This cake is SO good. If you haven’t had blood oranges before, they are a slightly sweeter and less tangy that regular oranges. Plus, they provide such a gorgeous color to any bake. I decided to make the base of this blood orange cake an olive oil one because it’s so moist and delicious. This cake is a summer showstopper, so if you need something to dazzle, I would try this out. Oh, and it’s made upside down style!
Prep the blood oranges
You can certainly use regular oranges, but this is where the nice color makes a difference. I used 2 blood oranges, but you could use 3 or 4 if you want the top of the cake to be thicker. However, I like to keep the top layer relatively thin.
Be sure to choose ripe blood oranges. They shouldn’t be rock hard, but they should be firm and smooth. Slice both (stem) ends off and set those pieces aside. YOU WILL STILL NEED THEM – they have valuable juice. Then slice the oranges thinly, making them about 1/8 inch in thickness. You can peel the oranges prior if you think you won’t like the rind, BUT I think it’s fine to leave them on. This is where the orange ends come in.
Prepare the “upside down” cake
To make sure the oranges stay moist and sweet in the oven, squeeze out the juice in the orange ends into a bowl. To add a little more liquid, I added lemon juice from about half a lemon. Then, add sugar! I used regular granulated sugar and whisked it together with the juice, making a sweet slurry.
You will use this to put at the bottom of the pan BEFORE layering on the oranges. This will create a delicious and sweet glazed top as it bakes in the oven.
This slurry is poured into the pan and spread out evenly. Then we can layer on the oranges. Be sure to make an even layer, traveling from one side of the pan to the other. Overlap them slightly and try to cover as much of the surface area of the pan as you can.
Make the olive oil cake
The batter is pretty easy. Mix together cake flour and all purpose flour, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, beat the eggs with some granulated sugar on high until the mixture looks creamy white, sort of fluffy, and ribbony. This should take about 3-5 minutes. It should almost be like light pudding.
Then add in the olive oil. If you haven’t tried an olive oil cake before, IT’S DELIGHTFUL! The cake will come out thick but soft and crisp. It’s not too sugary, and as long as those eggs are nice and fluffy, you will be good to go.
Follow the directions below to then add in the dry ingredients, and then we add some extra lemon and orange zest. Plus some Cointreau – an orange liqueur that ties the cake together. It’s so good! You can omit this, or you can use a different kind of orange liqueur, like Triple Sec or Grand Marnier.
Now, it’s ready to bake! Pop it in the oven and bake it for 40-45 minutes. You will want to do the fool proof cake test: insert a knife in the center and see if it comes out clean. If not, put it in the oven a little longer.
Flip the cake right side up
I don’t have a spring form pan, so parchment paper is my friend here. Before removing the cake, FLIP IT! I put my cake stand on top of the pan, held on tight and flipped it over quickly. Then it pops out easy and you can just peel off the paper. All done! Enjoy your blood orange olive oil cake!
If you like this recipe and want more cake ideas, try my Banana Cake With Cinnamon Buttercream or my Gluten Free Lemon Olive Oil Lemon Cake.
Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake
Equipment
- 9 or 10 inch standard cake pan (springform or regular)
- parchment paper
- electric or hand mixer
- spatula
- sharp knife
Ingredients
- 2 medium blood oranges
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1⅓ cups granulated sugar
- 1⅓ cups cake flour
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp blood orange zest grated
- 1 tbsp lemon zest grated
- 2 tbsp Cointreau or another orange liqueur
- 3 eggs
- 1¼ cup olive oil
- additional olive oil for greasing
Instructions
- To prep, preheat the oven to 400°F and move the rack to the middle. Grease your cake pan with a touch of olive oil. Line the greased pan with parchment paper, and then grease the parchment paper as well.
- Take each orange and slice off both ends (so you should have four orange ends) and set them aside. Slice the oranges into thin rounds, trying not to exceed ⅛ or so inch in thickness. You can leave the rind on. You should have at least 12-16 slices.
- Into a medium bowl, squeeze the juice out of the orange ends, producing a tablespoon of more of juice. Dump in lemon juice and stir it together. Then add the ⅓ cup of sugar to the bowl and whisk it together, until the sugar melds with the juice and creates a pink slurry. Dump this evenly into cake pan and spread it out carefully with a spoon and your fingers, attempting to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Carefully line the pan with the oranges slices, starting from one corner and layering the oranges in rows. The oranges should overlap a little bit but the goal is to cover as much surface area with the oranges as possible.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, all purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
- In a larger bowl (this one is where everything will be combined), crack the eggs. Add the remaining 1 cup of sugar and then beat on medium and then high speed for 3-5 minutes, until the eggs are white, creamy and thick (but still pourable). It should look pretty whipped at this point.
- Next, add in the olive oil. If using a hand mixer, add it in 2 increments. If using a stand mixer, just drizzle it in slowly. Beat on high speed until well incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients in 2-3 increments, mixing on low speed to prevent flour from going everywhere. Once everything is combined, scrape down the sides with a spatula. Add in the Cointreau, lemon zest and orange zest and mix one more time for about 20 seconds. The batter should look well combined.
- Carefully pour the batter into the cake pan, making sure not to move the orange slices sitting in the bottom of the cake. Transfer the cake to the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, until knife comes out clean once inserted. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- If you are not using a springform pan, place a plate, cake stand or tray upside down on the cake pan and hold both sides firmly. Then, flip the cake 180°, so the cake pan is now facing down and the white part of the cake is now sitting at the bottom. Remove the pan slowly, and then remove the parchment paper to reveal the beautiful top. Slice and enjoy!
