Fiori di sicilia & amaro olive oil cake

One of my proudest creations: a riff on Marcella Hazan's "Pisciotta" from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

I’ve made about 10 of these cakes in the last month, and many of you reading this probably tasted one of them.

It began as recipe testing for an Italian cooking class at work and evolved into just my favorite thing to bake, eat, and share. It includes some specialty ingredients, but if you don’t have them, I listed substitutions in the footnotes. It’s special enough that I imagine it could make a nice gift.

On another note, this will be my last newsletter until mid-September.

I began this newsletter in February and I’ve published every week for 6 months. It hasn’t been easy; there have been many weeks when I didn’t think I had anything of value to say. I want to thank each of you that has encouraged me to keep going, it’s truly meant so much to me to hear from you.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your summer - I look forward to jumping back in in four weeks!

- Brittany

2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar + more for the pan (~2 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon fiori di sicilia¹
1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil + more for the pan (~2 tablespoons)
1/3 cup Amaro²
1/3 cup whole milk or heavy cream
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (180 grams)

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease an 8-inch cake pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle the bottom evenly with 2 tablespoons of sugar.

2. Whisk eggs and sugar in a bowl until fluffy and pale, about 2 minutes. Add fiori di sicilia, salt, olive oil, amaro, and milk/cream.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together baking powder and flour.

4. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Do not overmix.

5. Pour batter into cake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.

6. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before turning out on a wire rack. Sprinkle a little extra granulated sugar on the top if desired.

1. Or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract plus 1 tablespoon citrus zest.

2. Or alternative herbal liquor.