Orange & Rosemary Olive Oil Cake
“Travelling – it leaves you speechless and then turns you into a storyteller” – Ibn Battuta
Summer time = travel time! My social media news feeds are inundated with pictures and posts of friends and family vacationing in exciting destinations all over the world. As someone with a deep wanderlust, it’s been rather disheartening not being able to take the usual 1-2 exciting summer getaways this year. The relocation as wonderful as it’s been has been a real spoke in the wheel of potential travel plans.
Until, I can take my next vacation I try to placate my travel bug by reliving the wonderful memories of past holidays. I spend hours looking over pictures of our past vacations and when that’s not enough it’s time to cook up treats we devoured along the way.
This Orange & Rosemary Olive Oil Cake was the outcome of revisiting pictures from the short time we spent in Italy a few years ago. I vividly recall the beauty of the region and the wonderful food we enjoyed. I specifically remember indulging in a divine olive oil cake at a small café in Florence. I remember it being moist on the inside and slightly crunchy on the outside. The cake was fragrant from fresh herbs, and flecked with dried orange peels. That (culinary) life-changing day my palate was exposed to two novel ingredient choices – rosemary being used in a dessert and fragrant extra virgin olive oil replacing butter in a cake.
Since a holiday in Italy is currently a far cry, I decided to master baking a lip-smacking olive oil cake. I tried a few different recipes I found online and finally stumbled upon an Olive Oil Cake recipe from Food Network’s – Michael Chiarello. My Orange & Rosemary Olive Oil Cake recipe deviates very slightly from the original masterpiece. My version has a reduced fat and sugar content (since we aren’t really on vacation) while retaining the vibrant flavors and moist texture of the original recipe.
If an Italian vacation is something you desire but cannot indulge in right now spend a few minutes with easily accessible ingredients to bring home some fresh and bright Italian flavors with this cake!
Orange & Rosemary Olive Oil Cake
Recipe adapted from Michael Chiarello’s: Olive Oil Cake
Time: Active: 20 minutes Inactive: 45-50 minutes baking time
Yield: 2 – 9 inch cakes
Recipe adapted from Michael Chiarello’s: Olive Oil Cake
Time: Active: 20 minutes Inactive: 45-50 minutes baking time
Yield: 2 – 9 inch cakes
Ingredients:
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
½ teaspoon table salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 ¼ cups 2% milk or whole milk (See note)
1 ¾ cups fine granulated or powdered white sugar
¼ cup orange liqueur or brandy
1 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling pans
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 teaspoons anise seed, crushed into a coarse powder
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
3-4 tablespoons of orange marmalade (See note)
2 fresh rosemary sprigs, for garnish (Optional)
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
½ teaspoon table salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 ¼ cups 2% milk or whole milk (See note)
1 ¾ cups fine granulated or powdered white sugar
¼ cup orange liqueur or brandy
1 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling pans
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 teaspoons anise seed, crushed into a coarse powder
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
3-4 tablespoons of orange marmalade (See note)
2 fresh rosemary sprigs, for garnish (Optional)
Notes:
- I have actually made this cake before with 1% milk and it tastes and feels the same. So feel free to reduce the fat content by using 1% milk.
- The batter is runnier than a classic cake batter, but it bakes up perfectly well.
- I like the cake with both the marmalade glaze and without. If you are looking to reduce the sugar content feel free to leave out the marmalade glaze. Ideally I glaze one cake and leave the other unglazed so people can chose which one they want to eat. I use a bitter-sweet orange marmalade.
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans.
2. In a small nonreactive saucepan, reduce the orange juice over medium heat to ½ cup. Add salt, stir, set aside to cool completely.
3. In a small mixing bowl stir together the flour, baking powder and baking soda and set aside.
4. Using a handheld or stand electric mixer beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl on high for 1 minute. Add the milk, sugar, liqueur/brandy, reduced orange juice, olive oil, orange zest, anise seeds and chopped rosemary. Mix for 1 minute until well blended. Mix in the flour mixture on low until well blended and smooth.
5. Pour half of the mixture into each oiled cake pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. The cake gets a nice golden brown color and the sides are slightly crispy.
6. Cool the cakes for 5 minutes in the tray and then run a knife around the edges and place it on a serving plate. If using the orange marmalade spread it evenly across the cakes while they are still warm. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary. Cool for another 5-10 minutes and then cut the cake into wedges to serve.
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans.
2. In a small nonreactive saucepan, reduce the orange juice over medium heat to ½ cup. Add salt, stir, set aside to cool completely.
3. In a small mixing bowl stir together the flour, baking powder and baking soda and set aside.
4. Using a handheld or stand electric mixer beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl on high for 1 minute. Add the milk, sugar, liqueur/brandy, reduced orange juice, olive oil, orange zest, anise seeds and chopped rosemary. Mix for 1 minute until well blended. Mix in the flour mixture on low until well blended and smooth.
5. Pour half of the mixture into each oiled cake pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. The cake gets a nice golden brown color and the sides are slightly crispy.
6. Cool the cakes for 5 minutes in the tray and then run a knife around the edges and place it on a serving plate. If using the orange marmalade spread it evenly across the cakes while they are still warm. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary. Cool for another 5-10 minutes and then cut the cake into wedges to serve.
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