Olive Oil and Orange Cake

I stumbled upon this gem in Saveur the other day, and it screamed Spice Traders to me! Olive oil in a cake? Yes please! And with the delicious variety of olive oils we have at our fingertips, the possibilities of aromatic combinations are endless. In exploring this particular recipe, my mind immediately thought of Blood Orange EVOO and then a hint of Rosemary EVOO, because those two flavors mesh so beautifully!

Recipe and photo courtesy saveur.com

This beautiful cake incorporates 2 WHOLE oranges, rind and all, offering a powerful aromatic experience that is sure to blow you away. The use of olive oil offers you a moist, slightly dense cake that has an almost creamy texture. And with the flavor possibilities we have here at Spice Traders, this cake could be something new every time! This time I chose Rosemary and Blood Orange EVOO, as I mentioned, but be creative! There is also Meyer Lemon, Citrus Habanero, Basil and Lime that all could lend to a unique aromatic experience in this moist delicious medium.
Another unique offering of this cake, it is topped with Cyprus Flake Salt, an interesting addition to a sweet cake. There is no salt in the actual recipe, something I've thought to add, but if eaten as a bite from the top down, it is a unique taste blending, complex and changing in your mouth. I'd say for the experience alone, try it with just salt on top, then maybe throw in a bit in the batter next time.

Orange-Scented Olive Oil Cake
2 oranges
2 1/3 c sugar
butter for greasing pan
2 1/2 c flour, plus dusting for pan
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
3 Tbs STM Blood Orange EVOO 
1 Tbs STM Arbequina EVOO
2 Tbs STM Rosemary EVOO
1/4 c fresh orange juice, about half an orange
1/4 c confectioners' sugar
STM Cyprus Flake Salt for garnish

Trim about 1/2" from the tops and bottoms of oranges, quarter oranges lengthwise. Bring 6 cups water to boil in a 4 qt. saucepan, add oranges. Bring water back to boil; drain. Repeat boiling process twice more with fresh water. Put oranges, 1 c sugar and 4 c water into the saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often, until sugar dissolves and orange rind can be easily pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Heat oven to 350F degrees. Grease a 10" round cake pan with butter and dust with flour; line pan bottom with parchment paper cut to fit. Set pan aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside. Remove orange quarters from syrup, remove and discard any seeds, and put the oranges into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until oranges form a chunky puree, 10-12 pulses. Add remaining sugar, reserved flour mixture, vanilla and eggs and process just until incorporated, scraping sides as needed, about 2 minutes. Add olive oil mixture, process again just until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40-45 min. Let cool for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk orange juice and confectioners' sugar to make a thin glaze. Remove cake from pan and transfer to a cake stand or plate. Using a pastry brush, brush orange glaze over top and sides of cake. Let cool completely. Garnish with salt flakes.

A delicious idea to top your cake with!