“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke
This simple recipe for Olive Oil and Orange Cake celebrates the turning of the season. While it still feels a lot like winter most days, the buds on the trees have opened, a few sprigs of flowers have emerged next to mounds of melting snow, and the birds that left in late autumn have returned with their old familiar songs.
Let’s bake a cake that is much like the end of March, a little bit sweet, a little bit savory.In this easy recipe we will utilize what is left of winter’s oranges (including the zest), and incorporate the fruity and savory undertones of quality extra-virgin olive oil.
I prefer the red-fleshed Cara Cara oranges for less tang and more sweet. When the cake is still quite warm, I brush the top with local wildflower honey allowing it to seep into the cake while it continues to cool completely. This creates a delectably sticky, and subtly sweet crust.
If you’ve never had an olive oil cake, this recipe is not what you’re going to expect. The outside tastes like warm honey, and the silky, pudding-like crumb, is hinted gently with citrus and notes of cardamom. This is not just a dessert recipe, either. Serve for breakfast or alongside a meat and cheese charcuterie to offer your guests (and yourself) a little salty and a little sweet.
Farewell winter, until next year…
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Equipment
- 1 Stand mixer or handheld electric mixer and bowl
Ingredients
- zest from 1 ½ Cara Cara oranges or other similar variety
- 3/4 cup juice from fresh squeezed Cara Cara oranges from about 3-4 oranges
- 1 ¾ cups flour, spooned and leveled all-purpose, unbleached
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp cardamom ground
- 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 ¼ cups sugar granulated
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- honey for brushing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan with baking spray or grease with butter and lightly coat with flour, shaking off the excess. Set aside.
- Wrap the bottom of the pan with foil to catch any drips. Press tightly to smooth.
- Press and roll the oranges beneath your palm on a hard surface to help break up the membranes and release more juice. Zest 1 ½ oranges, set zest aside. Squeeze oranges to yield 3/4 cups of juice. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt and cardamom. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the three eggs and beat on medium until well combined, about 1 minute.
- Add the sugar to the eggs and beat on medium-high until well combined and pale yellow, about 1 minute.
- On low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and olive oil, mixing until just combined after each addition (Note - be sure to begin and end with flour. A proper emulsion will create the perfect light texture).
- Add the zest and orange juice and mix on low to combine (Note that it might be helpful to get it going by hand first as the mixture is lightly to splash in the beginning).
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with only a scant amount of crumb.
- Allow the cake to cool for 5-10 minutes before brushing honey in a thin and even layer over the top (brushing while the cake is still quite warm is helpful for spreading the honey evenly).*Remove the springform ring. Set the cake on a cooling rack.
- Allow the cake to cool before serving. Cake is even better when served the following day. Store in an airtight cake pan with a locked lid (if you can wait that long!).
Notes
© chasingtheseasons. All images & content are copyright and trademark protected. Please do not use my photography without prior written permission. If you would like to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or kindly link back to this post for the recipe.
