This Orange Olive Oil Cake is ultra moist, covered in orange glaze, and just sweet enough. The perfect sidecar for your afternoon tea or coffee!
I fell in love with this orange olive oil cake from the moment I first made it. It’s so, so moist, with the perfect crumb and a ridiculous amount of orange flavor. You could sub in just about any citrus here and I’m certain it would be just as delicious, although I haven’t tried any but orange yet. I can only imagine how good it would be with twangy pink grapefruit.
If you’re not sold on olive oil in sweets, please trust. The delicate, herbal, lightly grassy flavor of good olive oil pairs perfectly with bright, puckery citrus. It doesn’t taste olive-y, just light and fresh — exactly what we all need in the shivery winter months when citrus is abundant.
I don’t often stress ingredient quality here and encourage you to use what you can afford, but this cake really is best with high-quality olive oil. I’ve made it with the cheapest olive oil I could find, and the flavor simply wasn’t as good. So, if you’re able, buy the best olive oil you can afford, and I guarantee it will make this cake better. Save the cheap stuff for general cooking, where the flavor of the oil doesn’t take center stage.
You may enjoy this cake at any time of day, but I highly recommend cutting a large slice around 2 or 3 p.m. to savor with your afternoon coffee or tea. It’s the perfect midday pick-me-up to inject some sunshine into gray winter days.
More simple sweets:
Healthyish Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies
Easy Jam Thumbprint Cookies
One-Bowl Chocolate Fudge Cake
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to share a photo on Instagram and tag me @emily.eats.things!
Orange Olive Oil Cake
This Orange Olive Oil Cake is ultra moist, covered in orange glaze, and just sweet enough. The perfect sidecar for your afternoon tea or coffee!
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups cake flour*
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- Scant cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons orange zest
- ¾ cup high-quality extra virgin olive oil
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325° F. Generously coat a bundt pan with an even layer of olive oil, then sprinkle in a couple tablespoons of sugar. Shake the pan around over the sink until the inside is completely coated with sugar. Set the pan aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, and cardamom. Set aside.
- Place sugar and orange zest in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Using your fingers, rub together the sugar and zest until evenly incorporated. This activates the essential oils in the zest, adding even more fragrance and citrus flavor. The sugar should be tinted the same color as the zest when you’re finished.
- Pour the olive oil into the sugar mixture. Beat on medium speed for 3-5 minutes, or until the sugar has started to dissolve into the oil.
- Beat in eggs one at a time until just incorporated, being careful not to over-mix. Finally, beat in orange juice and vanilla extract.
- Add about a third of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix on medium-low speed until just combined. Add half of the Greek yogurt and beat until just combined. Repeat this process until all the dry ingredients and yogurt have been added.
- Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula to incorporate any dry ingredients left around the sides. Pour into the greased and sugared bundt pan and smooth the top with the spatula.
- Bake in the top half of the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove cake from pan and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once the cake is cooled, make the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons orange juice in a small bowl. Pour the glaze over the cake, then slice and enjoy!
Notes
- No cake flour? Make your own with cornstarch and all-purpose flour! Just add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into a 1-cup measuring cup, then top off the cup with all-purpose flour.
- To measure a scant cup of sugar, measure a full cup and then scoop a couple tablespoons off the top.
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