This orange olive oil cake recipe bursts with sunny flavors of bright orange and fragrant cardamom! Extra virgin olive oil makes this simple cake irresistibly fluffy and tender for days.
We use oranges liberally during citrus season in the Mediterranean, both in sweet and savory recipes. However, one of my favorite ways to use them is in this orange olive oil cake.
I love this recipe so much that I included it in my first cookbook, and I had to share it with you here. I’ll say it: making cake with olive oil, in my opinion, is just better! I love the richness it gives to so many desserts, from this orange cake, to apple cake, chocolate cake, and beyond.
This is not your typical super sweet icing-topped cake. It’s the perfect fusion of bright, delicately sweet, and savory flavors, with subtle warm notes from the cardamom. And, because olive oil is liquid at room temperature, this cake stays moist for days. One bite, and you’ll be hooked!
Ingredients and Substitutions
This orange olive oil cake requires just a few baking staples. Here’s everything you’ll need to bring it to life:
- Extra virgin olive oil: Good quality, fruity or more neutral-tasting olive oil like our Italian Nocellara is perfect in this cake. Avoid oils that are peppery or bitter, as they’ll overwhelm the flavor.
- All purpose flour: Use a 1:1 gluten-free flour alternative if needed. Your cake will be slightly more dense but just as scrumptious!
- Kosher salt: A crucial flavor enhancer, bringing out the natural taste of the rest of the ingredients.
- Baking powder: Used in combination with baking soda to help the cake rise.
- Sugar: Regular granulated sugar is my go-to here to magnify the sweetness of the orange.
- Ground cardamom: Cardamom is a fairly warm spice with subtle lemony undertones that pair beautifully with orange. Here are 11 more ways to use it!
- Eggs: Provide structure.
- Orange: Both orange zest and orange juice are used for an utterly irresistible recipe. You could experiment with other citrus, like meyer lemons.
- Milk: Use whole milk or a plant-based alternative to create a smooth batter.
- Confectioner’s sugar: Also called powdered sugar, this is optional but will make the cake extra pretty.
How to Make Orange Olive Oil Cake
This orange olive oil cake recipe is extremely simple, there are no fancy techniques or equipment required! Here are the steps:
- Get ready: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Brush the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan with a little olive oil. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper and dust with a bit of flour, shaking out the excess.
- Mix together dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda.
- Beat the wet ingredients with sugar: To a large bowl, add 3/4 to 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, 3 large eggs, and 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar. Using an electric hand mixer set on high, beat the mixture until thick and fluffy, about 5 minutes (or use a stand mixer on high speed). While the mixer is running, slowly drizzle in 1 cup extra virgin olive oil and beat until incorporated. Reduce the speed to low and add 2 tablespoons orange juice, 1 1/4 cups whole milk, and the zest of 1 orange. Beat until smooth.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients: Add the flour mixture to wet ingredients and mix on low just until you have a uniform batter.
- Bake the cake: Pour the cake batter into the pan and sprinkle the top with the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean (ovens do vary, so check your cake at 30 minutes and go from there).
- Cool: Allow the cake to cool for 30 minutes in the pan, then run a small knife around the edge, invert the cake onto a large plate, then invert again onto a rack to cool completely.
- Finish and serve. Dust the cake with powdered sugar, sprinkle with the remaining orange zest, slice, and enjoy!
Why Use Olive Oil in Cake?
Many readers ask me if you can bake with olive oil. The short answer is: Yes! You can–and should–bake cakes with olive oil. (For a deeper dive, check out our Comprehensive Guide to Baking With Olive Oil.) Here’s why I love olive oil desserts:
- Makes cakes extra tender for longer than butter. Because olive oil is liquid at room temperature, it adds unmatched levels of moisture to cake over time.
- Reduces the amount of saturated fat. It replaces that fat with heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. This can improve cholesterol, among other benefits listed here.
- Adds a more complex flavor. High-quality extra virgin olive oil adds a rich, slightly fruity flavor to this recipe without being overbearing.
What to Serve with Orange Olive Oil Cake
Although this olive oil cake is fantastic as is a little something extra can really bring out the wow factor! Sometimes, I just can’t help myself!
- Add a dollop of whipped cream or a small scoop of olive oil ice cream.
- A spoonful of vanilla yogurt.
- Top with orange segments.
- Top with candied orange peels or sugared cranberries for a festive twist! Yum!
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Ingredients
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, fruity, more neutral-tasting, plus extra for the pan
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ to 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 ½ cups plus 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- Grated zest of 2 oranges, plus 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk or plant-based alternative
- 2 tablespoons sifted confectioners’ sugar, for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the oven: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Prepare the baking pan: Brush the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan with a little olive oil. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper and dust with a bit of the flour, shaking out the excess.
- Mix together dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Beat the wet ingredients with sugar: In a large bowl, combine the 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, cardamom, and eggs. Using an electric hand mixer set on high, beat the mixture until thick and fluffy, about 5 minutes (or use a stand mixer on high speed). While the mixer is running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and beat until incorporated. Reduce the speed to low and add half the orange zest, the orange juice, and milk. Beat until smooth.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients: Add the flour mixture to wet ingredients and mix on low just until you have a uniform batter.
- Bake the cake: Pour the cake batter into the pan and sprinkle the top with the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Bake the cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the center is set and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean (ovens do vary, so check your cake at 30 minutes and go from there).
- Cool the cake: Allow the cake to cool for 30 minutes in the pan, then run a small knife around the edge, invert the cake onto a large plate, then invert again onto a rack to cool completely.
- Serve: Before serving, dust the cake with powdered sugar and sprinkle with orange zest.
Video
Notes
- Make ahead. Olive oil keeps cakes tender and moist for longer, which makes this recipe an easy choice for holiday menu planning. Make it a day or to in advance and it will still taste fresh when your guests arrive.
- Olive oil is truly wonderful in baking recipes, but you want to use the right kind because olive oil is as nuanced as wine. You want something mild and fruity for this cake like our California Arbequina olive oil. Stay away from spicy or peppery flavors like our Spanish Hojiblanca olive oil. I prefer to use that in more savory dishes.
- Swap it. If you don’t have cardamom on hand try cinnamon. It’s a natural pairing with orange. You can try it in our Orange Cinnamon Challah French Toast recipe.
- Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils, spices, and more.
Nutrition
Try Our Authentic Italian Olive Oil
Smooth, fruity, and rich, this hand-picked and cold-extracted oil is perfect for baking.
*This post has recently been updated with new information for the readers’ benefit.
I wish I had read the comments first. The cake is baking right now. I had to move the batter to another larger pan, as it would have overflowed the pan that was recommended. I will give it more time to bake as well.
Please change the size of the pan needed.
I like so many of your recipes!
I wish I’d read this sooner. 😢 My cake is not cooked at all and it’s had its time. I also have left over batter.
Darn. I’m in the same boat now with mine. The battery looked good until I added the milk. Way to much liquid.
excellent recipe I made it many times. Instead of sugar I used honey. A cake I make many times and take to different functions as a gift. Thank you Helen Linos.
Thanks, Helen!!
I made this yesterday, and while it is DELICIOUS the measurements must be off. There was way too much matter for my 9 inch cake pan. And I filled it to the top, thankfully although I baked over the side it didn’t spill over into my oven. Will make it again, but will fill the pan less full and find a way to cook the leftover batter separately. It really was delicious – so moist and light. I don’t like heavy desserts so this was perfect.
I agree with a lot of the other comments, this recipe makes A LOT of batter. I even spilled about 1/4 cup of it right before pouring into my 9″ pan and still almost filled the pan, resulting in a very bulbous cake that took a bit longer than the stated 40-45 minutes. I also added sugar to the remaining zest and added that to the top before baking. Great recipe!
How can I translate this recipe to make a Bundt cake?
Hi, Jess! I’m Summer and I work here at The Mediterranean Dish. I have made this recipe as a Bundt cake before and you don’t need to make any adjustments. Just prepare you Bundt pan and pour in the batter. You want the batter to come up a little more than 2/3s of the way. Enjoy! It’s a lovely cake!
Made this yesterday and we loved it. I got a typical 8.5 inch cake and a 6 inch cake out of this recipe. Took about 42 min to bake. I added 1 tsp vanilla & 1/2 tsp cinnamon to the recipe, cutting sugar to 1 cup. Perfect sweetness for us. Thanks for another lovely recipe!
Anna
I didn’t read the comments in advance and I wish I had! The cake didn’t bake in the time stated and I had a mess. I did taste the outer edge and this is a very good cake. I’ll try again and will certainly bake longer than the recipe specifies.
I made this with the zest of three lemons instead of two oranges, because that is all I had on hand. I also added 3/4 of the zest to the batter instead of half. It turned out AMAZING! Moist, flavorful, and beautiful. one thing to note: 40 – 45 minutes at 350 was not nearly long enough. I ended keeping this in the oven for about 70 minutes, and I tented it with tinfoil in the last 10 because the center wouldn’t bake. The top looked pretty wrinkled and cracked, so I flipped it upside down on my cake stand and dusted heavily with powdered sugar, lemon zest, and some pieces of candied orange. it looked, smelled, and tasted beautiful!
I used the zest and juice from 2 blood oranges and 1 lemon and accidentally put all of that citrus juice but it was amazing. Reduced oat milk to 1 cup and baked an extra 20 minutes but it tasted extremely good. This recipe is pretty fool proof. 10/10. Made a blood orange glaze.
That blood orange glaze sounds phenomenal!!
Truly one of the best cakes I’ve ever had! I used half melted butter and half olive oil according to what I had on hand. I also used half n half instead of regular milk. Unbelievable!
Thanks so much for the great review, Heiba!
I do not cook a lot, so I followed the recipe extremely carefully, trusting that the results would be as stated. While it was delicious, my kitchen ended up like something out of I Love Lucy. That was due to the cooking time which was much much much more than stated. I had even taken it out out of the pan, thinking it must be done by then, decided it was not, put it back in the pan, and cooked it even 15 minutes more. I had put aluminum foil on the top so it would not get too brown. Lots of cracks in it at that point and the bottom was in shambles from putting it in and out of the pan. My company did think it was delicious, however, and took some home to have for her company. At one point, I decided never ever to make it again. However, it is quite good and maybe I will try some of the suggestions here for cooking 55 minutes or putting into pan. I am not sure if the two pans will take away from it or not, but may try it.
I made this tonight from the cook book. It did not say to combine the dry ingredients with wet ingredients in the cook book , luckily common sense from baking I knew to do so.
One thing, the batter is a lot and could easily be two 8” cakes. But I went with the 9” and I ended up needing to bake it for an hour instead of the 40-45min.
So you may need to make some little tweaks here and there.
The cake is amazing and my family loved it!
Thanks, Karrie. We appreciate the feedback!
Wow was this a great recipe! I live at 5,000 feet, so cakes can be a little hit or miss here, but this turned out perfectly. Easy to follow recipe, simple to make, delicious and moist with a perfect crumb. My kids also loved it. I will be making this regularly and have already shared the recipe with a friend.
Wonderful! Thanks, Aurora!
I too had a lot of batter that wouldn’t fit in the pan. The resulting cupcakes were just as tasty, ha!
Based on comments, I reduced the recipe by 1/3. It was perfect in my 9” cake pan. And so so delicious. This definitely will be a repeater in my baking arsenal! 😉
This looked delicious, but I made it and it did not turn out. The measurements are off, the batter could fill at least 2 cake pans, not one. Too bad.