serves 8 to 10
For quick loaf pan cakes like this, usually I rely on melted butter for the fat, with its richer flavor. But years ago, when our infant’s diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease led to the suggestion that I, her breast-feeding mama, give up cow’s-milk dairy, I had to switch. As I read through recipes calling for vegetable oil, it occurred to me that my favorite vegetable oil is olive. So why not use that?
The recipe for Dorie Greenspan’s extra-virgin olive oil cake seemed like just the place to start. And while I didn’t have lime zest, I did have some nice blood oranges, so I grated the peel from those instead. That left me with two denuded oranges, which, I feared, would fossilize before I had a chance to eat them. A small wave of anticipatory guilt that I’d have to throw out fruit that cost $1.50 each made me decide to use them immediately. I juiced one and chopped up segments from the other, adding it all to the cake batter and reducing the quantity of yogurt (I used sheep’s milk) to compensate for the extra liquid.
While the cake was baking, every corner of the house pulsed with the scents of citrus and olive. I could barely wait for my cake to cool before cutting a sliver. With a distinct herbal flavor from the oil and juicy bits of ruby blood orange strewn throughout the very fine crumb, it was both pretty and every bit as good as my more buttery confections.
3 blood oranges
1 cup sugar
Buttermilk or plain yogurt, as needed
3 large eggs
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Whipped cream, for serving (optional)
Honey–Blood Orange Compote (see Note), for serving (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 × 5-inch loaf pan.
2. Grate the zest from 2 oranges and place in a bowl with the sugar. Using your fingers, rub the zest and sugar together until the orange zest is evenly distributed.
3. SUPRÊME ONE OF THE ORANGES: Cut off the bottom and top so the fruit is exposed and the orange can stand upright on a cutting board. Cut away the peel and pith, following the curve of the fruit with your knife. Cut the orange segments out of their connective membranes and let them fall into a bowl. Repeat with another orange. Break up the segments with your fingers.
4. Halve the remaining orange and squeeze the juice into a measuring cup. You’ll have ¼ cup or so. Add buttermilk or yogurt to the juice until you have ⅔ cup liquid altogether. Pour the mixture into the bowl with the sugar and whisk well. Whisk in the eggs.
5. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gently whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ones. Switch to a spatula and fold in the oil a little at a time. Fold in the orange segments and any juice left in the bowl. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.
6. Bake the cake for about 55 minutes, or until it is golden and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then unmold onto the rack and cool to room temperature, right-side up. Serve with whipped cream and Honey–Blood Orange Compote, if desired.
note: To make Honey–Blood Orange Compote, suprême 3 more blood oranges according to the directions in step 3. Drizzle in 1 to 2 teaspoons honey. Let sit for 5 minutes, then stir gently.