Orange Olive Oil Cake

I have made olive oil cakes before and they were quite good, but I can’t say they were memorable.  I think that is why when I came across this recipe from a favorite baker, I decided to give it a try. It was easy to make and I had it in the oven in about 20 minutes. The cake baked up nicely and I put it out to cool and – I think it lasted about an hour. Family members kept coming into the kitchen for “just one more slice”. This Orange Olive Oil Cake is without a doubt, one of the best cakes I have ever made. It is simply spectacular. 

If you have never had the pleasure of tasting an olive oil cake, you are in for a treat. The olive oil makes the cake delightfully moist and is used in Italian baking all the time. I promise you, your cake will not taste like olive oil, it will just taste wonderful.

Orange Olive Oil Cake is a casual snacking cake. Serve it with some afternoon tea or as a simple dessert after a weeknight supper. The sweet citrus really shines through with the addition of fresh orange juice and zest. I spread a little orange marmalade on top for even more flavor.

I tweaked the original recipe just a little, which came from Jim Lahey’s cookbook, Sullivan Street Bakery Cookbook. I have never been to his bakery but would love to have the chance. Everything in his cookbooks looks so darn good. Maybe I should add it my bucket list.

Orange Olive Oil Cake

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Orange Olive Oil Cake

Author Cakewalk Kitchen

Ingredients

• 200 grams of all-purpose flour about 1½ cups*
• 1 teaspoon - baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon - baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon - kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon of table salt
• 1 cup - sugar
• 2 - large eggs
• zest of 2 navel oranges
• 1/4 cup - orange juice use juice from the oranges after you have zested them
• 2/3 cup - whole milk
• 3/4 cup - extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup - orange marmalade - optional

Instructions

Mise en place

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Lightly butter an 8 inch round baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.* Video - Cutting parchment paper for a cake pan.
3. Zest your oranges and put aside. Video - How to zest an orange.
4. Measure out all of your ingredients.

Proceed to baking

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and the salt.
2. In a medium size bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, milk, orange juice, the orange zest and the olive oil.
3. Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl with the flour mixture. Stir until just mixed, scraping down the sides and the bottom with a spatula to make sure you incorporated all of the flour. Do not over mix. There may be some small lumps in the batter. It is fine.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes. The top will be nicely browned and a cake tester will come out with a few moist crumbs.
5. Let cool for only 5 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the pan and then turn the cake out onto a cooling rack.
6. If desired, spread a bit of orange marmalade on the top and serve.

Recipe Notes

• The original recipe gives all of the ingredients in weight form. Professional bakers weigh out everything for accuracy. The only ingredient that I tend to weigh is flour. If you have a kitchen scale, I highly advise using it for flour when the weights are given, because you may get a different amount of flour added to your recipe when using measuring cups. That said, if you do not have a kitchen scale, using the amount stated in the list of ingredients will be close enough.
• What kind of olive oil to use? I just used what was in my cupboard for everyday cooking. You do not need to use an expensive bottle that you may have purchased for drizzling on salads. My everyday brand can vary but I do have the Filippo Berio brand on hand quite a bit.