Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

Soft, fragrant and beautifully moist, this blood orange olive oil cake is one of those simple bakes that lets the ingredients shine. The citrus brings brightness, the olive oil brings depth, and together they create a soft, moist and incredibly flavourful cake.

We baked this one with our Grovehood Collective Picual extra virgin olive oil — its green, fruity character pairs naturally with the bright, citric aroma of blood orange and gives the cake a beautifully balanced and powerful flavour, while also providing that luxurious, moist texture you’ll fall in love with.

Recipe

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

230 g all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda

Oil Mixture

200 ml extra virgin olive oil
70 ml blood orange juice
30 ml milk

Wet Ingredients

3 large eggs (room temperature)
150 g sugar (we used cane sugar — regular sugar works just as well)
Zest of 1 blood orange
1 tsp vanilla (we used a vanilla stick; powder or essence works too)

Optional while serving

Powdered sugar
Greek yogurt

Method

Dry ingredients

In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

Oil mixture

In a jar or bowl, combine the extra virgin olive oil, blood orange juice and milk. Whisk well until fully blended. Set aside.

Wet ingredients

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until the mixture turns pale and slightly airy. This will take a few minutes by hand. We used a stand mixer and whisked for about 3–4 minutes.
Add the vanilla and whisk briefly to combine. Stir in the blood orange zest.

Combine

Now add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the oil mixture. Whisk gently after each addition until just combined.
Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl as you go — but avoid over-mixing, as this keeps the cake tender and moist.

Bake

Pour the batter into a greased and parchment-lined 23 cm (9 inch) round pan.
Gently tap the pan twice on the work surface to remove air bubbles.
Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C (fan off) on the mid rack for 30–35 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Cool & serve

Remove from the oven and let it rest in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a plate to cool completely.
Dust with powdered sugar and, if you like, serve with a spoon of Greek yogurt and a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Note

We used our Picual extra virgin olive oil here — its fresh, green and fruity notes lift the blood orange beautifully while keeping the crumb soft and moist. A good olive oil doesn’t simply replace other alternatives; it carries the cake’s flavour to another level.