Hanukkah is a celebration of all things oil, and is celebrated by both lighting candles each night of Hanukkah, as well as by eating oil-rich foods during the holiday.
Sometimes, I need a break from the typical fried foods of Hanukkah, like latkes and donuts. I started making this simple olive oil cake as a way to honor the holiday without deep frying, adapting recipes from both Dorie Greenspan and Melissa Clark. After the holiday ended, I kept making it throughout the winter when Cara Cara oranges are in season. While I love the floral notes of a Cara Cara, any type of orange will work with this recipe. This cake is easy to make, even for a novice baker. I love to serve it with a dollop of whipped cream or a spoonful of tangy labneh.
Cara Cara Orange Olive Oil Cake
Makes 1 (9”) cake, serves 8
Ingredients:
2 large Cara Cara oranges
Zest of 1 orange
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
⅓ cup orange juice
⅓ cup buttermilk (or milk with ½ a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar added)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1¾ cups (230 grams) all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line a 9 inch springform pan (or 9 inch cake pan) with parchment. You can also use a standard-sized loaf pan, but will need to bake for 10-15 minutes longer.
Supreme one orange: cut off the bottom and top, place on the cutting board so the cut bottom is flat on the board, then cut the peel and pith from all sides. Next, carefully slice each segment naturally between the pith, leaving only a crescent of fruit. Reserve.
Zest the remaining orange with a microplane or zester, and reserve. Halve, then squeeze ⅓ cup worth of juice from the zested orange.
In a large bowl, whisk together the orange zest, sugar, eggs, orange juice, buttermilk (or milk and apple cider mixture), and vanilla together.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add the flour mixture to the orange juice/buttermilk mixture, and mix until just incorporated and smooth. Using a spatula, gently fold the olive oil into the batter until just incorporated. Transfer the batter to the greased and lined pan, and then place the orange segments on top of the batter.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a small skewer or cake tester comes out clean. Cool and serve topped with powdered sugar, whipped cream, or a dollop of labneh.