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.
- 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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Orange Olive Oil Cake with Cardamom
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.
Oh My I made this cake tonight! It is so delicious! I may be entering this into our county fair!
Best of luck! Be sure to stop back and share the results!
Ciao Suzy, Love this recipe, really appreciate your thoughtful explanations..have made it a few times and never disappoints. Cheers from Edmonton, Canada
Thank you so much, Jim!
Can this recipe be made into cupcakes?
Hi, Denise. With a some adjustments, I’m sure you could! We’ve never tried it ourselves, so if you give it a go, we’d love to hear how it worked for you and any feedback you have.
If I use blood orange olive oil instead of plain olive oil, do I need to decrease the amount of orange juice or orange zest called for in the recipe? Thanks in advance!
Hi, Laura! I’m Summer and I work here at The Mediterranean Dish. Go right ahead and use the blood orange olive oil and make the recipe as written. No need to reduce the amount of juice or zest called for in the recipe!
This is the bomb! My family is not used to my Mediterranean Dish cooking, yet, so are a bit skeptical. But this cake is absolutely wonderful! It stayed moist and flavorful for several days. Yummy!
Absolutely delicious and tender. The only thing is it took more like an hour and 20 minutes not 40 minutes.
Could you replace a lemon for the orange with the same ingredients?
Hi, Teresa! I’m Summer and I work with Suzy at The Mediterranean Dish. Yes, you can replace the orange with lemon and the cake will still taste amazing!
Does the kind of orange matter? We have a bunch of mandarin oranges (those little sweeter ones). Can I use those? Would I need to adjust the sugar amount to counterbalance that these oranges are sweeter? Or should I just got buy other oranges?
Hi, Ranya! I’m Summer and I work with Suzy here at The Mediterranean Dish. You can use Mandarin oranges. I would say to use the zest from 4 of them and you wouldn’t need to adjust the sugar content at all. Just proceed with the recipe as written. I hope you love it! It’s a favorite around here!
Thank you! One more question, can I use candied zest as the decorating/topping after its baked?
Whipped this up oh no time just because it’s been on my mind for weeks now. It came out better than I expected, even better than my mom’s cakes and her cakes are good. Thank you for this recipe, will definitely be making this again and again!!
My daughter loves an olive oil orange cake so I thought I’d try this one. As one person commented, it does make a lot of batter, but I was able to fit it in the 9″ pan. It was filled to the rim. I put the pan on a cookie sheet, and I’m so glad I did. The cake rose enough to spill over the edge. Any advice or comments as to what might have gone wrong? I followed the recipe exactly.
It’s hard to say, Cathy, as we didn’t experience this when testing the recipe. I would say, just put slightly less batter in the pan next time. Maybe that will help a bit.
I had this same problem and will use a 9″ springform pan next time.
I wonder if people experiencing the thin batter didn’t beat the eggs and sugar long enough. If you beat them the full 5 minutes they are much thicker. Just a thought. Mine is in the oven now but my batter didn’t seem excessively thin when I poured it in the springform pan.
So delicious! We used cinnamon instead of cardamom and is excellent. Super moist and easy to make.
Thanks, Morgan! We appreciate the great review!
Absolutely terrific! It is so moist and delish!
Thanks, Melissa! We appreciate your review.
Wow is all I can say. Gorgeous cake – moist and delicious. I dehydrated orange slices to serve alongside and that was a big hit with our guests. Also, a small scoop of vanilla ice cream completed the flavour palate. Will definitely make this again.
PS: I made it a week in advance and froze. Thawed perfectly and taste was not affected in the least.
Thanks so much for sharing, Kelly!
This was so good. Super impressed by this one. You can go heavy on cardamom if you’d like but otherwise it’s perfect. My family said it’s their new favorite.
There is waaaay too much batter for a 9″ round. It easily filled my bundt pan which holds a lot of volume. Also, it appears to be short on flour. I mixed it and it was *far* too liquid to use as batter. I stirred in extra flour until it was a runny batter. As others said, it took a longer to bake, but that’s no big deal. It is moist and delicious. I would recommend serving with a dollop of (dairy-free) whipped cream to be a little fancier.
Hi, Kels. Thanks so much for the feedback. We didn’t have these issues, but will take another look at the recipe.
The cake is cooling and smells amazing.
How do I store it and how long does it stay fresh? Sorry if I missed that info. Thanks!
Hi, Karla! I’m Summer and I work with Suzy here at TMD. Olive oil cakes tend to stay fresh and moist longer than butter cakes. You can store it covered at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can also keep it in the fridge if you prefer and it will keep a day or two longer. Just make sure you bring it to room temp before enjoying your next slice.