Olive Oil Cake

This light-textured sponge cake is not too rich, yet full of flavor. Serve it with fresh or cooked fruit. On Rosh Hashanah I served it with oven-poached figs and a small scoop of home-made honey ice cream.

It would be perfect for breaking the fast after Yom Kippur.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar, divided

4 eggs, separated

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 cup fresh orange or tangerine juice or half juice and half citrus liqueur

Grated zest of one lemon, orange or tangerine, preferably organic

Method:

Line the bottom of a 10" (25 cm) spring form pan with parchment paper. Spray the bottom and sides with non-stick cooking spray.

Preheat the oven to 325 F (165 C)

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until foamy. Gradually add in ¼ cup of the sugar and continue beating until soft peaks are formed. Transfer the whites to a clean bowl and set aside.

In the same bowl of the electric mixer (no need to wash the bowl), beat the remaining ¾ cup of sugar with the egg yolks on high speed until they're thick and pale. Reduce the speed of the mixer and add in the olive oil, juice and zest. Stop the mixer, add the dry ingredients and mix together gently. The batter will be thick.

Gently and gradually fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture, until they're thoroughly incorporated. Turn the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool the cake on a rack for 15 minutes and then remove the sides of the pan to cool completely.

Serves 12