Ever since a certain celebrity cut a hole from the middle of her favorite olive oil cake back in 2020, the internet has been obsessed with olive oil cakes. I must confess that I was a fan of olive oil cakes long before that. I first tasted one at a restaurant years ago and fell in love. The flavor and texture was so delightful, that all it needed was a dusting of powdered sugar on top. Now that the dust has settled, I’m sharing my favorite orange olive oil cake recipe. Not because it’s trendy, but because it’s a really delicious recipe that tastes like spring.
I made cute little orange scented, personal cakes that are really just elegant cupcakes. The recipe is easily adapted to your tastes. You can switch up the orange flavor and substitute with lemon or any citrus of your choice. Even if you don’t like olive oil, you’ll still like these little cakes. I used light olive oil, rather than extra virgin olive oil, for a more subtle olive oil flavor. It’s also able to withstand higher temperatures. Feel free to use your favorite olive oil or replace it with the oil you prefer. Grape seed, avocado, canola and vegetable oil are some examples of oils you can use as a replacement.
This recipe contains almond flour. It helps with texture and flavor, so it’s a necessary ingredient. Almond flour can be pricey, but it’s good to have on hand. Adding it to your baked goods will make them more moist and tender. To find almond flour click here,
Servings |
mini cakes
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- 1 cup (4 oz or 113g) cake flour, sifted
- 1/4 cup (1 oz or 28g) almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2/3 cup (4 5/8 oz or 133g) sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (3 7/8 oz or 115ml) light olive oil
- 1/4 cup (2 oz or 59ml) whole milk
- 1/4 cup (2 oz or 59ml orange juice
- 1/4 cup (1 3/4 oz or 50g) sugar
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- powdered sugar for dusting the tops
Ingredients
Mini Orange Olive Oil Cakes
Orange Simple Syrup
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- Heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease and flour a 12 serving muffin pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the sugar, eggs, orange zest and vanilla extract together until smooth.
- Gradually mix in the olive oil and beat until well combined.
- Stir in the dry ingredients in two additions, alternating with the milk and orange juice. Stir just until combined. Do not over mix.
- Fill the prepared muffin pan cups 2/3 full with batter. Do not overfill or cakes will be more difficult to remove.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the tops look light golden, but still moist and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. They bake very quickly, so check them a few minutes early to avoid over baking.
- Cool the cakes in pan for 5 minutes. Remove them from pan and transfer to a cooling rack.
- Brush the warm cakes with orange simple syrup and allow to cool completely.
- When the cakes have cooled, dust with powdered sugar.
- In a small saucepan, stir together the sugar, orange juice, lemon juice, and orange zest.
- Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, just until the sugar is dissolved.
- Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
These are delicious but I struggle with the center of them collapsing. Any tips?
Hi Alyssa, the most common reason for collapsed cakes is under baking. Another reason might be incorrectly measuring the dry ingredients. Use a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients for the most accurate results. Check your baking powder and baking soda to make sure they’re still active. Over mixing and under mixing can both cause issues with your cakes. It might be helpful to whisk your eggs vigorously before adding them to the batter to help with your cake structure. Hope this helps!