Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

I have made this recipe many times using a regular Olive Oil and Lemon zest but I have recently found a wonderful Blood Orange infused Olive Oil so I decided to play with this recipe. In Italy it is quite common to use olive oil in place of butter or vegetable oil and the results are wonderful. I love the texture of this dense cake, it's almost like a cornbread texture and like any plain cake it has numerous possibilites. It's a simple cake that can be eaten at breakfast, with coffee or tea, or even dressed up with fresh berries and freshly whipped cream for an elegant dessert.

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
Finely grated zest of one large navel orange
3/4 cup extra- virgin olive oil with Blood Oranges

Place oven rack in center position and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9-inch spring form pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

With an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar in a large bowl on high speed for 5 minutes, or until pale and thick. Add yogurt and zest; beat to combine. With mixer on medium speed, add oil in a quick, steady stream. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture just until blended. Whisk batter by hand to make sure that all ingredients are incorporated.

Pour batter into pan. Bake, rotating pan once, until cake is golden, center springs back to the touch, and edges pull away from pan, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan for a minute or two on rack, then release from pan and let cool completely on rack before slicing.
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My Notes: When I lightly oiled the spring form pan I also place a round parchment piece in the bottom of the pan that was slightly bigger than the pan so it would go up the sides. I also oiled the parchment and it came out of the pan much easier. Also, when you zest the orange, zest it directly into the mixture so you capture all the oils.

I made two of these, one to keep at home but took dinner to a very dear friend whose husband had recently had surgery so I took one to them too. I got an immediate call after dinner and they loved this cake as much as I did. Her husband raised an eyebrow when I told him it was made with olive oil but I think he enjoyed it.

In this pic you can almost see that cornbread like texture. This is truly a yummy cake and like a pound cake it has endless possibilities.

I enjoyed it as it was with just a dollop of freshly whipped cream.

This is the Blood Orange infused Olive Oil that I used and I can buy it here at a wonderful local shop, Simply Entertaining. There are some really good similar olive oils available on the market today.

I have enjoyed this simple little cake so much and I hope you will try it and enjoy it as much as I have. It keeps very well for several days.

It's Friday so I am joining the blogging party at Designs by Gollum, Foodie Friday hosted by Michael Lee West. BTW, Michael Lee has a new book out and is currently on a book tour but you can read about her new book on her blog. It should be an excellent book.