“Our chocolate olive oil cake was one of our first staples from the kitchen at Carmen. It all started with Carmen’s mum, a big inspiration to me and a great cook! When Carmen and I first started dating I’d visit her a lot at her family house. Her mum would always have something tasty out on the counter and I’d often be the one to eat the majority of it before anyone else could get to it! Needless to say, I developed a small addiction to this cake.

“The cake is surprisingly light but still feels really indulgent – I personally prefer it with a big dollop of high-quality French crème crue. The combo brings me back to the time when I was a kid eating a sandwich with butter and chocolate sprinkles, a Dutch classic. This is the exact same, except it’s the adult version. Our menu at the kitchen changes often but we’ve kept this on since day one.”

Read our feature on Carmen Amsterdam here. 

Chocolate Cake Recipe

Ingredients

100g cocoa powder
215ml hot water
1 shot of espresso
340g almond flour
4g salt
6g baking soda
400g white sugar
340ml olive oil
6 eggs

Method

1. Whisk the cocoa powder into the hot water until the cocoa has dissolved. Stir in the shot of espresso.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the almond flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. Combine the sugar, olive oil, and eggs in a stand mixer and whisk until fully incorporated.
4. Turn the mixer to low speed, then gradually add the dry ingredients.
5. Finally, add the cocoa mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.
6. Pour the batter into one round cake tin.
7. Bake at 180°C (convection, 50% humidity, low fan) for 75 minutes.

Final Steps

1. Cool the cake in the tin, then turn it out and store it in the fridge.
2. To serve, dust with cocoa powder and pair with crème fraîche.

Find out more about Carmen Amsterdam here.