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–+ servings
slice of blood orange olive oil cake on white plate garnished with blood orange slice.
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5 from 67 votes

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

Embrace citrus season with this delicious Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake. It’s bursting with fresh flavor, moist, fluffy and perfectly sweet. The cake is topped with a light, zesty glaze for a delightful snacking experience.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: brunch, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: bakery, cafe
Servings: 10
Calories: 338kcal
Author: Courtney Paige

Equipment

  • Large mixing bowl
  • electric hand mixer
  • Rubber Spatula
  • Measuring cups and spoons
  • Zester
  • Handheld juicer
  • 9x4 loaf pan
  • parchment paper

Ingredients

For the cake

  • 1 cup cane sugar
  • 2 blood oranges zested and juiced
  • 2 eggs
  • ⅓ cup greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp orange extract or substitute almond extract
  • 1.5 oz Cointreau or orange liqueur
  • 1 ½ cups all purpose flour divided
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp olive oil

For the glaze

  • 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • ½ blood orange juiced and zested
  • 1-3 tbsp almond milk or milk of choice

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x4 loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease any of the remaining exposed sides of the pan with butter flavored crisco.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add the zest of 1 blood orange and cane sugar. Use an electric hand mixer or whisk to combine until zest is thoroughly incorporated and sugar is tinted orange.
    butter and blood orange zest mixed in white mixing bowl.
  • Beat in the eggs one at a time ensuring that the egg is fully incorporated before adding in the next. Then add in almond extract, Cointreau and greek yogurt. Whisk feverently.
  • Pour in baking powder, salt, and flour. Whisk together until smooth throughout. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to get all of the flour.
    blood orange olive oil cake wet ingredients mixed in white mixing bowl with dry ingredients added on top.
  • Fold the olive oil into the batter, making it silky. Juice the 1 ½blood oranges (save the remaining ½ for the frosting) and whisk again until smooth. Note: this won't make the batter pink. If you’re looking for that, add 1-2 drops of pink food coloring.
  • Bake for 50-65 minutes**Note: oven times may vary and need to adjust +/- 10-15 minutes. The loaf is finished when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean!
  • Allow the bread to cool to room temperature before adding the glaze.
    baked blood orange olive oil cake in parchment lined loaf pan.
  • To make the glaze, combine powdered sugar and juice/zest of blood orange and optional ½ tsp orange extract. Use an electric hand mixer to combine glaze together. It will be thick. Add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until glaze is spreadable.
  • Remove the cake from the pan and place on a wire rack. Pour the glaze over top of the loaf. For easy cleaning, I like to place a piece of parchment under the rack because inevitably some of the glaze will drip down.
  • Let the glaze harden, slice and enjoy!

Notes

If your parchment paper does not cover all sides of the pan, heavily grease the exposed sides with crisco. This cake WILL get stuck in the pan if you skip this step. 
You want the glaze thin enough that you can pour it onto the cake, but not so thin that it just runs off. Add the almond milk slowly until a consistency similar to pancake batter is reached.
Store this cake covered at room temperature for 3 days or freeze it unglazed for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 slice | Calories: 338kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 267mg | Potassium: 32mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 40g