When I visited Italy this past summer, I stayed with my darling friend Mariangela. Mari cooks like the free spirit she is. No recipes. No rules. Her style is beautifully Italian. Some fresh produce from the fruttivendolo down the street, a few generous glugs of EVOO liquid gold from her hometown in Calabria, and magic just happens. I learned on this last stay that Mari apparently bakes in a similar fashion.

On a weekly, sometimes twice-weekly basis, Mari would whip together a simple breakfast cake, “Because mornings are so much easier when there’s cake,” she’d say. I know, don’t you just love her? This cake is super easy, the kind of cake you can throw together without any fuss. All it takes is flour, sugar, eggs, olive oil, yogurt, vanilla, baking powder, salt, and ripe fruit. Mari mostly made a banana version, but while I was there we experimented with using some divinely sweet and juicy peaches — highly recommended. I need to do some more testing, but I suspect berries would also work well in this versatile cake.