Is it just me, or does this cake suck?

Black licorice. You either love it, or you hate it. I LOVE the stuff. Can't get enough of it. You can probably imagine the sheer joy I felt when I discovered pastis (and why I have a soft spot in my heart for any country that has taken my favorite candy and turned it into an aperitif).

What does this have to do with cake you ask? Patience my friends.

So as I was saying, I love black licorice. Which is why, roughly 12 years ago, I was excited to come across a cookbook carrying a recipe for Anise Cake. I picked up the book, Cooking Provence: Four Generations of Recipes and Traditions by Antoine Bouterin, on a whim. I think I may still have been dating the delectable Julien from Marseilles at the time and therefore had a fascination for all things Provencal. Anyway, when I spotted the anise cake recipe inside, I knew I immediately had to make it. I popped out to the store, bought the ingredients, rolled up my sleeves, and started baking.

The aroma from the oven was heavenly....a combination of warm vanilla cake and licorice whips. I could barely wait for the cake to cool before I commenced stuffing it into my mouth. Only to just as quickly, with a speed I didn't know I had in me, spit it out onto the floor.

Have you ever wondered what black licorice would taste like if it were piping hot and giving off strong fumes of alcohol mixed with rocket fuel? This, my friends, was it. The flavor was so incredibly medicinal that my eyes continued to water for several minutes after I removed it from my mouth. It was, in a word, nasty.

I then hurried back to the recipe, convinced I'd totally screwed up somehow. Clearly a cake described like this--This easy-to-prepare cake offers the mysterious flavor and aroma of anise, one of our favorite Provencal accents--should not taste like the bottom of a gas can. So I made it again...very, very carefully. But as before, it tasted like absolute shit. Over the next several years, I attempted to bake this cake numerous times....with the same results.

So now I need your help to solve this mystery. Am I missing something? Or is the recipe screwed up? If you have time and are interested in taking on my cake baking challenge, I've included the recipe below. Please let me know if your creation comes out remotely edible (and by that I mean it doesn't bring tears of pain to your eyes and cause your sinuses to unclog).

Anise Cake (Gateau a l'Anis)

3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons pure anise extract
1/3 teaspoon pastis or other anise-flavored liquer

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter and sugar five 4" savarin molds, one 10" savarin mold, or other similar sized molds.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except the pastis, and mix well into a thick, smooth batter. Pour the batter into the molds, filling them halfway. Bake until golden and firm, about 35 minutes. Unmold onto a serving platter and drizzle with the pastis. Serve cold.