Blood Orange Olive Oil Loaf
We may sound like a broken record around this time every year. Blood oranges. We have so many blood oranges! The season is short, though, so we have to make the most of it 😉 This time we are sharing something a little different with you – our delicious Blood Orange Olive Oil Loaf. A moist loaf cake that isn’t too sweet with a tang of blood orange flavor. It’s delicious with your morning coffee or your afternoon tea. We like to make candy orange slices to garnish our cake. If you wish to do that as well, the directions for making candied orange slices can be found here.
Our Blood Orange Olive Oil Loaf can be made with any citrus fruit you like. We, however, are partial to blood oranges. Bet you never would’ve guessed that!
We have several other delicious blood orange recipes here, here and here. Enjoy!
Jump to Recipe
Finely grate the zest and mix it in with the sugar, using your fingers to release the zest oils and completely coat the sugar.
Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil, but nothing too fancy. Fold into the batter a little bit at a time for best results.
Allow the loaf to cool for about 10 minutes before using the parchment sling to remove from the pan.
Once the loaf has cooled completely, mix the powdered sugar and blood orange juice to make a thick but pourable glaze.
Pour the glaze evenly over the cooled loaf, allowing any excess to drip off.
Once the glaze is set, slice and enjoy!
Blood Orange Olive Oil Loaf
Ingredients
- Loaf Batter:
- Zest of 3 blood oranges
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1/3 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt
- 1/3 cup fresh squeezed blood orange juice
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- ⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 TBS freshly squeezed blood orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper so that a small amount overhangs the long ends like a sling.
- Grate zest from all three oranges and place in a bowl with sugar. Using your fingers, rub ingredients together until orange zest is evenly distributed in sugar.
- In small bowl, combine the blood orange juice, buttermilk or yogurt and vanilla bean paste. Whisk to combine. Pour mixture into bowl with sugar and whisk well. Whisk in eggs.
- In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cardamom. Gently whisk dry ingredients into wet ones. Switch to a spatula and fold in olive oil a little at a time.
- Scrape batter into pan and smooth top.
- Bake cake for about 55-60 minutes, or until it is golden and a knife inserted into center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then use the overhanging parchment paper to pull the loaf out of the pan and place on a wire rack, allowing it to cool to room temperature.
- For the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and enough blood orange juice to get a thick but pourable glaze. Place the cooled loaf, still on the wire rack, over a sheet pan lined with parchment or foil. Pour the glaze evenly over loaf, allowing it to drip down the sides. Decorate with candied blood orange slices if desired.