I love Saveur. It’s packed with all sorts of interesting information about food, and I find it to be a little less pretentious than other magazines for the gourmand. So, last night while I was reading the May 2010 issue and watching the movie Ravenous (title is a tad misleading as it pertains to this blog), I noticed a recipe for Orange-Scented Olive Oil Cake and became intrigued. My mind immediately raced to a cooking class I’d taken last year in Rome where every single dish was made with olive oil, including these little biscotti-like cookies called ciambelline. I’ll talk about those another time.
Anyway, I was inspired to try the recipe. Fortunately, I’d just bought a huge bag of oranges from Trader Joe’s, so I started off that night preparing the first step which involves candying the quartered citrus. After heating them three times in boiling water to remove excess bitterness, I cooked them in sugar and water until the rinds became very tender and the sugar reduced to a syrup. I finished just before midnight.
The next day, I began to put the ingredients together for the cake, but in reading through the recipe, I could tell already that there were a few things I didn’t like. For one, there was no salt. I find that salt is important in baking because it brings out the other flavors and even complements the sweetness, which I think otherwise tends to be cloying.
I also wanted to add more flavor to the cake, so I added more vanilla extract and decided to throw in some freshly squeezed orange juice. My thought was that the orange juice would brighten the flavor and add more liquid to the cake, thereby making it a bit more fluffy. To ensure that the cake had a delicate crumb, I used cake flour instead of all-pupose flour. Finally, the recipe called for a very thin glaze based on a 1:1 ratio. I thought a thicker glaze would be better, so I instead added 1 parts orange juice to 3 parts confectioner’s sugar.
With these alterations to the basic recipe, I set to work. My most favorite part of Saveur’s recipe was that the cake is made entirely in a food processor. This is doable because olive oil is the fat in the cake (instead of butter), and it must be emulsified into the batter. A food processor is the fastest way to accomplish this. Fair warning though; you’ll need at least an 11-cup processor. If you don’t have one, you’ll need to emulsify the olive oil into the orange rind mixture, then switch to a stand mixer to combine all of the ingredients using a paddle attachment.
I was definitely satisfied with the way this cake turned out. It was light and fluffy with a good crumb and a distinct, but not overpowering olive oil flavor. The orange has a slight bitterness to it that reminds me of marmalade. I think it would make a nice layer cake too, perhaps paired with a saffron-honey or chocolate buttercream. Below is my version of the Saveur recipe. I hope you like it. Happy baking!
ORANGE-SCENTED OLIVE OIL CAKE
(for one 10″ cake or two 6″ cakes)
2 medium oranges
2 1/3 cups sugar
2 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 confectioner’s sugar
sea salt for garnish
1. Cut tops and bottom off of oranges; quarter them lengthwise. Add oranges to a 4-quart saucepan with 6 cups of water and bring to a boil; drain. Repeat boiling process twice more with fresh water.
2. Put boiled oranges, 1 cup sugar and 4 cups water back into the saucepan and cook over medium to medium-high heat for approximately 30-45 minutes, or until orange ride can be easily pierced with a fork. Remove pan from heat and let cool to room temperature.
3. Heat oven to 350F. Grease a 10″ round cake pan (or two 6″ cake pans) with butter and dust with flour; line pan bottom with parchment paper cut to fit. Set pan aside.
4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla extract.
6. Remove orange quarters from syrup, discard any seeds, and pulse oranges in a food processor until they form a chunky puree.
7. Add remaining sugar, reserved flour mixture, vanilla, eggs and 1/2 cup of orange juice. Process until incorporated.
8. Add olive oil in a slow and steady stream until emulsified.
9. Pour batter into prepared pan(s) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. If the top of the cake starts to darken too much, tent with tinfoil. Invert onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.
10. In a small bowl, whisk remaining 1/4 cup orange juice and 3/4 confectioner’s sugar to make a glaze. Using a pastry brush, brush orange glaze over op and sides of cake; let cool complete. Garnish cake with a pinch of sea salt.
Tags: olive oil cake, orange cake, recipe
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