Rosemary orange olive oil cake

This is an easy cake to make and smells amazing as it bakes, with the aromas of rosemary and citrus. Top with an orange glaze and candied orange peel.

Credit: Mary Makes It Easy

• serves

  8

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

Cake

• 3 tsp + ½ cup (7.5 g + 60 g) fine almond meal (almond flour), divided 
• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary
• 1 orange, zested and juiced (about a ¼ cup (60 ml) orange juice)
• ½ cup (125 mL) olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup (250 ml) plain yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ cups (195 g) plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp kosher salt

Garnish and icing

• ½ cup + 1-1½ tbsp granulated sugar, divided
• 1 orange
• 1½ tbsp rosemary tips
• 1¼-1½ cups (163–195 g) icing sugar
• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp (45 ml) orange juice

Standing time: 20 minutes. Zest drying time: 30 minutes.

Makes one 23 cm (9 inch) cake.

Instructions

1. Heat your oven to 180°C (350°F) and prepare a 23 cm (9 inch) pan by spraying it with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle in the 3 teaspoons of almond flour and shake the pan to evenly coat the bottom and sides, tapping out any excess.
2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, rosemary and the zest of the orange. Using your hands, rub the zest and rosemary into the sugar until it smells fragrant and the sugar picks up a little colour. Add in the oil and eggs and beat until well combined. Stir in the yogurt and vanilla as well as the juice from the orange and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining ½ cup of almond flour with the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and stir just until combined. Set the batter aside for 20 minutes to hydrate.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the centre is springy and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
5. While the cake cools, prepare the garnish. In a small saucepan, combine ½ cup of sugar with ½ cup of water. Using a vegetable peeler, peel large strips of orange zest off the orange, slice into long, thin strips, and add to the syrup mixture. Place over low heat and bring to a simmer, gently stirring occasionally, until the zest is tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the rosemary tips, and, using a fork, remove the orange zest and rosemary from the syrup and transfer to a rack lined sheet pan. Allow the zest and rosemary to dry for about 30 minutes or until sticky but no longer wet before sprinkling with the remaining 1 to 1½ tablespoons of sugar.
6. When the cake is cool, whisk together the icing sugar and orange juice, adding more orange juice or sugar if needed to form a thick but pourable icing. Pour the icing over the cake and garnish with the orange zest and rosemary.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.