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Orange-Olive Oil Layer Cake

By Sarah Ewald

Published on October 15, 2019

Time

1¼ hours, plus 1½ hours cooling

Yield

Makes three 9-inch cake layers

Orange-Olive Oil Layer Cake

Ingredients

2 ⅔ cups (13⅓ ounces/378 grams) all-purpose flour 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder 1 ¼ teaspoons table salt 4 large eggs plus 1 large yolk2 cups (14 ounces/397 grams) sugar 1 tablespoon grated orange zest 1 ⅓ cups extra-virgin olive oil 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk ¼ cup Grand Marnier or other liqueur

Before You Begin

You will need cake pans with at least 2-inch-tall sides for this recipe. For the best results, use a good-quality extra-virgin olive oil.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, and flour pans. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in bowl.
  2. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip eggs and yolk on medium speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Add sugar and orange zest, increase speed to high, and whip until mixture is fluffy and pale yellow, about 3 minutes.
  3. Reduce speed to medium and, with mixer running, slowly pour in oil. Mix until oil is fully incorporated, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low, add half of flour mixture, and mix until incorporated, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl as needed. Add milk and Grand Marnier and mix until combined, about 30 seconds. Add remaining flour mixture and mix until just incorporated, about 1 minute.
  4. Divide batter evenly among prepared pans and smooth tops with rubber spatula. Bake until cake is deep golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out with few crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Loosen cakes from pans with paring knife, then invert onto greased wire rack and discard parchment. Invert cakes again and let cool completely on rack, about 1½ hours.
Orange-Olive Oil Layer Cake
Photography by Steve Klise. Styling by Catrine Kelty.

Orange-Olive Oil Layer Cake

Headshot of Sarah Ewald
By Sarah Ewald
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Time

1¼ hours, plus 1½ hours cooling

Yield

Makes three 9-inch cake layers

Ingredients

2 ⅔ cups (13⅓ ounces/378 grams) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoons table salt
4 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
2 cups (14 ounces/397 grams) sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 ⅓ cups extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
¼ cup Grand Marnier or other liqueur

Ingredients

2 ⅔ cups (13⅓ ounces/378 grams) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoons table salt
4 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
2 cups (14 ounces/397 grams) sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 ⅓ cups extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
¼ cup Grand Marnier or other liqueur

Ingredients

2 ⅔ cups (13⅓ ounces/378 grams) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoons table salt
4 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
2 cups (14 ounces/397 grams) sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 ⅓ cups extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
¼ cup Grand Marnier or other liqueur

Why This Recipe Works

UPDATE: This recipe has been slightly reformulated to be more foolproof since its initial publication. The revision you see here was published in December of 2019.

We wanted our olive oil cake to have a light, fine-textured, and plush crumb, with a subtle but noticeable olive oil flavor. Whipping the sugar with the whole eggs rather than just the whites produced a fine texture that was airy but sturdy enough to support the olive oil—rich batter. To emphasize the defining flavor, we opted for a good-quality extra-virgin olive oil and supplemented its fruitiness with orange zest and Grand Marnier.

Before You Begin

You will need cake pans with at least 2-inch-tall sides for this recipe. For the best results, use a good-quality extra-virgin olive oil.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, and flour pans. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in bowl.
  2. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip eggs and yolk on medium speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Add sugar and orange zest, increase speed to high, and whip until mixture is fluffy and pale yellow, about 3 minutes.
  3. Reduce speed to medium and, with mixer running, slowly pour in oil. Mix until oil is fully incorporated, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low, add half of flour mixture, and mix until incorporated, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl as needed. Add milk and Grand Marnier and mix until combined, about 30 seconds. Add remaining flour mixture and mix until just incorporated, about 1 minute.
  4. Divide batter evenly among prepared pans and smooth tops with rubber spatula. Bake until cake is deep golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out with few crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Loosen cakes from pans with paring knife, then invert onto greased wire rack and discard parchment. Invert cakes again and let cool completely on rack, about 1½ hours.

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