the cake then leave it to cool in the tin. When cold, cover tightly with foil or clingfilm or a place in a large zipper lock bag (storing the cake in its tin helps keep it moist).

• Up to an hour before serving, release the cake from the tin. Lay a cooling rack on top of the cake and dust with icing sugar to create a grid pattern.

• Serve with a scoop or two of olive oil ice cream if making or vanilla ice cream.
  
  judirose