Olive Oil and Orange Cake

“A man is not an orange. You can’t eat the fruit and throw the peel away”. Arthur Miller

I promised my colleague to bake this cake a while ago. I had made it many times before and it has turned out absolutely lovely! This time I also wanted to glaze it with icing sugar and fresh squeezed orange juice – was very eager to try that one on my cake.
The first time I was flipping through the pages of Mario’s book “Molto Italiano” and came across this recipe, I could not believe how simple it sounded. In fact it is very simple – apart from the orange zesting, which is not as difficult as it is time consuming. Good thing this time I had help :).

So… Oranges – from a regular store, probably brought in from Morocco, Spain or who knows… And yet this time of year fresh oranges are brought in from Spain.Those are to be consumed quickly since they have not been sprayed with none of the nasty stuff that helps them stay pretty for ever.

Plus I got some fresh olive oil for a Christmas present. The cake was asking to be baked!

Olive oil and orange cake

7 Medium oranges
1/2 cup Extra virgin olive oil
4 Large eggs
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup Sugar
1 1/4 cup Flour
1 tbsp Baking powder
4-6 tbsp Icing sugar

Preheat the oven to ~ 180 degrees.
In the meantime (prior to) zest the oranges with a grater in separate bowls – 6 and 1. The one zested separately is for the glaze. Juice 2 oranges, also separately – 1 for the cake and 1 for the glaze. The zest of 6 oranges and juice of 1 – combine with olive oil in a separate bowl and set aside for further use. The zest and juice of one orange – combine and set aside in a different bowl.
In a separate bowl beat the eggs with salt about 3-4 minutes, until light and frothy. Beat in the sugar. Beat until you cannot feel the sugar between your fingertips.
Sift the flour with the baking soda, gradually beat in the egg mixture. Fold in the orange zest mixture. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on the pan you use. Mine usually takes less as I use a wide one and the cake ends up being thinner. Use the tooth pick to check.
While the cake is baking prepare the glaze – add a few tablespoons of the icing sugar at a time to the juice and zest mixture until well incorporated and there are no chunks left. The glaze should be the consistency of heavy cream – not too runny.
Once the cake is done, let it cool down and then pour the glaze over. Let it drip off the sides – will look very appetizing once it firms.