Orange Olive Oil Cake
This orange olive oil cake is moist, bouncy, and delicious thanks to fresh orange zest and juice! It's simple to make and can be decorated any way you want—I decided to go with a light dusting of powdered sugar, sliced oranges, and drawn on oranges using melted chocolates.
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 466kcal
Equipment
- Kitchen scale or measuring cups
- 9-inch cake pan at least 2 inches deep, otherwise the cake will overflow!
- Parchment Paper
- medium mixing bowl for dry ingredients
- large mixing bowl for cake batter
- hand whisk
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons fine sea salt or table salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Wet Ingredients:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons orange zest from 2 small oranges
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla paste or extract
- 1 ¼ cups extra-virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup orange juice boxed or from 1-2 small oranges
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk
For decorating:
- powdered sugar
- candy melts orange and green; can also dye white chocolate with oil-based food coloring
- orange slices
Instructions
Make the orange olive oil cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C. Spray a 9-inch cake pan (at least 2 inches deep) with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 ¼ teaspoons fine sea salt, ½ teaspoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon baking soda.
- In a large bowl, massage 2 cups granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons orange zest until fragrant. Add ¼ cup of this mixture to coat the bottom and sides of cake pan.
- To the remaining orange-infused sugar, whisk in 3 large eggs until smooth.
- Add 1 tablespoon vanilla and half of the olive oil. Mix until smooth, then whisk in the remaining oil. Whisk in ⅓ cup orange juice.
- Now, you will alternate between the dry ingredients and milk. Make sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl!: Sift and mix in a third of the dry ingredients. Whisk in half of the whole milk. Sift and mix in another third of the dries, then mix in remaining milk. Sift in the last of the dry ingredients. The mixture should be smooth and clump-free.(Tip: If the batter is clumpy, try to break any clumps against the bowl with a silicone spatula. You can also try passing the batter through the sifter, right into your cake pan.)
- Transfer batter to cake pan and bake for 60 minutes, or until cake is a deep golden brown, center is firm to the touch, and cake tester comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then flip out onto wire rack to fully cool. The outer orange sugar layer will be wet, but will crystallize & harden as it cools.
Decorate (optional):
- Sift powdered sugar on top.
- Melt candy melts in microwave, then transfer to piping bags. Draw on oranges or design of choice.
- Garnish with orange slices. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Baking Tip:
- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
- Room temperature: Store cooled olive oil cake at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing instructions: Store cooled cake for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 466kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 325mg | Potassium: 77mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 57IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1mg
