When I first heard that such a thing as olive-oil cake existed, my reaction was, “Huh.” It sounded slightly interesting, but not enough for me to start combing the Interwebs for recipes.
Then I read “Julie/Julia” and I promised myself that I would cook my way through my Bon Appetit magazine, which has Julia Child-esque difficulty levels, but with a healthier and non-French bend. The point is to cook things you wouldn’t normally bother with. So I made this cake, which Bon Appetit modeled after a treat served at some cafe in Manhattan.
The men in my house exclaimed that they loved it. I thought it was okay, definitely a tasty snack or breakfast nibble. It actually reminds me of something related to banana or cucumber bread, but maybe that’s just because I cooked it in a loaf pan? It’s a little more dense than your typical cake, and the orange zest gives it a nice aroma. The olive oil adds a little something that you can’t put your finger on. It also colors the cake a pretty yellow.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 large eggs
3/4 c whole milk
1/2 c olive oil
2 tsp orange zest
Preheat oven to 325. Oil and flour a 9-inch loaf pan. Whisk first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.
In another bowl, whisk eggs, milk, olive oil and orange zest to blend. Gradually whisk this into the flour mixture. Scrape into your loaf pan.
Bake about 60-65 minutes (mine took less) or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in pan, on rack, for 20 minutes, then cool completely on rack.
This would do well with a little orange or lemon chutney. Or even some whipped cream. Enjoy, friends!
Seasoned to Taste 
Thanks for posting this recipe. I was looking for Olive Oil Cake and your site came right up. It looks good. Julie / Julia is an inspiring story.
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Good luck, Amy! My recipe called for “mild” olive oil, but I just used whatever extra-virgin I had in the cupboard. I’m just now eating the last piece – yummy.
I made this last night. Scrumptious! And guess what – it looks just like yours!
Claudia – don’t you just love that light yellow, olive-oil color it comes out? Yummy for the eyes and tummy!
I too saw this in Bon Appetit and decided to make it and was very pleased with the results, although like you, all my family/friends liked it more than I did!
I’m so grateful to you for posting this – having misplaced the magazine, I wanted to find it online and your blog popped right up! Now I just direct my friends here when they ask for the recipe.
So glad you found it, Sara! I think a dusting of powdered sugar would be nice over the top. 🙂
I tried this cake today, and loved it! It came out beautifully! Thanks!
Glad you liked it! Yum.
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When I did this recipe I didn’t have an orange to zest with so I replaced it with lime zest instead, and it turned out great then when I ran out of lime to zest with I replaced it with vanilla extract and it turned out FANTASTIC!!!!!! so if you don’t have any oranges you can use lime zest, vanilla extract or even lemon zest would be great too! Well thanks for the fabulous recipe!! Going to make round 3 of it. ;D
I used white whole wheat flour, coconut sugar and 2/4 cup plain unsweetened almond milk and 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk. I also squeezed some fresh orange juice in the batter baked for about 56 minutes. I then topped it with the rest of the squeezed orange juice mixed with powdered sugar. This was phenomenal! So yummy and now a staple! Thank you for posting!