with almond mascarpone whipped cream and candied oranges

Difficulty: Easy | Time: 30min (active), 3hrs (total) | Yields: 1 9” cake

Olive oil cake is one of those desserts that seems super gourmet, but it’s actually really easy to make… And because its filled with decadent olive oil, it comes out effortlessly moist and velvety.

Plus, citrus is one of my favorite flavors. I opted for an orange, but if you’re more of a lemon person, simply swap out the orange zest and juice for a lemon… or a lime or a grapefruit… The citrus world is your oyster! I even added an optional touch of rose water to for the most subtle hint of floral-y sweetness.

This is such a great dessert for springtime. Bring it to a picnic or a dinner party. It’s elegant, lovely and, most importantly, delicious. The texture, as I’ve described above, is moist and velvety. The flavor hits several notes between the buttery olive oil, zingy orange, and barely-there floral of the rose water. The mascarpone whipped cream adds a tanginess and coolness to it that is just divine. I will definitely be making this again… and again.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

271mL extra virgin olive oil
292mL whole milk
56mL orange juice
51mL rose water (optional) or replace with more milk or even a citrus liqueur
zest of 1 orange
3 eggs
386g granulated sugar
314g all purpose flour
11g salt
3g baking soda
2g baking powder

For the almond mascarpone whipped cream (optional):

8oz mascarpone cheese
115g granulated sugar
250mL heavy whipping cream
1tsp almond extract

For the candied oranges (optional):

1 orange (use the orange that you zested for the cake)
115g granulated sugar
4 fl. oz. water or rose water

Directions:

Make the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and pre-line and grease a 9” cake tin or spring form tin. Make sure the tin is 2” tall or more.
In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, milk, orange juice, rose water, eggs, orange zest and sugar until fully incorporated.
Add in your dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.
Pour the batter into the pre-grease and lined cake tin and place in the oven.
Bake for 70 minutes. If you feel your cake is getting too dark, put some tin foil over top to prevent further browning— I did this at about minute 50. You’ll know it’s done when a tooth pick insert in the center comes out clean or with only a few crumbs on it.
Remove from the oven and let cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Then turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely. (I find this cake better if you let it if sit overnight, covered, at room temperature)

Make the candied oranges (optional):

While the cake is baking in the oven, make the candied oranges. Slice the orange that you zested for the cake batter into thin rounds.
In a pan over medium high heat, add the water and sugar. Continually stir until it starts to boil.
Add the orange slices to the boiling sugar water and let them boil for 1 minute on one side, then flip them with a pair of tongs, and boil them for a minute on the other side.
Then turn the heat down to low and let them simmer for about 45 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when they become somewhat translucent.
Remove them from the pan and set them aside on parchment paper. Leave them covered until using them.

Make the almond mascarpone whipped cream (optional):

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with an electric hand mixer, beat together the sugar and mascarpone cheese until smooth and combined.
Pour in the heavy cream and whip until stiff peaks form.
Add the almond extract and whip for another 15-30sec to combine.
Refrigerate if you’re not using it right away.

Assemble:

Place the cake on a tray and spread the mascarpone cream over top.
Place the candied oranges on top to your liking.
Serve and enjoy!
If you didn’t top it with the whipped cream, you can leave it covered at room temperature. If you topped it with the cream, store in the fridge.