Orange Olive Oil Cake

Good News!

The quality of the food photography on this blog is likely to improve. As some of you may know, Andrew went to photography school and has quite the eye! I finally decided that he should be recruited for the blog. He loves to eat, cook and take photos, so why not combine the three? We have been studying different techniques and hopefully will have great results!

On a different note, I made this cake last weekend for his parents who are recovering from a bug (not the Swine flu, don't worry!). I was inspired by the blueberry crumb cake I made a few weeks ago, in which I substituted olive oil for some of the butter.

After doing a quick search, I found this recipe for Orange Olive Oil cake. It is from more than burnt toast, but is an Anna Olson recipe. Be sure to check out her post, she has some great info on Ms. Olson and the cake. Apparently someone at work is paying her to make this because they loved it so much!

Wow, was this cake yummy! The orange flavor was on the subtle side, but worked perfectly. Because of the olive oil, the cake was very moist. You may notice that on the picture below it looks almost uncooked in the middle, but that is just from the olive oil sinking a little. I think I may have stirred it too long. Anyway, I will be sure to make more baked goods with EVOO in the future.

Olive oil is healthy right? How can you go wrong?

I am also bringing this cake to a virtual bakesale. Lauren, from I'll Eat You is holding a virtual bakesale in honor of her one year blogiversary. Way to go Lauren! She is raising money through firstgiving to donate to the World Food Program. What a great cause? Check out the site and give a little if you can :)

Orange Olive Oil Cake

2 eggs
1 -1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup 2 %milk
zest of 2 oranges or tangerines
1 cup + 2 T all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
dash salt
powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 °F and butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar. Add olive oil, milk and orange zest and mix well. In a separate bowl, stir flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to olive oil batter and stir just until smooth. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let cake cool completely, then turn out onto a plate and dust with powdered sugar.