Olive Oil Couscous Cake With Crème Fraîche And Date Syrup Recipes

OLIVE OIL COUSCOUS CAKE WITH CRèME FRAîCHE AND DATE SYRUP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Brush 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 3-inch-high sides with olive oil. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper round; brush parchment with olive oil. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Stir in couscous. Whisk olive oil and Muscat in another medium bowl to blend.
• Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg yolks, eggs, and 1 cup sugar on high speed in large bowl until thick and pale yellow, about 7 minutes. Transfer to large wide bowl. Stir in orange peel. Using rubber spatula, gently fold in flour mixture alternately with olive oil mixture in 4 additions each (mixture may deflate slightly). Transfer batter to prepared pan. Tap pan lightly on work surface to eliminate any air bubbles.
• Bake cake until dark brown and beginning to pull away from sides of pan and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Transfer cake to rack and cool in pan at least 30 minutes. Turn cake out onto platter (cake may fall slightly in center). Do ahead Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool. Cover with foil and store at room temperature.
• Using electric mixer, beat cream and créme fraîche in large bowl until soft peaks form.
• Cut cake into wedges. Place 1 cake wedge on each plate. Drizzle date syrup over. Spoon whipped cream alongside. Sprinkle dates over.

ORANGE OLIVE OIL CAKE

Steps:

• Bring a pan of water to the boil. Lower the orange in and cover with a lid, leaving a gap so that a little steam can still escape. Boil gently for 30 mins, then remove from the water and allow to cool slightly. Quarter the orange and remove any pips, then transfer to a blender or food processor, add the lemon juice and zest and blitz to a smooth purée.
• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Oil the sides of a 23cm round cake tin and line the bottom of the tin with baking parchment.
• Sieve the almonds, polenta, baking powder and ½ tsp salt into a large bowl and mix together thoroughly. Whisk the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until really pale and fluffy, about 4 mins. With the mixer still whisking, slowly pour in the olive oil in a steady stream so that the mixture doesn't split. Once incorporated, scrape in the orange purée and whisk to combine, then add the dry ingredients, combining until you have a smooth batter. Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 55 mins to 1 hr 5 mins until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
• Cool in the tin on a wire rack while you make the syrup. Combine the sugar, orange juice, lemon juice, cardamom and 30ml water in a pan. Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, then add the rosemary. Turn off the heat and infuse for at least 30 mins.
• Use a skewer to poke holes in the top of the cake, then pour over the syrup. Allow to settle for 5 mins or so, then slice and serve with some natural yogurt or crème fraîche, if you like.

DATE AND OLIVE COUSCOUS WITH GARLIC SHRIMP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-hight. Sauté onions until golden, about 10 minutes. Add zucchini, garlic, chili flakes, and ginger and continue to cook until zucchini is tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in cumin, dates, and olives and warm through.
• Add warm vegetable mixture to prepared couscous, stir in cilantro, mint, lemon juice and zest. Stir to combine and season with salt to taste.
• Heat oil in medium frying pan over medium-high.Add garlic and chili flakes, stirring until garlic is fragrant and light golden. Do not let it brown.
• Add shrimp and sauté until all the shrimp have tust turned pink and are cooked through, about 8 minutes. Season to taste. Top couscous with shrimp, drizzle with olive oil and an additional sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
• I took a shortcut, using pre-cooked shrimp and throwing them in with the onions in the first recipe (with some extra garlic). I don't see why this recipe should be two seperate steps.

OLIVE OIL CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 10-in. fluted tube pan. In a large bowl, beat eggs on high speed 3 minutes. Gradually add sugar, beating until thick and lemon-colored. Gradually beat in oil. Beat in ground almonds, milk, orange zest and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; fold into egg mixture. Transfer batter to prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. For icing, in a small bowl, whisk confectioners' sugar and enough orange juice to reach a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cake. If desired, sprinkle with almonds.