• Torta di Arance e Mandorle con Olio •
Sweet oranges and fruity olive oil lend a fragrant aroma and moist crumb to this Italian-inspired Orange Almond Olive Oil Cake.
I’m back from Italy (for my impressions and recommendations, see my previous post about my trip to Florence!) and my first order of business was to go directly to my kitchen to bake this cake. I got the idea for it while strolling around the Mercato Centrale, the large farmer’s market in the city center with produce vendors on the ground floor and restaurants upstairs. Since it was wintertime, there was an abundance of citrus, most notably oranges and mandarins. The bountiful displays of newly picked fruits, complete with glossy leaves, lured and inspired me to experiment and create. As a result, this recipe uses oranges in three ways: the juice, the zest, and the candied orange peel.
I also sampled some heavenly local Tuscan olive oils and successfully brought back a few well-wrapped bottles in my small suitcase. I really love using olive oil in baking and sweet applications. I’ve used it with excellent results in everything from chocolate cakes to ice creams to ganaches. Go ahead and use the same good quality, extra virgin olive oil you already cook with for this recipe.
I think this cake demands a cup of tea. The texture is drier than a sponge cake but features a moist yet crumbly crumb, thanks to the almond flour. The syrup adds a slight acidity, a touch of sweetness, and more orange flavor. For this reason, this cake is well complemented by a hot cup of tea. I’d pair it with a steamed Japanese-style green tea, rooibos, or, to stick with an Italian theme, steeped chamomile flowers.
- 1 cup nondairy milk
- ⅓ cup orange juice
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup ground almond flour (finely ground almonds)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup of whole blanched, slivered, or sliced almonds
- 1 Tablespoon diced candied orange peel (totally optional, but great if you have it)
- ¾ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup water
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Whisk together the nondairy milk, orange juice, sugar, olive oil, orange zest, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
- Combine the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in another bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix just until well combined.
- Pour the batter into a lightly greased 9-inch cake pan and scatter the almond pieces and candied orange peel on top. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the cake has become golden brown in color.
- While the cake is baking, make the syrup by combining the orange juice, water, and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring it to a boil and simmer until you are left with about ¾ cup of syrup. This will take about 5-7 minutes of simmering. Remove from heat and stir in the orange zest.
- When the cake is done, remove from the oven and, while it's still hot, slowly pour the syrup onto the it, trying to cover the entire surface of the cake. Allow to cool, then serve.
-For a more vibrant flavor, try to use fresh-squeezed orange, mandarin, or tangerine juice rather than bottled.
-For an interesting and nuttier flavor modification, you could lightly toast the almond meal before incorporating into the batter.
This orange and almond olive oil cake just looks so delicious. I love citrus and almond desserts so I have to make the recipe!
This cake looks perfect! I love olive oil in desserts! I can’t wait to try it! 🙂
I made this cake last night, (using fresh blood oranges/juice) and it was completely delicious, moist, and totally remarkable. As a vegan living in Rome, I really appreciated this recipe. Will be one for the wheel house. Thank you!
Your comment made me so happy, Kate. Thank you! I’m glad you like it and your blood orange version sounds heavenly.
I made this cake today and it is absolutely gorgeous! However do you have any tips for making vegan cakes in general – I find that even though I cook them for the maximum time given in the recipe and they look fully cooked on the outside, the inside remains (too) moist and claggy and looks undercooked (whereas your photo looks how I would expect a sponge to look). It still tastes really good but I would love to improve the texture and appearance of the sponge. Would you recommend simply increasing the cooking time, or maybe increasing the dry ingredients, or something else? Thank you… I am so pleased to have found your website! 🙂
Hi Sophie! Thanks for your kind comment!
Let’s figure out your cake dilemma! Because this cake is unique in that it has that syrup poured on top, the crumb can get very moist in the areas where the syrup seeps through.
So, do you think it was due to the syrup or was the cake, in general, too undercooked? Also, do you test the doneness of your cakes with a toothpick?
Vegan cakes usually require a bit more baking powder than traditional cakes to achieve a better lift. But I took that into account with this cake. The baking soda also lifts but it also helps with browning because there is acid in this recipe. I’m still amazed how unnecessary eggs are for most cakes, too. There are a couple variables with baking…oven temp, flour protein content, efficacy of leavening agents, etc.
I also just thought of something: do you think it may be an issue with the measurements? Would it more helpful to you if I included metric equivalents for the flour, sugar, etc.?
If you make this cake again, skip the glaze. Bake it for the full 50 minutes and if it looks golden brown, test it with a toothpick in the center. It should come out completely dry. The edges of the cake will also have detached from the sides of the pan. If not, go ahead and bake for another 5-10 minutes. When you think it’s done, let it cool off for ten minutes then remove it from the pan. Now let the cake cool off completely before slicing. (I’ve found this to be very important. When I get impatient and cut a cake before cooling, it always ends up gummy because the crumb structure hasn’t had time to set.)
I hope I’ve helped you troubleshoot a little. If you ever have a problem, with this recipe or any others on the site, please don’t hesitate to send me an email with pictures so we can solve it!
Thanks so much for your reply! I’m quite new to veganism so this is really helpful 🙂 From reading what you’ve said, I think it was an issue with undercooking rather than the syrup; I will definitely try the toothpick test/cooking for a little longer as necessary next time. I think my measurements would have been okay as I have cups for measuring, however is it normal for a vegan cake mix (before cooking) to be a bit wetter than a typical non-vegan cake mix? Thanks again!
I love your recipes. Would be awesome if you can come up with a vegan كعك recipe.
Hi Kamela, thank you! I make a killer كعك بعجوة for holidays — vegan, of course. 🙂 Or are you looking for the savory kind of كعك — you know, the ones with sesame seeds, etc.? Either way, let me know which kind you’re looking for, and I’ll be sure to share it!
Can I use whole wheat pastry flour instead of the all purpose flour?
Yes you can Jennifer! It may be just a touch denser but that’s ok because the syrup will soften things up.