Orange olive oil cake is an outstanding dessert that’s loaded with bright citrus flavor from the orange, and super moist from the olive oil. This cake is easy to make and can be served with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, or a simple orange glaze.
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Orange olive oil cake may just be one of my favorite desserts for a few reasons.
It pairs beautifully with a coffee or espresso, doesn’t require a mixer or any complicated kitchen tools, and tastes fantastic.
I also happen to adore citrus-flavored desserts, like lemon ricotta cookies, and this olive oil cake is so full of bright orange flavor!
I love to serve this cake with an orange glaze (recipe below), but it’s just as good with a simple sprinkle of powdered sugar, or by itself!
And much like our pound cake and New York crumb cake, this orange olive oil cake is actually pretty good for breakfast. No judgment here!
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How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Preheat the oven to 350f and set the rack to the middle level. Line an oiled 9-inch by 2-inch deep round cake pan with parchment paper. Using a zester, remove the zest from two oranges. This should equal roughly 3 tablespoons of zest. Juice the oranges and reserve 1/4 cup of juice for use in the cake, and for the glaze if using.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, and stir until combined.
- In a large bowl, combine 3 large eggs, 1 1/4 cups of whole milk, 1 1/3 cups of extra virgin olive oil, the orange zest, 1/4 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup Gran Gala (or other orange liqueur), and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and whisk until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined taking care to not overmix. The batter should be on the thinner side and easy to pour.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
- Give the cake pan a tap on a flat surface to allow any air to rise to the top.
- Place the cake pan in the oven and cook for approximately 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool completely then serve with powdered sugar, or the optional glaze. To make the glaze simply whisk 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar with 2 tablespoons of orange juice, 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon of orange blossom water, and a pinch of kosher salt. Once combined, pour and spread the glaze over the top of the cake allowing the glaze to drizzle down the sides. Allow the glaze to firm up at room temperature or by placing it in the refrigerator for about an hour. Serve the orange olive oil cake by itself or with fresh berries. Enjoy!
Top tips
- The olive oil! There is a lot of olive oil in this cake so it’s important to pick one that works well. I suggest using mildly flavored, good quality extra virgin olive oil. You can also opt for olive oil that’s been infused with flavor, like orange or lemon, or make you’re own infused olive oil.
- The citrus. I used orange zest and orange juice from regular navel oranges. If you’re able to find blood oranges, that would be a great option. Lemon zest would also be a nice addition.
- Baking. In my conventional oven, it takes about 55 minutes for the orange olive oil cake to be fully cooked. I usually use a toothpick inserted in the center to make sure it’s done. Since everyone’s oven is a little different, I recommend checking on your cake at the 50-minute mark. If you have a convection oven you’ll need to account for that by reducing the temperature by 25 degrees and 25% less time.
- The glaze. If you opt to make the glaze, you will need to wait until the cake is fully cooled before topping with the glaze. If you’d like your glaze to be on the thicker side, you can add a little more powdered sugar to achieve the perfect consistency.
More sweet treats
Here are a few of our favorite desserts. We hope you enjoy them!
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Orange Olive Oil Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/3 cups (285g) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/4 cups (305g) whole milk
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons orange zest
- 1/4 cup (60g) orange juice freshly squeezed
- 1/4 cup (55g) Gran Gala orange liqueur
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the glaze
- 1 cup (130g) confectioner's sugar
- 2 tablespoons orange juice freshly squeezed
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water optional
- 1 pinch kosher salt
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Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350f and set the rack to the middle level. Line an oiled 9-inch by 2 inch deep round cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda and stir until combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine the eggs, milk, olive oil, orange juice, Gran Gala, vanilla extract, and orange zest and whisk until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. The batter should be on the thinner side and easy to pour.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and give the cake pan a tap to allow any air to rise to the top.
- Place the cake pan in the oven and cook for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool before adding the glaze, or serving. If you're not using the glaze, serve plain, or top with powdered sugar. Enjoy!
For the glaze
- In a mixing bowl combine the confectioner's sugar, salt, orange juice, vanilla extract, and orange blossom water and whisk until well combined.
- Once the cake has cooled, pour the glaze on top of the cake and allow the glaze to harden at room temperature, or you may place in the refrigerator to speed this up.
Notes
- Since ovens vary, begin checking the cake at the 50-minute mark.
- This recipe was written for a conventional oven. For convection ovens, reduce the temperature by 25 degrees and begin checking for doneness at the 75% mark.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was quite a hit. I would recommend this for a rather easy yet rewarding dessert.
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Paul!
This looks delicious, want to make this for Memorial Day weekend. Can I use Charles Regnier Tripel Sec Liquor in place of the Gran Gala liquor? I happen to have a full bottle of it already and don’t want to purchase GG if I need not to.
Best regards
CL
Hi Cathy, yes, you can use triple sec. It may give a slightly different taste since the Gran Gala has a citrus-brandy flavor, but it will still work.
Thoughts on omitting the Gran Gala and using some Fiore di Sicilia instead…???
Hi Jackson, if you want to omit the gran gala, I’d suggest replacing it with more orange juice. You can certainly add Fiore di Sicilia to the recipe as well, but I’d only add 1-2 teaspoons (not 1/4 cup).
Incredibly delicious cake. Everyone loved it. I followed the recipe with two exceptions: I used St. Germain because I didn’t have Gran Gala liqueur and I didn’t have orange blossom water. The cake was so incredibly moist. Highly recommend.
So happy you enjoyed, Elizabeth, and great to hear this worked with St. Germain!
I did this recipe twice using mini bundts pan and it was delicious!! I added orange zest to the glaze as well,to make it more orangy!
Thank you so much for it,it is great!!
So glad to hear that, Mariana!
Hi there
Can I do it using lemons instead?
Hi Mariana, you can, though lemons tend to be less sweet than oranges so you will need to take that into consideration.
absolutely delicious!! I put the glaze on while still hot, and I like the texture that resulted. The extra sweetness added with the glaze still makes it mildly sweet. I left out the liquor and added extra orange juice in addition to a couple of tablespoons of sugar to compensate. The flavor is rich without being overly sweet. Normally I love things over the top sweet, but I find this very satisfying. I would make it again the same way. Thanks for sharing your recipes. My husband also thanks you.
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Susan!
I thought I’d make this Orange cake immediately but isn’t there anything I could use in place of the Orange Liquor? (I don’t want to buy this just for one cake!).
Hi Nancy, you can replace it with more orange juice if you’d like.
HI Jim
This recipe looks delicious but wondered if Grand Marnier or Triple Sec could be substituted?
Thanks so much,
Maureen
Hi Maureen, yes, Grand Marnier is basically the same thing as Gran Gala, just with a higher price, so feel free to use that if that’s what you have on hand.
Thanks for your response!
Hi there
Can I make this recipe in mini bundt pans? And if so,how long in the owen do you think it would be ideal?
Hi Mariana, yes, you can although we haven’t tested this recipe in mini bundt pans so wouldn’t be able to advise you on the time.
Hi! Sorry if it was asked, but can this be made without the liquor?
Hi Justine, yes, you can omit the liquor and replace with more orange juice.
Another olive oil question! I find Fantoia oil only in unfiltered, is that ok for this recipe. I’ve not used unfiltered and not sure what to expect whether for baking or finishing. Is it kept stored at room temperature as any evoo?
Hi Den, you can use an unfiltered olive oil but you may want to use a mildly flavored extra virgin. Yes, the olive oil would be stored at room temperature.
delicious!
So happy you enjoyed, Kay!
I’m making this for Christmas. My coworker asked if it had cornmeal in it. I use only your recipes on a weekly basis and never alter the recipes. Everyone raves about all your recipes. What would adding a half cup of cornmeal do? I hesitate to change anything from the recipe. Thank you!
Hi Tricia, We haven’t tested this recipe with the addition of cornmeal so can’t say how it would turn out.
Hi there, if I were to make this the night before, how should it be stored? 🙂 thanks in advance! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Hi Ruby, the cake can be stored at room temperature and covered with plastic or foil.
I have a lemon tree can I substitute lemon instead of orange in this recipe and use lemon cello ?
Yes, you can use limoncello and lemon for this recipe. Hope you enjoy!
Cup measurements are shocking.
2 cups 250g
1 1/2 cups 285g 🙈
1 1/4 cups 305g 🙈🙈
The cup measurements do not relate to the grams weight.
Hi Keeley, cups measure volume, grams measure weight. 1 cup of flour weighs less than 1 cup of sugar. One is denser than the other. It goes back to the old question, “which weighs more, a pound of lead or a pound of feathers?” Well, they both weigh 1 pound but the volume they take up is substantially different. Hope that helps.
Do i need to use the paper for baking?
You don’t have to but it makes it easier to remove the cake. If not using, be sure to oil the pan well.
I love all of the recipes posted by Sip and Feast.
I want to try this orange olive oil cake …. but
would like your suggestion on what is a “good olive oil”. Thank you.
Hi Barbara, our go tos are usually Frantoia (for finishing), or Partanna, but since so much is needed here you can go with something a little less expensive. Costco sells a good extra virgin olive oil, or Filipo Berio is also good for this cake.
I made this as one of the desserts for our Christmas dinner. It was fabulous! My only issue was that I had 8” cake pans and 10” cake pans. I didn’t want the cae to be too thin so used the 8” and just didn’t use all the batter. The glaze was wonderful too. Thank you!
Hi Norma, I’m so happy you enjoyed this one! It’s definitely one of my favorites!
Can’t wait to try this recipe! I have orange flavored olive oil from Sicily I have been wanting to use. Can I substitute plant based milk instead of the whole? Thanks!
Hi Kathleen, while I haven’t tested it with plant based milk, I think it should work although the flavor or texture may differ slightly depending on which type of milk you’re using.
Thank you very much for offering alternatives taking cost into consideration. I appreciate very much that you do add in different recipes a particular brand you use for ingredients but sometimes they are pricier than my budget allows. It is nice to give a high and a lower end that is still acceptable. I appreciate you taking the effort to do so. I myself find it very helpful!!
Hi Cherylynn, we’re glad you liked the recipe! A more budget friendly olive oil brand that we like is Filipo Berio as well as Cento.
Just made this cake yesterday. It is fabulous. So easy and delicious. My new go to cake for any occasion. Thanks.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Kathleen!
Molto bene! Man, this was so easy and delicious! Millie grazie!