I haven’t baked anything in a year. In China, traditionally there are no ovens in the kitchen, so I could never bake anything. In the weeks leading up to my homecoming, I’d given a lot of thought to what I wanted to bake now that I’d finally have access to an oven. I could opt for something I had done before, like a red velvet cake, or try something completely new.

As you can see, I went for something completely different.

I’d never, ever heard of basil being used in a cake recipe. Lemon, basil, and olive oil go splendidly together, but I’ve only ever tried the combination in savory dishes. It all ties together surprisingly well in this recipe. When it was baking, I was afraid I’d inadvertently made “basil bread” instead of a cake! However, the cake is sweet and has a lovely basil flavor, with just the slightest touch of olive oil and lemon.

It’s a pretty damn good “welcome back to baking” cake, if you ask me. It’s flavorful, memorable, and sure as hell unique.

Tags: photos