Olive Oil Bundt Cake

Doesn't "bundt" seem like it should always be followed by an exclamation point? Bundt! cake. It's cake; you should be excited. Anyway, here's another experiment with olive oil as the lipid. It's a pretty basic recipe I found at Food & Wine. A little too basic in my opinion. The flavor was a little flat with just the orange zest. It needed some spice or herb flavoring to it...

 Rosemary would be nice (is anyone surprised I think that?). While I was eating it I thought to myself "this is what the rosemary cornmeal cake should have tasted like." It was also a little chewy for a cake, but I guess it is a bundt! cake. I would add a tablespoon of orange juice to it next time, as well as maybe a teaspoon of vanilla and a bit of rosemary or thyme, maybe mace? Maybe even a little chili powder, just enough to let you know it's there. Dark or spiced rum would also play well here. It's a good base from which to experiment with. This also cried out for some lightly whipped cream or a creme anglaise, but I wasn't in the mood to deal with that.

Also, should anyone want to try it, reduce the baking time to about 28min for cupcakes, or, as I have done, mini bundt! cakes. It makes about 10 cupcakes, only fill the cups up halfway. Seriously though, someone try these and experiment with them. This is more fun with friends/competition.

Despite the lackluster flavoring with this cake, I'm still sold on olive oil as a butter substitute. It adds a very subtle flavor that makes things taste not so overtly dessertish and makes it a seem a little more adult.