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–+ servings
warm citrus olive oil cake sliced and set on a beige and gold rimmed plate

Italian Olive Oil Cake Recipe

A deliciously moist citrus olive oil cake with a hint of rosemary and topped with a nutty pistachio sugar topping make this a perfect dessert for any special occasion, or to enjoy with morning coffee.
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 16 slices
Author:Andrea

Equipment

  • 9 inch Springform pan may use regular cake pan

Ingredients

For the cake - dry ingredients

  • 2 cups All purpose flour
  • 1 ¾ cups Granulated sugar
  • 1.5 teaspoon Fresh rosemary finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon Baking powder
  • 1.5 teaspoon Kosher salt

For the cake - wet ingredients

  • 1.5 teaspoon Orange zest
  • 1.5 teaspoon Lemon zest
  • 3 large Eggs
  • 2 tablespoon Orange juice
  • 2 tablespoon Lemon juice
  • ¼ cup Orange liqueur
  • 1.5 teaspoon Vanilla extract
  • ⅔ cup Extra virgin Olive Oil
  • ⅔ cup Vegetable oil
  • 1 ¼ cup Whole milk

For nutty sugar topping (will make extra than needed)

  • ½ cup Granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup Pistachios or almonds
  • 1 Orange zested
  • 1 small sprig Rosemary leaves stripped from stem

Instructions

To make the olive oil cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9” spring form pan by coating all sides and bottom with cooking oil, then place on a foil lined baking sheet.
  • Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
    2 cups All purpose flour, 1 ¾ cups Granulated sugar, 1.5 teaspoon Fresh rosemary, 1 teaspoon Baking soda, ½ teaspoon Baking powder, 1.5 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • Mix wet ingredients in a large bowl.
    1.5 teaspoon Orange zest, 3 large Eggs, 2 tablespoon Orange juice, 2 tablespoon Lemon juice, ¼ cup Orange liqueur, 1.5 teaspoon Vanilla extract, ⅔ cup Extra virgin Olive Oil, ⅔ cup Vegetable oil, 1 ¼ cup Whole milk, 1.5 teaspoon Lemon zest
  • Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well.
  • Pour cake mix into springform pan and wrap tinfoil around the bottom of the pan to catch any spills that may leak out of the pan.
  • Bake for 55-75 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean in the center. If the top of the olive oil cake starts to brown too much past 50 minutes, loosely cover with tinfoil while cake continues to bake.

To make the nutty sugar topping

  • While cake is baking, add all ingredients for the nutty sugar topping into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed together. The finished mixture should resemble coarse sand and have a very fragrant aroma.
    ½ cup Granulated sugar, ¼ cup Pistachios, 1 small sprig Rosemary, 1 Orange
  • Remove cake from the oven when done, and allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes before removing from the pan. Top with the sugar nutty mixture, gently pressing it into the cake to avoid it spilling all over. You will use about half of the mixture with plenty left over to enjoy as a topping on other desserts and baked goods.

Notes

Baking time can vary considerably depending on the oven. In a large oven it can take upwards of 70 minutes to be done, versus using a small countertop convection oven, it finishes in about 55 minutes. 
Recipe is adapted from the PBS show Now We're Cooking 

Nutrition

Serving: 16slices | Calories: 379kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 321mg | Potassium: 102mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 114IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 1mg
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