Almond and olive oil cake

Break the whole eggs one by one into the mixing bowl.

Add the sugar and start mixing immediately; sugar sitting on the yolk makes crystals that will not dissolve later.

Beat on a medium speed until the colour turns pale and whitish and the sugar has dissolved. By hand with five eggs this takes time.

Add the flour and mix about twenty seconds more.

Butter the cake tin, line the bottom with parchment paper and stick the paper down with the butter, or the cake is tricky to get out.

Scrape round with a spatula so no flour is left on the side and mix well, to a liquid ribbon consistency.

Pour the batter into the tin; the air bubbles from the whisking give the cake its lightness.

Bake in a preheated oven at 160C for 40 to 45 minutes; a gentle temperature gives less colour and burns nothing.

Variation: bake hotter for a faster bake and darker edges, and cover with foil if the top browns too much.

Test at 40 minutes with a knife pushed all the way down: sticky batter on the blade means it is not ready, a little moisture is fine.

Leave it to cool a little in the mould, turn it out onto a cake holder and remove the paper.