I’m finally cooking more in my kitchen now that I have brand new cabinets installed. When we purchased our house only half of the kitchen had cabinets, while the other side was made for an “eat in kitchen”. I put two kitchen carts and an old cabinet in the space where they had the table. Food would get lost in the back of the “cabinet/pantry” while dog hair and dust hid in the depths of the kitchen carts. Thankfully, this setup is no longer there, and we have brand new shiny cabinets. We ordered cabinets to match the others we already had, and I am so happy I have my kitchen back. I’m also extremely fortunate to have a handy husband and father who installed these cabinets. I’ll post pictures soon of my new kitchen inspiration.
Back to cooking.
I made this cake for my parents anniversary when I cooked the Daube a la Provençale. Somehow, this extremely easy and tasty dessert was temporarily lost in my photos. As I went to post another recipe tonight I came across these photos. I couldn’t pass up not posting it. I don’t bake too often, but this was incredibly simple. Anyone can bake this, no matter their skill level. Thanks to Melissa d’Arabian from the Food Network for this easy, wallet friendly, recipe.
Materials:
- Butter, for greasing the pan
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Juice and zest of 1 orange (about 3 tablespoons juice, 1 tablespoon zest)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.
Mix together the sugar and eggs in a medium bowl with a hand mixer on medium speed until blended and light. Drizzle in the olive oil and vanilla and mix until light and smooth. Add the orange juice and zest and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another medium bowl. Add the flour mixture half at a time to the wet ingredients and mix on low just to incorporate. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake, 25 to 30 minutes. Let the cake cool 15 minutes, dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve.
Printable Recipe!
Observations/Analysis: Cheap, Easy, Delicious. You might be concerned with the olive oil in a cake, but it only adds to the sweetness and moisture. I’ve had cake made with olive oil at restaurants and this comes very close. Plus, I love the subtle flavor of orange throughout the cake.