I wanted something simple but decadent. I didn’t know just how amazing this simple orange olive oil cake would be.

I have seen olive oil cakes around for some time now and was curious how the subtle savory flavor of olive oil would hold up to the sweetness of cakes. Now that I have tried it, I may never go back to butter cakes. Not only is the flavor amazing, and not too sweet, but the simplicity of this cake reminds me that key ingredients and not going over the top can make for a perfect dessert.

What does Orange Olive Oil Cake taste like?

To sum it up, orange olive oil cake slices into perfect layers of moist dense cake. Like pound cake, but amplified. It is a humble cake, and does well, without any additional frostings or glazes. The signature flavors come from quality olive oil and fresh citrus.

Your cake will vary depending upon the quality of ingredients you have to use for it. Splurge on fine olive oil and only the best in-season citrus to really celebrate with this cake.

The flavor of the fruit isn’t overpowering in the olive oil cake but is certainly the key. However, the real bold buttery and nutty flavor will come from that olive oil you use.

This recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of good olive oil of olive oil so the flavor will be affected by your choice of olive oils. For day to day cooking, I will use whatever I have stored on the counter, but for this I wanted something special so I chose Pomora Olive Oil, sent to me from Italy in small single cup tins. They even make a lemon one that would be fantastic in a lemon version of this cake.

Tips for picking good olive oil

Quickly look for these key items when choosing a quality olive oil. We aren’t here to say one olive oil is better than the other, but when you are spending money, you should have a good starting point. I love olive oils from great olive regions like California, Greece and Italy when I want to splurge.

• harvest or best-by date
• dark glass or metal tin container to keep light out
• country of origin clearly labeled
• toss out the idea of ‘light’ olive oil and don’t buy one that say it is

How to make Orange Olive Oil Cake

This cake comes together quickly with a bit of prep work. The hardest part is zesting and squeezing the juice from the oranges. Once you have that done, prep your other ingredients and (impatiently) wait for the cake to bake. All in all, t’s about 10 minutes of prep.

Orange olive oil cake doesn’t require any fancy tools, and calls to be made in a bundt cake, for the deep dense cake, but could be made by dividing the dough evenly in two standard cake pans.

The best part about olive oil cakes is they hold moisture for days, with the subtle flavors of the olive oil developing on day 2 and three. Store in an airtight container, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, and slice off only what’s needed to get several days out of this recipe.

And, with the cake being so simple, you can mix and match any citrus you have on hand. Blood oranges, Cara Cara or navel oranges all make wonderful oranges for baking.

Want more simple but stunning cake inspiration? Check out my favorites!

• Browned Butter Coffee Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
• Skillet Apple Upside Down Cake
• Pear Cornmeal Cake
• Rum and Date Cake with Caramel

If you’ve tried my Orange Olive Oil Cake recipe or any other recipe on passthesushi.com please don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know where you found it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also follow along for more good eats and travel tips on Instagram @passthesushi & @girlcarnivore, Twitter & Facebook.