A rich, moist and gently fruity chocolate cake made with extra virgin olive oil and pomegranate molasses.  It’ll have you wondering why you’ve never tried the combination before. Perhaps because the right extra virgin olive oil hadn’t come along? Or the pomegranate molasses in your kitchen cupboard was too sweet? Paired with chocolate, these two stellar ingredients create an easy to make, heavenly dessert to celebrate an evening with loved ones

With friends for dinner who were gluten and lactose intolerant, we adapted a chocolate and olive oil cake recipe by Nigella Lawson. Instead of the vanilla essence, we wanted something fruitier, so added Zejd’s pomegranate molasses and sumac. We’ve been inspired by The Chocolate Tart, who has lead the way in pairing this tangy molasses with dark chocolate. As the recipe uses cocoa powder and hot water, this mixture blends easily with the tart molasses. Zejd’s EVOO isn’t as assertive as some Greek EVOOs, so the mixture is pleasantly fruity rather than raspingly so. Made with ground almonds, the resulting cake is moist with plenty of texture. Not a sweet cake, nor is it as rich as it looks. Just delicious in a very unassuming way.  

In April, we served the cake with a bowl of crisp, jewel-like pomegranate seeds. Not only do they go perfectly with the dense chocolate cake, but they are a reminder of the story of Persephone. The three pomegranate seeds she ate while in the underworld, result in months where little grows, according to the Greek myth. Once summer is underway, and Demeter, Goddess of agriculture, has waved her wand, raspberries or Japanese wineberries (if you grow them) would be wonderful alongside.