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    Home » Recipes » Dessert Recipes » Cake Recipes

    Orange-Rosemary Olive Oil Cake

    Published: Apr 11, 2011 · Modified: Jan 16, 2023 by Chef Dennis Littley

    323 shares
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    It’s finally beginning to feel like spring around here, we had a pretty nice weekend and Monday is supposed to get up to 85 degrees!! That’s really going to be quite a shock to our systems after the weather we have had, but let’s not sound ungrateful, it could be snowing again….sighI do love the fact that it’s not getting dark until later, that means I can start taking some images with real light, not daylight bulbs! What a difference available light makes, as my friend Adam Barnes mentioned in his wonderful guest post last week. If you missed it, please take a few minutes and check it out. Adam will be running a series of photography posts over at Picture-Perfect Meals, so stop by and subscribe to his blog, you don’t want to miss them!It’s so funny how much work we put into posts, I don’t think any of us really realized just how time consuming and how much work blogging was going to be, I certainly didn’t. The other thing they don’t tell you is just how addictive it becomes, and how easy it is to be driven. We love our food, we love to talk about food, and we love to take pictures of food…..sigh…..it’s a good life! I see so many wonderful blogs out there, with so many incredibly talented bloggers, and photographers, what a great community we have, and its an honor to be part of it!

    olive oil cake on a white platter with rosemary on top of the cake

    Last week I made one of the best chocolate cakes I ever had with my olive oil chocolate cake recipe
    it was part of the recipe swap that Christiana from Burwell General Store holds monthly. If you would like to come have some fun with us, send Christiana an email and get on our list!

    Since the chocolate olive oil cake turned out so well, I decided to try my hand at an Orange-Rosemary Olive Oil Cake. One of my culinary students that is interning at one of the best restaurants in Philly, mentioned that they make one there, so it got me thinking.

    slice of olive oil cake with bunch of rosemary on the side

    I didn’t want to just follow the same recipe I had for the chocolate cake, I thought that this time around I would add a few more ingredients to my cake, It turned out pretty well for the first go around. It had a nice dense crumb, and managed to stay moist. The fragrance while baking was intoxicating and the subtle flavors in the cake really blended well together. It’s not an overly sweet cake, and it probably won’t please everyone, but this is about trying new things and enjoying new flavors, so give it a try if your looking for a new cake to make. It will go great with an espresso, or even a nice hearty glass of red wine.

    slice of olive oil cake with bunch of rosemary on the side

    Orange-Rosemary Olive Oil Cake
    1 ½ cups all purpose flour
    1 cup sugar
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    ½ teaspoon baking powder
    ¼ tsp salt
    3 large eggs
    6 oz Greek Yogurt
    ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
    1 Tbsp finely chopped rosemary
    zest of one large orange
    3-4 stands saffron (optional)

    Preheat oven to 350

    Mix all of your dry ingredients together in one bowl and mix well
    Mix all of the other ingredients in another bowl blending them all together, then add to dry ingredients.
    Mix just enough to blend them all together, do not over mix that will make the cake tough.
    I did use a little saffron in the recipe to help give the cake some added color, but it almost hid the flavor of the rosemary, so next time around I will be leaving it out.

    pour your finished batter into a prepared pan (9″ round) and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
    You should have a nice dark color to the top of the cake, adding just a little crust.

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    About Chef Dennis

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    Chef Dennis Littley is a classically trained chef with over 40 years of experience working in the food service industry. In his second career as a food blogger he has made it his mission to demistify cooking by sharing his time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen. Let Chef Dennis help you bring the joy of cooking into your home. For more details, check out his About page.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Catherine

      April 16, 2011 at 6:07 pm

      I have been thinking about making an olive oil cake and here it is! This sounds so delightful. Blessings, Catherine

      Reply
    2. Firefly@fireflyblog.org

      April 16, 2011 at 2:46 am

      Another amazing cake I have to try.

      I so agree with you about blogging. It's time consuming, very addictive and it's both great and ton of work LOL I've been blogging since 2008 and at first I never thought that it would last this long, or that I would find new ways to make it fun from month to month and year after year. I love all the connections I've made trough my blog both with other bloggers and with companies.

      We had a nice week here too with sun and spring like days, but today is all different LOL lots of rain and cold.

      Reply
    3. Tickled Red

      April 14, 2011 at 1:56 pm

      Oh my goodness that looks so moist! I adore orange flavored desserts so I can't wait to give this a try.MmmmmmmmMmmmmmmm 🙂

      Reply
    4. Liv Wan

      April 14, 2011 at 6:19 am

      Stop it, Dennis! I had enough. Your food looks too tasty and it made me getting fatter and fatter from just look at it. 😀 (I love all your recipes and they all looks so delicious.)

      Reply
    5. Amy

      April 14, 2011 at 2:52 am

      Dennis, you are so right about food blogging becoming addictive! I thought I would only post about once a week…but that turned into more like 5 or every day ;)! Your recipes always sound delicious! As far as this one goes…another wonderful olive oil cake!?!? I think this one may be even more delicious sounding than the last! I love the idea of olive oil in a orange cake, and your addition of the rosemary! Hope you are enjoying the warmer spring weather :)!

      Reply
    6. Magic of Spice

      April 13, 2011 at 10:59 pm

      Delightful version of an olive oil cake…plus chocolate and rosemary, how could it not be wonderful! Looks moist and delicious 🙂

      Reply
    7. Julia @ DimpleArts

      April 13, 2011 at 8:03 pm

      Dennis, your cake looks great! I'll comment back here when I try it out. If I blog about it, can I link back to you for the recipe?

      You are right about how time consuming blogging really is. I've been devoting more time to it lately, and hope I can keep it going.

      Reply
    8. Dara

      April 13, 2011 at 7:51 pm

      I love all variations of olive oil cake. Especially one I can enjoy with a glass of wine. I look forward to trying this.

      Reply
    9. A Thought For Food

      April 13, 2011 at 2:06 am

      I have yet to make an olive oil cake but they always look so, dare I say it, moist… I'm just dying to give it a try!

      Reply
    10. Evan @swEEts

      April 13, 2011 at 2:05 am

      I've been wanting to try your chocolate olive oil cake since I saw it and now this!? I need to plan a dinner party soon so I can try this out and use Mountain Man's fresh rosemary from the garden! Glad its warming up for you all out in Philly!

      Reply
    11. Lisa @ Tarte du Jour

      April 13, 2011 at 12:58 am

      Orange-Rosemary Olive Oil Cake it is nice to meet you! You look truly mouth watering!! What a lovely cake you are…

      Reply
    12. Sippity Sup

      April 12, 2011 at 10:02 pm

      There is a world of olive oil desserts out there and I am just beginning to discover them. GREG

      Reply
    13. Cake Duchess

      April 12, 2011 at 9:40 pm

      Gorgeous cake and I am intrigued with the saffron addition. I bet it is just wonderful!!

      Reply
    14. A multi-dimensional life

      April 12, 2011 at 7:10 pm

      Hi Dennis! This caught my eye and I just had to check it out…looks wonderful. I WILL be trying it!
      I'm sure the aroma of it baking smells like springtime!

      I feel the same way about the blogging community. I am so blessed by the caring, encouragers I have met through this experience; so grateful to know you!

      Reply
    15. Maranda

      April 12, 2011 at 4:08 pm

      I'm so sorry your blog conference isn't going to work out this year. It will happen. Just keep at it!

      This cake is very intriguing. I look forward to trying it with that glass of wine. It will just have to wait until September. 😉

      Reply
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    My name is Dennis Littley or "Chef Dennis" as I'm known both at work and across the blogosphere. As a classically trained chef with 40+ years of experience in the kitchen, I share my time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen.

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