Olive oil cake is a baking miracle. Those of us (like me) who are used to classic French baking techniques reflexively think of olive oil as a savoury ingredient only. But when olive oil is substituted for butter in cakes, it produces a moist cake with a dense crumb and an incredibly light, fluffy texture, almost like an Asian sponge cake. It’s cake perfection. Since I started baking olive oil cakes, I’ve been playing with various combinations of flavours and ratios of olive oil and flour and eggs and sugar, and this cake is unquestionably my favourite: it’s the lightest and most delicate.
I love blood oranges because the flavour is so concentrated, and there’s a slight hint of grapefruit bitterness underlying the taste of orange. And of course blood oranges are beautiful. If blood oranges are hard to find or expensive, however, I think you’d be fine substituting another kind of orange, or Meyer lemons, or perhaps a combination of orange and lime. Or you can just use my baking formula and flavour it however you like. The distinctive sharp, fruity olive taste does carry through to the cake, however, so it’s best with other complementary flavours. Citrus is a natural complement, as are nuts, like almonds or pistachios. (I use yogurt in the cake for the same reason.) Also, I recommend using a very fruity, delicate olive oil, such as Spanish Arbequina olive oil, rather than something heavy and dark, like Kalamata olive oil. Last, you should make the cake at least a day before you plan to serve it. (Like many cakes, it’s good on the same day, but it’s much better the next day.)
The cake is not too sweet, so you can serve it on its own with tea or coffee. I served it as a composed dessert with a rhubarb and blood orange compote and vanilla bean crème Anglaise (custard). This was especially nice; I love rhubarb with anything, and it’s brilliant with blood orange. And who doesn’t like custard?
Ingredients:
**All measurements are in US cups and metric equivalents. For additional clarification, see this chart.
For the cake
A scant cup and a half (200 grams) all-purpose flour, sifted, plus a little extra for the pan
One cup sugar (200 grams)
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs, separated
Zest and juice of one blood orange
2/3 cup (160 ml) extra virgin olive oil (plus a little extra for the pan)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup plain yogurt
For the compote
About a pound (400 g) of rhubarb stalks, cut into small dice
2/3 cup (about 135 grams) sugar
1 blood orange, supremed and cut into chunks. (To supreme an orange, slice the ends off with a paring knife, then carefully cut away the peel and white pith. Slice along one side of each segment. The orange will open up like a flower. Pull away the segments from the membranes.)
For the crème Anglaise
½ cup (about 115 ml) cream
½ cup (about 115 ml) milk
Three tablespoons sugar
Two egg yolks
½ vanilla bean
An ice bath
Method:
For the cake:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit). Oil a springform pan or a cake pan and lightly dust with flour. If you wish, you can line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and zest in a bowl and set aside. Beat the egg whites in a large mixing bowl until they are frothy and opaque. Gradually add half the sugar, continuing to beat, until you have a fluffy white stiff meringue. 
In a separate bowl, beat together the egg yolks, olive oil, remaining sugar and vanilla until the sugar is fully dissolved and the egg yolks have thickened slightly and become paler in colour. Stir in the blood orange juice.
Stir the dry ingredients into the egg yolk mixture, fold in about a third of the meringue to lighten it, and then combine with the remaining meringue, and yogurt, folding with a rubber spatula until just incorporated. 
Pour into your prepared cake pan and bake in the center of your oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the center of the cake feels light and springy to the touch. 
Cool on a rack in the pan for about 30 minutes. You can then loosen the edges of the cake and invert onto the rack to cool completely.
For the compote:
Combine rhubarb and sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb is tender but hasn’t fallen apart, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in blood orange segments. Allow to stand for at least an hour before serving.
For the crème Anglaise:
Set a bowl in an ice bath to cool. Combine milk, cream, sugar, and the seeds from the vanilla bean in a saucepan and heat just until scalded. Set aside. Beat together the egg yolks, then add a bit of the hot cream mixture, beating all the while to temper the yolks. Combine with the remaining cream and heat over very low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thickened. Remove from heat and pour into the prepared cool bowl. Continue to mix until the custard has reached room temperature. Pour through a wire mesh strainer to remove any lumps. You can chill the custard until it’s ready for use. (If you slightly scramble your custard, like I did, it’s probably because you didn’t temper the eggs sufficiently before adding them to the hot cream. Your custard will still be usable, although it will not be beautiful.)
To serve, smear some custard on a plate. Place the cake on top of the custard and spoon about a tablespoonful of compote along the side. Or put the cake on the plate and dollop the custard and compote on top. Delicious! 
Makes 10-12 servings.
Susan eats London 
Your cake sounds delicious. I have had a similar cake made with cornmeal. Your compote is a great pairing with the dessert.
Thank you Karen! I think the cornmeal combination is very traditional in Southern Italy. It’s one of my favorite cakes.
Gorgeous! i have always chickened out from making cakes from scratch. But this one sounds so simple and easy for me to get initiated!! Thanks
It is simple and easy and such a nice cake. It will make you feel like a very competent baker and immediately embolden you to make lots more cakes. Good luck!
I’ve made cakes with oil instead of butter before but I don’t think I’ve ever used olive oil. I’ll have to give it a go.
You should! I found that it’s completely different from cooking with other oils.
Delicious flavors! I’ve been making olive oil muffins lately, but will add orange to the mix. I’m stealing your cake recipe. 🙂
daisy
I’m flattered! I’d *love* to hear what you do with it.
Yummy. so yummy. I’ve never made an olive oil cake – I really must, and soon.
You must, it’s true — when I made my first olive oil cake, it was a forehead-smacking moment of “why didn’t I do this sooner?” Olive oil cakes are lovely. Thank you for the comment!
I want to try your method, Susan, with the beaten egg whites. I make olive oil cakes and I like them, but your cake looks higher and lighter. If you ever see it, get some fused blood orange olive oil by Mosaic — it is wonderful in olive oil cakes.
Great recommendation, thank you so much! I will look for it. I almost always separate my eggs and make a fluffy meringue, even for “one bowl” cakes — I find it makes cakes so much lighter. If you try this, let me know what you think.
When I have made olive oil cakes I have fiddled with the ingredients, but have always followed whatever directions I have because, you know, it’s baking and cakes can be tricky. But now I have your instructions and will try them in my next olive oil cake.
Great! Let me know how it turns out.
My mother got me a blood orange olive oil from a specialty shop for Christmas, now I finally know what to do with it!
I’ve looked up blood orange olive oil online — I had not known such a thing existed. Your cake will be a beautiful color. If you try the recipe, let me know how it turns out!
I adore olive oil cakes! The one I make has rosemary in it, but this looks like a good one to add to my repertory! You already have rhubarb? I am jealous!
Have you ever had olive oil on gelato? I had olive oil gelato at one of Mario Batali’s restaurants here in NYC and loved it so much, I went home later and drizzled some on some vanilla gelato I had in the freezer. It was awesome!
Rhubarb is just starting to appear here — we had a warm early spring although now it is cold again. Rosemary olive oil cake sounds amazing — I may steal the idea and try it with semolina. I have had olive oil on gelato — I bet rosemary olive oil on, say, chocolate gelato would be off-the-hook delicious.
That does sound off-the-hook delicious! I have also been drizzling pumpkin seed oil over gelato. Pumpkin seed oil is diachromatic, which is a word I never knew before using pumpkin seed oil. Basically, it means that when you have a thin layer, it looks green. And when you have a thick layer, it looks red. Crazy, right? But it’s crazy delicious on gelato. And now I’m thinking it would be even better on chocolate gelato!
I saw pumpkin seed oil at a market last week and was amazed by how beautiful it was. Almost bought some but restrained myself (I was already spending a lot). What else do you use it for?
I like to drizzle it on pumpkin soup! You can use it in vinaigrette too instead of olive oil. Especially if you have toasted pumpkin seeds in the salad! You can also use it to make granola. And pumpkin seed brittle!
still haven’t tried olive oil in cake before though I’ve heard lots about it! love everything about this but, more custard please (:
You are right. I was way too stingy with the custard!
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This cake is a revelation! The blood orange and vanilla work beautifully together. I used a Spanish olive oil, which was light and did not overpower the flavors. This will undoubtedly become my “go to” recipe for any occasion — dressed up or down.
Thank you so much for trying my recipe, and I am *so happy* it worked out so well!