I hate to be Debbie Downer, but I must share some disheartening news with you about olive oil. The extra-virgin olive oil you find at your local supermarket very likely is not extra-virgin at all. It turns out that the USDA doesn’t even recognize classifications such as “extra-virgin.” As a result, bottlers all over the world can blend olive oil with cheaper vegetable oils and sell it for a premium price as “extra-virgin.” If you care to learn more about the widespread fraud in the olive oil industry read this: Slippery Business, The New Yorker, August 13, 2007.
A recent visit to the Temecula Olive Oil Company’s shop forever changed how I think about olive oil. I learned so many incredible things and recorded them all here. In sum, the company is awesome, their olive oil is delicious, and, as with all foods it seems, it pays to know your grower.
Now, about this recipe. I made this cake — a longtime family favorite — using the TOOC’s citrus extra-virgin oil, and never has it tasted so delicious. I didn’t even use fresh-squeezed orange juice (the horror!). As you can see, I baked this batch in my mini springform pans, but a standard 9-inch springform pan works just as well. This cake puffs up a touch when it bakes, and sinks when it cools. It is moist and delicious, perfect with coffee or tea, and only needs a dusting of powdered sugar to make it fit for consumption.
Note: If you cannot get TOOC extra-virgin olive oil or any other extra-virgin oil you know to be from a credible source, use an olive oil as opposed to an extra-virgin olive oil. I’ve made this cake with e.v.o.o. from the grocery store and the taste is too overpowering. That is not the case, however, with TOOC oil.
Orange and Olive Oil Cake
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 8 to 10
A few notes: This cake sinks way down as it cools. Don’t worry. It will still be one of the most delicious cakes you have ever tasted. It is so moist. Also, this is one of those cakes that seems to get better by the day. Don’t be afraid to make it a day early if serving for company.
Ingredients
- Butter for greasing the pan
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- 1¾ cups sugar
- 2 tsp. grated orange zest
- 2/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (the juice from about 2 oranges)
- 2/3 cup olive oil, such as any made by the Temecula Olive Oil Company,
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Butter a springform pan (or pans) or a 9-inch cake pan. (If using a cake pan, place a round of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan.)
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- With an electric mixer, beat the eggs until blended, then gradually add in the sugar, beating until thick. The mixture will be pale yellow. In a separate bowl, whisk the zest, juice and oil. Add to the egg mixture in thirds alternating with the flour mixture.
- Spread batter into pan and bake for about 50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on rack for 15 minutes.
- Sift confectioners’ sugar over top before cutting and serving.
Did you make a recipe?
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Maria says
Olive oil in cake, never tried it…it looks lovely!!
Ruth says
Your cake looks fantastic and sounds delcious. Your photos are out of this world!
ttfn300 says
holy geez, i’ll take some cake! and those mini springform pans!! so neat 🙂
giz says
I would certainly now like to learn more about the olive oil industry.
Your cakes are beautiful and I love that they’re in small sizes.
eliza says
mmm…mmm…looks very yummy! it’s so disheartening to hear about the oil, but i guess i need to visit TOO next time i visit CA 🙂
Natalie says
This cake was SO good! I used an Australian evoo that I found in my local Harris Teeter called “Njoi”. It was very good, not too overpowering at all. The cake cleared out fast at our election party! 🙂 Ali your recipes are consistently the best! I refer all of my friends to your blog!
Kim says
I have never had an olive oil cake before though have been tempted. Your version with the organge sounds really good. Love your photos and this is on my must make soon list. Thanks!
alexandra's kitchen says
Natalie, that makes me so happy! I am so glad you had success with the olive oil cake!
Sophie says
Hello, Your mini cakes look so appetizing, Alexandra!!! MMMMMMMMMM…
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lynn@queenofthecastlerecipes says
This certainly does look yummy!
Jeanie Sutphin says
Love these recipes!
Christieann says
Thanks! I can’t wait to try the Orange & Olive Oil cake. I bake dairy-free and it’s difficult to find recipes that don’t have other weird ingredients in them in place of the dairy.
alexandracooks says
Christieann — this is one of my all-time favorite cakes. I hope you make it. I am definitely making this for the holidays.
Savannah says
I’ve made this twice now since seeing the recipe through Pinterest. It’s now become maybe my favorite cake ever. Great recipe, thank you! 🙂
alexandracooks says
Savannah! This makes me SO happy. Seriously. It is one of my all-time favorite recipes, too. If you like this recipe, then you have to try this other recipe from the Chez Panisse dessert cookbooks — it’s for an almond torte baked in the same pan, and like the orange and olive oil cake, this one tastes better with each passing day. You also can make it in the food processor. I am hoping to blog about it too. Thanks so much for writing in!
Hina says
Do you think the type of olive oil I use would affect the texture of the cake? Just on principle, I’m kind of against buying over-priced specialty food items such as olive oil.
I will however admit to recently spending a pretty penny on a very small bottle of white vinegar from a local company here in Arizona just especially so I can make Zuni Cafe’s roast chicken and bread salad for my husband’s birthday. =)
alexandracooks says
Hina — you do not have to use expensive olive oil for this cake. In fact, if you have olive oil on hand versus extra-virgin olive oil on hand, that might be preferable because some extra-virgin olive oils have a really strong taste. I rarely use the TOOC oils for this cake, though I would say that those bottles are worth the cost — all of the olives are hand picked, and the oils are hand-pressed, and they never heat the oils to extract flavors, and I could go on and on. I do in fact use extra-virgin bc that’s all I have on hand. California Ranch is a great brand found at most grocery stores and is reasonably priced. Hope that helps!
Hina says
**white balsamic vinegar
Wendy says
I made this delicious cake on Monday and my family of 4 polished it off earlier today. I used half (1/3 cup) fresh juice and half (1/3 cup) Gran Torres orange liqueur. Amazing! (I’m also a big fan of Teddy’s Apple Cake. I make it regularly for the Thanksgiving sweets table.) Many thanks and happy holidays.
alexandracooks says
Wendy — I am so happy to hear this because this is truly one of my favorites and one of my family’s favorites. We were up in CT for the holidays, and my mother had made one of these cakes just to have around — the children devoured it, and we tucked in when we were able to. I wish more people would try it. I love Teddy’s Apple Cake as well. Definitely another favorite!
Milda says
Thank you for this recipe! I made it on a weekend, because we wanted to take it to a party. But guess what, we ate 1/3 of it alone and decided that it’s to good to take it to the party 🙂
Im very happy that i found this recipe, because it was already a long time, that a recipe would turn out so wonderfully. Will definetly try other cake recipes.
alexandracooks says
Milda — I love it. So happy to hear this. I know, somethings are just too good to share 🙂
Dylan Maclean says
Hi Alexandra. I’ve written before regarding your post for torta caprese, which I thought was a very good recipe 🙂 With this cake, have you ever experimented with adding vanilla extract or almond extract?
alexandracooks says
Hi Dylan! Nice to hear from you. I think either vanilla or almond extract would complement the orange flavor really nicely. I haven’t tried adding either, but I don’t see how it could hurt. Almond sounds particularly good to me, because I think orange and almond are a particularly nice match, but I would just be careful about adding too much. I find the eighth teaspoon of almond extract in the almond torte recipe, to be too much, so I never add it anymore. Obviously you know to be careful when adding extracts, and you know your taste preferences, too, so extract away!
Dylan Maclean says
I opted for the vanilla and got a nice creamsicle effect. This is a really great cake. Definitely worth the considerable amount of self esteem it cost me after eating half of it in one sitting.
alexandracooks says
Dylan, haha, I love it…why do we do this to ourselves? So glad you like the cake. I’ll have to try a splash of vanilla next time. I love a creamsicle.
Kim says
I have a question: I’m thinking of making the smaller cakes – the 4″…how long would you cook those for? The recipe is for 50 minutes. Thanks!
alexandracooks says
I would start checking them after 35 minutes, and then check them every five minutes after that. Gently tap the top with your finger or test with a toothpick — it’s pretty accurate with this cake. Let me know how it turns out. This is one of my favorites!
Cherie says
I made this cake today for my 20th Anniversary and it was amazing! I actually made it in 2 6″ springform pans, so I could give one to my grandfather. I don’t think he’ll be getting any, as I feel it will all be gone by the morning. Thank you so much for this recipe.
alexandra says
So happy to hear this Cherie! It is one of my favorites. So moist, always a crowd pleaser. Thinking about making a gluten-free version for a baby shower I am throwing this weekend…hate to change the recipe, but it’s such a good one! THanks for writing in.
Molly says
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I made it for the third time today. Still as good as ever. I tried it with an orange glaze, which someone suggested last time I made it, and it was an okay addition but unnecessarily sweet. This cake is delicious just the way it is.
alexandra says
Woonderful to hear this Molly! I find this cake to be moist and delicious as is as well. Glad you’ve confirmed 🙂
Teresa says
A couple of years back on a trip to California, I paid a visit to TOOC! It was the happiest place on earth. I enjoyed sampling different flavors of olive oil and wanted to purchase everything in the store! It’s a must see in Temecula! This recipe sounds fantastic!
alexandra says
Isn’t that place amazing? And the oils! Oh the oil. They are the best. This is one of my absolute favorite cakes. Hope you try it soon!
Ladye M. says
I have fallen head-long in love with this recipe. And was hoping you might hold my hand in converting it to Gluten-Free….
Your recipe’s are sumptuous.
I used a Mandarin Olive Oil from Fresh Harvest in Eureka Springs, AR.
https://www.freshharvest.co
alexandra says
So happy to hear this! It is one of my all-time favorites as well. As for gluten-free, I have had good success using the King Arthur Flour gluten-free flour mix and C4C. Have you used either of these in your baking? I think this cake would do very well as gluten free.
Ladye M says
Whilst I have heard SO many wonderful things about King Arthur’s Gluten-Free Flour Mix
I, myself, have not had the pleasure. Mainly, because I live in a wee resort town and quality products are ordered predominantly online.
At present I am replacing 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour with 3/4 cup (120g) sweet rice flour and 1 tsp of xanthan gum or finely milled brown rice flour. I have used almond flour, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, and all the popular players that comprise the all-purpose gluten-free options.
Karen Morgan’s blends are AMAZING!
http://www.black-bird-bakery.com
And Bob’s Red Mill is easy to gather when we take trips into the big city.
For me, thee experimentation has been a costly adventure and it is the conversions that I am always having to step into lightly so as to not create waste.
Thank you for sharing your unrivaled creations, your baking truths and folly, and so much of YOU!
alexandra says
Oh Ladye M, thank you, you are too kind! Yes, all of this experimentation does get costly. If you are up for making blends, I really like the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day gluten free blend: https://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2014/04/30/gfmix
I haven’t tried it with this recipe yet, but I have with bread, and I like it. Thank you for sharing the link to Karen Morgan’s blend. So great to learn these things!
Tori says
Hello! About to make this but I have no oranges for zest (I do have OJ though) Should I just omit the zest, maybe use lemon instead…?
alexandra says
Lemon zest would be fine! Or omitting altogether — you can’t go wrong. Excited for you to make this — love this one!
Lindsay Westley says
I didn’t think the torta caprese or Lil’ Lindis’ almond cake could ever be de-throned…but this is magnificent! Had to stray from those two favorites for Soup Swap last week, as we have two new moms who can’t do diary right now. You’re right – even better the next day. DJ was quite dismayed there was only a teeeny-tiny slice left over – so I just made another one. Second in four days… 🙂 xox (However, I also got begged to never stop making the almond cake, so I guess it’s not ENTIRELY dethroned…)
alexandra says
Linds! I was admiring your soup swap on Instagram last week — such a great idea!! I want to organize something like that here … maybe with bread involved 🙂
I think the orange and olive oil cake is actually my favorite of the three you mentioned, but I do love all of them, and so I’m glad to hear that Lil’ Lindis’ almond cake was not ENTIRELY dethroned. So happy you’re a fan of this one, too. Hope you are well!! xoxo
tamara says
Looks scrumptious! I was wondering if you could clarify dry/liquid ratios when you said “using the TOOC’s citrus extra-virgin oil, …… I didn’t even use fresh-squeezed orange juice ” Did it work simply omitting the OJ or did you also cut back on the flour? Secondly, I need to make this for a wedding shower but am out of town the 3 days prior – I know you said the flavour improves with each day but would 4 days prior be too long – or best to freeze? Thank you!
Jo says
Hi, I made this years ago and really liked it. Just tried making it again. It sank way down when it was in the oven. Did I do something wrong?
alexandra says
Hi Jo,
Mine always sinks as well, but it sinks when it comes out after the oven. I think the cake sinks because it’s a relatively small amount of flour for the amount of liquid. I imagine if the flour quantity were increased to 2 cups, there wouldn’t be the sinking issues during or post baking. Hope that helps! Was the cake ruined? As in raw when you cut into it?