As an addict of cookbooks, and an owner of many, I was eager to get my hands on the newest Whitewater Cooks with Passion Cookbook, the fourth in the serious. This book is indeed filled with passionate recipes, and just flipping through the pages reignited my own cooking passion. I’ve whipped up many of the easy to follow and extremely tasty recipes.

Shelley Adams, the author, is the owner of Whitewater Ski Resort and the director of the Fresh Tracks Cafe in Nelson. She’s sharing the innovative recipes she’s become known for at the cafe, a collection of multicultural recipes that span from Indonesian Chicken to the all-Canadian Tourtiere with Homemade Ketchup.

From breakfast to dessert the book guides you with  recipes accompanied by gorgeous photos and serving suggestions. You could cook from this book year-round and your family would never have feasted better.

Be sure to try the Tuscan Beef Involtini with Pancetta and Pamigiano. The result was far tastier than the picture reflects!

Breakfast is easy with the Spanish Frittata. Mix up the veggies for endless combinations.

AND you’ll never want to cook with butter again once you’ve tried this olive oil cake! Well maybe not quite, but it’s certainly shows how moist olive oil is to bake with! I can’t wait to dive further into the book. Really need more nights at home!

Luscious Olive Oil Cake

(Whitewater Cooks with Passion, 2014) Serves 8

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1 ¾ cups sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 1/3 cups extra virgin olive oil
1 ¼ cups whole milk
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 ½ tbsp orange zest
¼ cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup Grand Marnier or sherry

Method

Preheat oven to 350F

Prepare a 9 inch springform pan with cooking spray on sides and bottom and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper
Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder together in a mixing bowl
Whisk together the olive oil, milk, eggs, orange zest, orange juice and Grand Marnier in another bowl
Add the dry ingredients to the wet until just combined
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, until the top is golden brown and skewer comes out clean when inserted
Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and let cool for 30 minutes
Run a knife around the edge of the pan, invert the cake onto the rack, remove pan and let cool completely for 2 hours.

Garnish with any type of edible flowers or kumquats and sliced oranges.