Spiced Olive Oil Cake With Orange Glaze

Name: Spiced Olive Oil Cake With Orange Glaze
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients: Nonstick cooking spray; 1 3/4 cups/225 grams all-purpose flour; 1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar; 2 teaspoons ground ginger; 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda; 3/4 teaspoon ground fennel, cardamom or coriander (see Tip); 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (see Tip); 3/4 cup/180 milliliters extra-virgin olive oil; 2/3 cup/160 milliliters whole milk; 2 large eggs; 2 tablespoons dark rum; Freshly grated zest of 1 orange plus 2 tablespoons orange juice; 1/2 cup/60 grams confectioners’ sugar; 2 tablespoons orange juice, plus more as needed

Recipe from Lior Lev Sercarz

Adapted by Julia Moskin

Updated June 6, 2024

Spiced Olive Oil Cake With Orange Glaze — David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Vivian Lui.

Total Time: 1½ hours
Rating: 4(851)
Comments: Read comments

This golden cake makes a persuasive case for baking with olive oil; it is fragrant, peppery and not overly sweet, with an orange glaze that brings all the flavors together. The recipe is from Lior Lev Sercarz, a high-end spice vendor in New York City who says that oil is even better than butter, the favorite of American bakers, at amplifying flavors like citrus and spice. See Tip for his instructions on using whole spices. —Julia Moskin

Featured in: The World of Olive Oil Is Murky. Here’s Help for the Home Cook

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 10 servings

For the Cake

Nonstick cooking spray
1¾cups/225 grams all-purpose flour
1cup/200 grams granulated sugar
2teaspoons ground ginger
1½teaspoons baking powder
1¼teaspoons baking soda
¾teaspoon ground fennel, cardamom or coriander (see Tip)
½teaspoon kosher salt
¼teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (see Tip)
¾cup/180 milliliters extra-virgin olive oil
⅔cup/160 milliliters whole milk
2large eggs
2tablespoons dark rum
Freshly grated zest of 1 orange plus 2 tablespoons orange juice

For the Glaze

½cup/60 grams confectioners’ sugar
2tablespoons orange juice, plus more as needed

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Make the cake: Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Step 2
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry cake ingredients, including ground spices. In another bowl, whisk the oil, milk, eggs, rum, orange zest and juice until smooth.
Step 3
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. To prevent clumps, stir together starting from the center of the bowl, gradually drawing in the dry ingredients. Mix just until smooth. The batter will be thick. Pour into the prepared loaf pan.
Step 4
Bake in the center of the oven for 1 hour, rotating after 30 minutes. When done, the cake will be just firm and dry on top and a tester inserted into the center will come out clean.
Step 5
Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a measuring cup with a pouring spout, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 2 tablespoons orange juice until smooth. The texture should be runny; add more orange juice if needed.
Step 6
Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn out. While it is still warm, drizzle the glaze over the top, making messy, Jackson Pollock-style zigzags by moving the cup back and forth over the cake. Let cool completely to set.

Tip

To start with whole spices instead of ground, combine 1½ teaspoons whole fennel, cardamom or coriander seeds and ½ teaspoon black peppercorns in a heavy skillet. Toast over medium heat until fragrant. Let cool, then grind in a spice grinder or mortar. Stir in ground ginger and proceed.

Ratings

4 out of 5

851 user ratings

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Comments

Lou5 years ago

I just made this again, but tweaked it slightly. I used 1/2 c plus 1 T oil instead of 3/4 c because when I followed the recipe exactly, the bottom of the cake was a bit oily. The reduction did not sacrifice moistness and got rid of the oily residue. I also switched the rum from the batter to the glaze (1 T only) and added 1 t of cardamom rather than 3/4 t. Obviously this is all a matter of personal taste, but I thought the cardamom popped more without being overpowering; same for the rum.

Neal5 years ago

I’d like to leave the rum out of the recipe. Do I need to replace it with something else? If so, any suggestions?

William Wroblicka5 years ago

You could use rum extract. Or if you don't like rum flavor, try vanilla extract. One teaspoon should suffice.

AmySheep3 months ago

Baked it in a metal bread pan in a toaster oven air fryer (on the plain bake setting, not convection) and it only needed 30min. Moist and light but surprisingly bland (couldn't really taste the orange or rum). I only put in half the sugar, so it was somewhere between a cake and a breakfast bread. I would be interested to try honey yogurt instead of the milk. Candied ginger or currants might also be interesting.

Jordan4 months ago

Such a delightful recipe! I'm sober so I used an alcohol-free aperitif instead of rum. I'd think almost any liquid at that volume would do. I also used whole wheat for 100 g of the flour. I freehand the spices each time and use more orange zest since I can't really taste it otherwise.

Mark5 months ago

This cake is the real deal. Balanced and moist. Definitely carve off 10 min from cook time. I served with a dollop of labneh, roast apricots and a sesame toffee shard. If anything, go harder on spice! I think I could’ve done with the added heat.

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