Name: Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 4 large eggs, room temperature; 1 cup white sugar; 1/2 cup olive oil; 1/2 cup blood orange juice (freshly squeezed)*; Zest of 2 blood oranges; 1 1/4 cup white, all-purpose flour; 2 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp salt; Blood Orange Slices; Confectioners’ Sugar

This Dairy Free Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake is the perfect winter treat! Made with delicious blood oranges and rich olive oil for a moist, sweet, tangy cake.

I wanted to close out January with a fun recipe using my favorite food photography subject – blood oranges! These January gems are short lived, you can only find them around here for about 6-8 weeks in January and February. As it usually goes in nature, the most beautiful things in are often rare and short lived!

Just when you start feeling down about it being dark, cold and dreary, you slice into one of these little babies and your mood automatically switches! You never know exactly what you’re going to get, each blood orange varies slightly in color, making them all the more wondrous. To top it off, they are sweet, juicy, delicious and perfect for this Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake!

Back in December we went with some friends to a Feast of the Seven Fishes, which is historically an Italian Christmas Eve tradition. For dessert they served a lemon olive oil cake. If you know me, you know I’m a chocolate lover, so I was not super excited about the dessert when I saw it on the menu, but WOW! It was so delicious! From the first bite I knew once citrus season came into full swing I wanted to recreate my own version and I had the perfect twist… Blood Oranges!

What is Olive Oil Cake?

As I mentioned, olive oil cake is an Italian dessert. It’s a light, moist cake, usually flavored with citrus. Because olive oil is used in place of the butter, olive oil cake is naturally dairy free. It can be made as a flat, naked 1-layer cake, as it is in this recipe, or it’s sometimes made as a bundt cake. Either way, generally it will be served with either a sprinkle of confectioners’ sugar (like it is here) or with a dollop of whipped cream. It’s important to use high quality olive oil in the cake for the best flavor.

How to Make blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

This cake comes together in under an hour from start to finish!

First mix together the easy batter of eggs, sugar, olive oil, blood orange juice and zest, flour, baking powder and salt. Pour the batter into a 9-inch springform pan that has been heavily greased and lined with parchment paper. Bake the cake for about 40 minutes at 350°F. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool. Carefully remove the springform and continue to cool to room temperature. The cake should be served at room temperature. One of the best things about olive oil cake is that it gets better over time, you can make this cake up to 3 days in advance and keep it wrapped tightly on your countertop. The olive oil will keep the cake nice and moist. When you are ready to serve it, sprinkle lightly with confectioners’ sugar and garnish with blood orange slices. Enjoy!

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Author: Laura Nockett
Total Time: 55 minutes
Yield: 1 9-inch, Single Layer Cake 1x

Print Recipe

Description

This Dairy Free Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake is the perfect winter treat! Made with delicious blood oranges and rich olive oil for a moist, sweet and tangy cake.

Ingredients

Scale

Cake

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup blood orange juice (freshly squeezed)*

Zest of 2 blood oranges

1 1/4 cup white, all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Optional Garnish

Blood Orange Slices

Confectioners’ Sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F

Crack eggs into the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with blade attachment

Beat eggs on high for about a minute

Turn mixer speed down and slowly pour in the sugar

Turn mixer back up and beat on high for another minute

Reduce speed again and slowly pour in the olive oil and then the blood orange juice

Add the orange zest, mix

In a small mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt

Slowly add the dry mixture in with the wet ingredients, mix until just combined

Prepare a 9-inch springform pan**, grease the bottom and the sides with non-stick spray, line the bottom with parchment paper, spay parchment with non-stick spray

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, smooth the top into an even layer with the spatula

Put the cake into the oven on the middle oven rack to bake for 35-40 minutes

When cake is done, remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes

Slide a knife between the cake and the pan to make sure the sides don’t stick

Release the spring form, continue to allow the cake to cool to room temperature

Carefully lift the cake to remove the bottom of the pan and parchment paper, place cake on a serving platter

Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and garnish with blood orange slices (optional)

Notes

*amount of blood orange you need for 1/2 cup juice with vary by size of the orange

**If you don’t have a springform pan you may use a regular 9-inch cake pan, but you must grease it thoroughly and line the bottom with parchment paper or it will stick

Because the cake is dairy-free you can store it at room temperature wrapped tightly in plastic wrap for up to 3 days

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Category: Cakes

Keywords: #oliveoilcake, #dairyfreebaking, #dairyfreecake, #bloodoranges, #bloodorangecake, #wintercitrus, #winterbaking

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If you make this Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake let me know how you like it! Leave a star rating and comment here! If you snap a photo, I’d love to see it – share it over on Instagram and tag me @sprinklesandseasalt!