Yocheved's Gevaldig Chocolate Cake

This recipe was originally posted to the Yahoo Israel-food list, as a result of a discussion about baking cakes with olive oil. I have posted it here with Yocheved's permission. According to Yocheved, this cake is full of rich, deeply chocolate flavor, and you'd never guess it's the olive oil that gives this cake such moistness and character. BTW, it's also dairy-free.

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Serves: 16

Ingredients

•  olive oil, and
•  flour, for the pan
• 1 1⁄4 ounces  Dutch-processed cocoa powder (1/2 cup)
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  almond extract
• 4 1⁄2 ounces flour (1 cup)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3  large eggs, plus
• 1  egg yolk, at room temperature
• 2⁄3 cup olive oil
• 1 1⁄3 cups sugar
• 1⁄4 cup confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven.
2. Heat the oven to 325 degrees F.
3. Generously oil an 8 x 2 inch round cake pan (or an 8 1/2 inch springform pan) with olive oil and line the bottom of the pan with parchment or waxed paper.
4. Oil the paper and dust it lightly with flour.
5. In a small saucepan, boil about 1/2 cup of water.
6. Meanwhile, sift the cocoa powder through a strainer over a small bowl.
7. Stir 6 tablespoons of the boiling water into the cocoa until it's smooth and glossy (if the mixture is very thick, you can add as much as 2 tablespoons more boiling water).
8. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts.
9. Set aside to cool slightly.
10. In another small bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.
11. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs and yolk, olive oil, and sugar.
12. Using the whisk attachment, beat on medium-high speed until thick, lemon colored, and creamy- about 2- 3 minutes- scraping down the sides of the bowl.
13. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the warm (not hot) cocoa mixture until it's well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl once.
14. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
15. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake in the center of the oven until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it but with no wet batter, about 55-60 minutes.
16. Put the pan on a rack and carefully run a paring knife around the inside edge to release the cake.
17. Let cool for 10 minutes.
18. Using a second rack to sandwich the cake pan, flip the pan over.
19. Carefully lift the pan from the cake, gently peel off and dicard the paper liner, and let the cake cool completely.
20. Before serving, dust the top of the cake with confectioner's sugar.