Portuguese Orange Olive Oil Cake

When I saw David Leite’s post and video about his Portuguese Orange Olive Oil Cake I knew I had to make it for Christmas dinner. (I know. Christmas was over 2 weeks ago. I couldn’t wait until Christmas 2010 to post this.) David insists that you must wait at least 24 hours before tasting the cake. That meant I could make it on Christmas Eve and have the dessert all ready for Christmas day.

This cake is so delicious, and it really is easy to make. And it’s remarkable how well it keeps. I had one small piece left a week after Christmas and it was still wonderful!

I will definitely be making it again. It may become a Christmas tradition. 🙂

Portuguese Orange Olive Oil Cake

(printable recipe)

(Adapted from David Leite’s recipe, available on his blog and in his beautiful new book, The New Portuguese Table.)

David cautions to use a light-colored Bundt pan because “a dark one will turn out a cake that sticks and is unpleasantly brown.” My Bundt pan is medium-colored and has a non-stick coating. It worked for me.

As David says, don’t even think about tasting the cake for at least a day or two after you have made it!

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Nonstick baking spray with flour
5 large navel oranges
3 1/2 cups (420 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
5 large eggs
3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups mild extra-virgin olive oil
Confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling

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1. Put an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350˚. Spray a 12-cup Bundt or tube pan with baking spray.

2. Finely grate the zest of 3 of the oranges. (A Microplane zester works well for this.) Squeeze 4 of the oranges. If you don’t have 1 1/2 cups of juice (I didn’t), squeeze the 5th orange.

3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs on medium-high speed until mixed well, about 1 minute. Slowly pour the granulated sugar in and beat until it is thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. On low speed, add about 1/3 of the flour mixture, then about half of the oil. Continue alternating, ending with the flour and beat until just a small amount of flour remains. Pour in the orange juice and zest and beat just for a few seconds to blend it all together.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 1 1/4 hours. Check the cake as it’s baking. If the top seems to be getting too brown, cover it loosely with foil.

6. When the cake is done, put the cake pan on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes.

Then turn the cake out on a wire rack to cool completely. Put the cake in a covered cake stand and wait at least 1 day before eating. Just before serving, sprinkle confectioners’ sugar over the top.

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April 4, 2010

Portuguese Orange Olive Oil Cake revisited for Easter!