Olive oil cake with orange - Good Taste is the Worst Vice

Usually, when I buy a food magazine, I read the articles but only skim the recipes – and I certainly don’t go so far as actually making many of them.

But occasionally, just from reading a recipe, I find that I can clearly imagine the taste of the finished product. And once that happens, the idea of that recipe sticks in my mind until I finally get around to trying it.

This olive oil cake is a great example – I found it in a Food & Wine article in the July 2010 issue, buried within an article that collected recipes from seven popular pastry chefs. Doughnut, tarts, brownies? Eh. But olive oil cake, with fresh orange juice and Grand Marnier? The flavors popped into my mind immediately – savory, tart, sweet.

I ripped the entire page out of the magazine and put it into my recipe binder, where I looked at it occasionally and imagined the finished cake. Finally, today was the day – I had a free afternoon, and all the ingredients were in the fridge!

The cake is remarkably quick and easy to make; the only mildly labor-intensive part is grating the orange zest and squeezing the fresh juice. I skipped the blackberry sauce in the published recipe, instead opting for an easy garnish of some orange supremes. I also reduced the sugar and salt in the recipe, and used skim milk rather than whole (my standard substitution).

The cake is incredibly moist and flavorful – almost exactly what I imagined. The first few bites felt almost too oily, but once I became accustomed to the texture, it started to remind me of the texture of pound cake (without the butter!). The top of the cake develops a sugary crust, which adds texture and a great sweetness.

So thank you, Food & Wine, for introducing me to Jennifer Shelbo (pastry chef at Maialino in NYC) and her excellent recipe! Next time I’m in New York, I’ll have to stop by Maialino to see what else she has in her repertoire.

Olive oil cake, adapted from a Jennifer Shelbo recipe in Food & Wine

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/3 cups olive oil

1 1/4 cups milk

3 eggs

1 1/2 tbsp grated orange zest

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup Grand Marnier

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9-inch cake pan with non-stick cooking spray, and line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper.

In medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.

In large bowl, mix together the other ingredients. Add the dry ingredients gradually, whisking until just combined.

Pour batter into cake pan (it will almost fill the pan) and bake for about an hour, until top of cake is golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

Serve with orange supremes or other fruit, as desired.

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