Orange sage olive oil cake

orange sage olive oil cake

With all the flavor of a pound cake, this lighter variety has a wonderfully springy mouthfeel. I love to pair herbs with desserts and found orange and sage to be a gorgeous match, but you can play with the combinations to suit your preferences- perhaps grapefruit with rosemary, or lemon and thyme, lime and black pepper even.

This is not an overly sweet cake, and it pairs nicely with a simple vanilla ice cream, plain whipped cream that allows to orange to do all the talking, or with a simple piece of dark chocolate or almonds. And like so many baked goods, this cake is exceptional the day after it’s baked.

Yield: One 9-inch cake
Ingredients
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, and a little extra for greasing the pan
255 grams all-purpose flour, and a sprinkling for the pan
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
300 grams granulated sugar, and 2 additional tablespoons for topping
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest and 2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice
1¼ cups whole milk, room temperature
3 small fresh sage leaves

Directions
Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Measure 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar into a small dish and chop or scissor the sage into thin ribbons. Mix these together and set aside.
Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round springform pan with a splash of olive oil and then flour the pan. Be sure to knock out any pockets of flour that might be clinging to the side or bottom of the pan and toss that excess into the compost or rubbish.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set this mixture aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the sugar, eggs, and orange zest with the balloon whip on high speed until thick and fluffy. This should take about five minutes. With the mixer still running, drizzle in the oil slowly and keep the whip on until fully incorporated- about another 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the milk, then orange juice. Gradually add in the flour mixture and beat only until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepped pan and sprinkle the top evenly with the sage sugar.
Bake for 45 minutes. The cake is done when a tester comes out clean. The baked cake will have a lot of height and will settle an inch or more as it cools. Transfer the cake in its pan to a rack to cool for 20 minutes. Next, run a thin rubber spatula around the edge before releasing the spring form and removing the pan bottom to allow the cake to cool completely on the rack before serving. Store leftovers in a container at room temperature for up to a week.

Adapted from a recipe for Olive Oil Cake, from NY Times Cooking.

orange sage olive oil cake
orange sage olive oil cake