This Orange Olive Oil Cake Recipe is a Spanish inspired cake made with extra virgin olive oil, orange juice, orange peel, dark chocolate ganache, and toasted almonds. It’s a simple cake recipe that offers a unique flavor profile and all the benefits of those healthy dietary fats we hear about!
Orange Olive Oil Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache
This olive oil cake recipe was adapted from Penelope Casas La Cocina De Mama Spanish cookbook.
My interest in Spanish cuisine began years ago when I worked at former, St. Louis Modesto Tapas Restaurant, owned and operated by Chef Grace Dinsmore and Marcia Recks.
In this environment, I had direct access to some of the best flavors I had ever eaten and, let me tell you, I nerded out on all things Spanish cuisine.
After living in Northern California for a few years, I missed my Modesto tapas so much, I went crazy on library cookbooks and tested my hand at preparing Spanish cuisine.
One of my favorite finds was an Orange Olive Oil Cake recipe.
Before I found Penelope’s recipe, it never occurred to me to use olive oil in a cake recipe…not even during my years working in a bakery.
How do you use olive oil in a cake recipe?
Any cake recipe or cake mix that calls for vegetable or canola oil can be substituted with extra virgin olive oil in equal amounts.
The smoke point of a high quality, extra virgin olive oil is around 400°.
This cake recipe bakes at 325°, so we’re all good for this one!
What olive oil is best for baking?
While extra virgin olive oil is agreeably more expensive than conventional oils like canola or vegetable oil, the flavor and said health benefits are easily offset by those values, in my mind.
That said, plain olive oil (i.e., not extra virgin) can certainly be used in my olive oil cake recipe, but it isn’t recognized as a heart-healthy oil.
The original recipe doesn’t call for a chocolate ganache.
That is my own adaptation to an already beautiful recipe.
I use the microwave method for the ganache. You’ll find it in the recipe card below.
It’s so easy and almost foolproof, as long as you don’t boil it…so, don’t do that.
How to make orange olive oil bundt cake with dark chocolate ganache:
1. combine cake ingredients, pour into prepared pan, and bake
2. make the ganache while cake is baking
3. cool the cake
4. ganache drizzle fo shizzle!
5. sprinkle orange peel and toasted, sliced almonds over cake
6. devour!
Orange Olive Oil Bundt Cake Ingredients:
For the cake:
- orange juice
- extra virgin olive oil
- orange zest
- almond extract
- cake flour
- baking powder
- sea salt
- eggs
- sugar
For the topping:
- 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips
- heavy cream
- butter
- sliced almonds
- orange zest
Tools I used for this recipe:
- measuring cup
- mixing bowls
- zester
- bundt cake pan
Orange Olive Oil Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup Orange Juice about 4 large oranges, squeezed
- 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Orange Zest
- 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
- 2 cups Cake Flour
- 1 Tbsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 3 Eggs
- 1 cup White Sugar
For the dark chocolate ganache:
- 1 cup Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
- 2/3 cup Heavy Cream
For the garnish:
- 1/4 cup Sliced Almonds
- Orange Zest
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 325°; grease and flour a 10-cup bundt cake pan.
- In a measuring bowl, whisk together ORANGE JUICE, OLIVE OIL, ORANGE ZEST, and ALMOND EXTRACT until combined; set aside.
- In another bowl, sift together CAKE FLOUR, BAKING POWDER, and KOSHER SALT; set aside.
- In a stand mixer on medium speed, lightly whisk EGGS.
- Continue beating on medium speed and slowly pour in, one by one, the SUGAR, LIQUID MIXTURE, and DRY MIXTURE; continuously whisking, just until combined (do not overmix).
- Pour batter into prepared, bundt cake pan.
- Bake 45 minutes; allow to cool 10 minutes; gently remove from pan and turn out onto a cooling rack; allow to cool completely.
For the ganache:
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt CHOCOLATE and HEAVY CREAM on a medium power setting in one or two minute increments; remove bowl each time to whisk ingredients together; repeat until well-combined.
- * Note: if the ganache is too thick, whisk in a splash of heavy cream and microwave another minute or so. If it's too thin, fold in a few chocolate chips and microwave another minute or so.
To decorate cake:
- Drizzle chocolate ganache over cake in desired pattern.
- Sprinkle SLICED ALMONDS and ORANGE ZEST; serve at room temperature.
- Store cake in an airtight container at room temperature, or in the refrigerator, up to 2 days.
RECIPE NOTES
Traci Antonovich
About my recipes: Minimal meat & more plants!
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