Description
This olive oil cake is the perfect sophisticated twist to a basic vanilla birthday cake.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cake
1 cup cake flour or all-purpose flour
¼ cup almond flour or cornmeal
⅔ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup full-fat Greek yogurt
2 eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp orange juice
½ tbsp orange zest
For the Frosting
½ cup unsalted butter
4 ounces brick-style cream cheese (½ of one brick), softened
2-3 cups powdered sugar, depending on your sweet preference
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9-inch cake pan and cover the bottom with a round of parchment paper, using your hands to smooth out any air bubbles.
- Sift both flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the eggs, yogurt, and olive oil. Whisk until just combined.
- Add vanilla, orange juice, and orange zest, and mix again, gently, until just combined (be cautious not to overmix).
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 28-33 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cook for 15 minutes in the pan, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, add the butter to a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Let the butter melt completely, then continue to stir it constantly, frequently scraping down the sides and bottom of the pan. The butter will begin to sizzle as the water evaporates; continue stirring until the sizzling and bubbling subsides (once the water is evaporated). Now, the milk solids in the butter should start to separate from the rest of the liquid; they’ll look like white specks in comparison to the yellow liquid. Continue to cook the butter, stirring constantly, until these solid bits turn brown and the liquid is a deep orange to amber color. It should smell like unsweetened caramel.
- Pour the butter into a heat proof bowl, and let it cool until it has re-solidified but is still spreadable (you can also refrigerate it).
- Add the brown butter and cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl. Use a whisk and a spatula, a hand-mixer, or the whisk attachment on a stand mixer to cream the butter and cream cheese together until they form a cohesive mixture.
- Sift one cup of powdered sugar into the mixture, and slowly mix it in. Repeat with the remaining powdered sugar.
- Add the vanilla extract and salt and give it one final mix. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Once the cake has fully cooled, spread the frosting over the cake, and enjoy! Refrigerate the leftovers.
- Prep Time: 35
- Cook Time: 25