Catherine Fulvio's Apple Cake with Olive Oil

I posted last week about Catherine Fulvio's new book, Catherine's Italian Kitchen.  The lovely people at Gill & Macmillan were kind enough to send me a copy prior to release helping to feed my cookbook addiction.  I pretty much want to try every recipe in the book and will do, eventually, but spotted a little something that I knew Mr Boo would like.  That night I popped on my apron and whipped up Catherine's Apple Cake with Olive Oil.

The batter was really easy to mix up and didn't take very long.  While it was in the oven it filled the house with the most delicious warm, comforting aromas.  As soon as Mr Boo stepped in the door that night he popped his head into the living room to ask me what he could smell.  He was more than happy when he followed me to the kitchen I showed him.  Now, I'm not really a big fan of fruit cakes but I did have a little taste so that I could report on the outcome.

The cake was deliciously light and moist, with subtle flavours of cinammon and ginger.  The raisins were perfectly plump following their hot bath prior to baking and the cake was studded with tender cubes of apple.  It was perfect for the unexpected chilly night we were experiencing last Thursday, much to early for my liking in August.  Mr Boo made short work of making two rather large wedges disappear so I think it has his seal approval. 

Catherine suggests this cake as an alternative to a traditional *whispers* Christmas cake (I know, it is still to early in the year to mention the C word but I think it would be perfectly suited to the festive season too).  It does not contain any alcohol so it won't last as long as a traditional whiskey soaked cake but it did last perfectly well in a cake tin for 5 days in our house.  You could also add a little rum (maybe 3oz) if you want to add more of a festive touch to it.  Obviously you would not be able to make this weeks in advance as with traditional cakes but it would only require a few minutes on Christmas Eve.  I have an other idea in mind for a nice autumnal twist and will report back soon if it turns out as tasty as I think it will.  Whatever time of year you decide to try this recipe I hope that you enjoy it!

Apple Cake with Olive Oil
(Serves 8-10)
This recipe was also accompanied by an 'E' symbol (E = easy to make)

"This is a lovely cake from the north of Italy, where interestingly, olive oil replaces butter in the recipe.  The apple softens in the baking process, resulting in a wonderfully moist cake.  The flavours are very autumnal, and in fact, I have made this as my alternative Christmas Cake. "

110g/4oz Golden Raisins or Sultanas
200g/7oz Golden Caster Sugar
3 large Eggs
150ml/5floz Extra Virgin Olive Oil
350g/12.33oz Plain Flour
1tsp Ground Cinnamon
0.5tsp Ground Ginger
1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1tsp Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
Zest of 1 Lemon
500g Cooking Apples, peeled and diced into 1.5cm pieces

1.  Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.  Butter and flour a 20cm springform cake tin.
2.  Place the raisins or sultanas in a bowl of hot water and allow to soak for 15 minutes to plump up.  Drain and set aside.

3.  Whisk the sugar and eggs until doubled in volume and pale cream in colour.  Warm the olive oil in a saucepan, then slowly whisk it into the eggs and sugar.

4.  Sieve the flour, cinammon, ginger, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt, then gradually add to the oil and egg mixture.  Fold in well.

5.  Add the drained raisins/sultanas to the mixture, along with the lemon zest and diced apples.  Mix thoroughly.  The mixture should be stiff at this stage.

6.  Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin.  Bake for at least 1 hour, until a clean skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Carefully remove the cake from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.

* As an alternative to the apples, try diced pear.

Catherine's Italian Kitchen - Catherine Fulvio (Gill & Macmillan)

Picture from Gill & Macmillan

The lovely people at Gill & Macmillan contacted me a couple of weeks ago to ask if I would be interested in receiving a copy of Catherine Fulvio's first cookbook prior to it's release date.  Would I? WOULD I?  Do they even have to ask?!  With a cook book addiction to feed and having maxed out my credit card recently with a full Amazon trolley I replied in the affirmative.  A few days later a lovely package fell with a thud through my letter box.  I get postively giddy when the post man arrives with a parcel for me and it was only seconds later that I had ripped the package open to reveal what lay within.  Instantly I knew I would love it.

The cover is beautiful, a table set for al fresco dining under clear blue skies, with Catherine looking radiant, ready to serve her dining companions.  I was busy right at that moment so vowed to sit down that evening to look through it properly.  But you see it kept calling to me from the kitchen table and so there I was, 5 minutes later, with my feet up and a line of drool running down my chin. Wah?!  I hadn't had lunch yet and I could almost taste the delights in each picture.

I actually don't think there was 1 recipe in the book that I thought to myself, "nah, I don't think I fancy that".  Everything looks and sounds delicious.  I found myself earmarking pretty much every page with a day on which to try it out, I eventually gave up on that and just resolved to give them all a bash, and soon.  This is a rare occurence for me as I usually find a few recipes in each book that either seem a little too complicated, have ingredients that are not readily available or that use a combination of ingredients just that little bit too adventurous for my humble taste buds.

Some of the things that I really like about Catherine's Italian Kitchen are:

• The book is visually stunning.  The pictures are beautifully styled, the food looks completely delicious and there are pretty, decorative elements throughout.
• Conversion tables have been included at the front to allow the reader to easily convert from metric to imperial if they so wish. 
• The introduction to the book includes some of the unwritten rules of food and cooking in Italy.  My personal favourite: "Chi la sera i posti li ha fatti, sta agli altri lavare i piatti" ("If one cooks the meal, then the others wash up")  I think this should be adopted as law in all countries.
• Recipes are grouped into sections eg. Antipasta, starters and salads, Soup, Fish, Sides etc.  Nothing ground breaking here but this is my preferred layout in cook books.  Some books follow a format of grouping complimentary starters, mains and desserts together and I have to say I have never cooked all three courses at the same time.  
• 'E' (Easy) and 'F' (Can Be Frozen) symbols accompany many recipes throughout the book.
• Catherine introduces each recipe explaining a little about it's history or her reason for liking it.
• An additional note follows each recipe with a tip to help with preparation or a suggestion for an adaptation to the recipe.

I have had this book in my possesion for a week now and already I have baked from it and made a beautiful dinner.  Both were really simple to make, were very quick to prepare and tasted delicious.  I am really looking forward to working my way through the rest of the recipes and I know that it will become one of my favourite 'go to' books when I am entertaining. 

Catherine Fulvio has suceeded in producing recipes that are accessible and achievable for all.  The book follows on from Catherine's hugely popoular RTE tv series of the same name, a second series 'Catherine's Roman Holiday' will air in September, and I have no doubt that the book will prove equally as popular.  Catherine's Italian Kitchen is published by Gill & Macmillan on August 27th 2010 and is priced at €19.99.  (Psssst, if you follow the little link there you can avail of a very generous 20% discount from Gill & Macmillan)