Orange Olive Oil Cake

I recently enjoyed an al fresco dinner at a friend of a friends NYC rooftop. We had a light and fresh shrimp dish in a tomato sauce alongside a fennel radicchio salad which I may just have to recreate soon. But the highlight of dinner was the lavender olive oil cake and between four women we devoured it. All of it gone, finito. It was so good we couldn’t keep our hands off it. So when I had my boyfriend and his parents over for dinner last week I knew this would be a hit. 

Since I was making a pesto pasta and grilled shrimp, I figured I’d stick to the Italian theme and use citrus in the cake. Never a bad idea. So easy to make, this is the summer dessert to serve when you’re entertaining guests. You’ll love it because it’s a breeze to make, your guests will be raving about it, and if you have leftovers (which you may not), a slice of this cake with a dollop of coconut cream and a cup of coffee will be a heavenly way to start your day the next morning. Golden brown on the outside, moist yet crumbly on the inside with richness from the extra virgin olive oil and zest from the orange. This cake is the best of both worlds — light and decadent at the same time, just like a midsummer’s day.

Adapted from Maialino’s recipe, I used less olive oil, swapped whole milk for oat milk and nixed the Grand Marnier. 

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/4 cups oat milk (I used Califia’s Barista Blend)

3 eggs

1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange zest

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. Oil a round cake pan then line the bottom with parchment paper. Cake pan should be at least 2” deep. 

3. In a medium sized bowl, whist the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and powder. 

4. In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil, oat milk, eggs, orange zest and juice. 

5. Little by little, add the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until combined. 

6. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 1 hour or until the top is golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. 

7. Let cool for 1-2 hours. 

8. Enjoy with whipped coconut cream and fresh berries. Enjoy!