Orange Olive Oil Cake
I am usually not a big fan of orange cakes but this orange olive oil cake really changed my mind. The batter is absolutely delicious and yes - it does have the taste of olive oil which I loved! The top part is crunchy yet soft and gives the cake an extra layer of taste. I have to admit I failed at my first 2 attempts when making this cake: once because I cut the orange slices too thinly and they broke during caramelisation while the second time I added too much orange juice and the cake was not firm enough.
This is the perfect cake not only for orange lovers but also for those who like me are usually not super into orange desserts.
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Ingredients for oranges:
Granulated Sugar - 200 g (1 cup)
Water 240 mL (1 cup)
Cinnamon Sticks - 3
Blood Oranges - 2
Ingredients for the cake:
Granulated Sugar - 130 g (2/3 cup)
All-Purpose Flour - 100 g (3/4 cup)
Eggs - 2
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil - 80 mL (1/3 cup)
Ground Cinnamon - 1/2 teaspoon
Orange Juice (freshly squeezed) - 3 Tbs
Baking Powder - 10 g
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
Preparation:
We start preparing the Orange Olive Oil cake by preparing the oranges. Wash the oranges well as we will be eating the peel then cut them into thin slices (not too thin as they might break while we cook them).
Place the sugar (200 g) and the water (240 mL) as well as the cinnamon sticks in a pan and bring to boil. Leave to boil for about a minute and turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the oranges and leave them in for 20 minutes at medium-low heat.
In the meantime you can prepare your cake. Place the sugar (130 g) as well as the eggs and salt in a bowl and mix everything together for at least 3 minutes. You should get a fluffy mixture.
Start pre-heating your oven to 180°C (350 F).
At this point we will keep mixing by hand with a spatula - add the olive oil and mix, then add the orange juice and keep mixing. Add the ground cinnamon and keep mixing making sure the mixture is homogenous.
Now is the time to add the baking powder and flour into the mixture. Keep mixing with the spatula until everything is well incorporated.
Take your orange slices and put them on a plate in order to remove some of the excess liquid from the caramelisation.
Take a cake mould and line it with parchment paper - now take your orange slices and line the bottom of the cake with them. Make sure you have no spaces and holes (the batter will go through them and ruin the beauty of your cake if you do). You may stack one orange on top of the other to fill in holes).
Now pour the batter into the mould. Place the mould in the pre-heated oven and bake for 45 minutes. Make sure you check on your cake after 35 minutes (poke it with a toothpick to see if it’s still really wet). Only take your cake out when the toothpick comes out dry.
Once the cake is baked, remove it from the fridge, leave to cool for 10 minutes and then with the help of a plate turn it up-side down, remove the parchment paper and voilà - it’s ready to be served.