Rosemary, olive oil and orange cake - perfect for fall

This is a very light cake, similar to a lemon cake, but with much more flavor. My daughter sent the recipe last year. I am not a big fan of cake, but this sounded so different I had to try it, and wow! 

 

I was prepared not to like it, but my husband and I ate the whole thing in three days — savory and sweet, tastes even better the second day, good for breakfast or afternoon tea.  

 

It sounds as if it is labor intensive, but it really isn’t any more difficult than any other homemade cake.

 

Ingredients:

For the Crystallized Rosemary:

15 or more springs of fresh rosemary, no larger than 1”

1 egg white, lightly whisked

2 tsp. granulated sugar

Brush rosemary on all sides with egg white and dip in sugar, set aside on a wire rack or baking sheet with wax paper.

 

For the cake:

2 tbsp. butter

2 c. all-purpose flour (plus a little to flour the pan)

3/4 c. extra virgin olive oil, good quality

1/2 c. plus 1 tsp. sugar

1 tbsp. finely grated orange zest (from 1.5 oranges)

1 ½ tbsp. finely chopped packed rosemary leaves

2 large eggs

1/2 c. sour cream

2 tsp. baking powder and 1/4 tsp. salt

 

Directions:

 

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9-inch bundt pan with butter and refrigerate for 10 minutes, remove and butter again, then flour it and tap away excess.

 

Put the olive oil, sugar, orange zest and chopped rosemary in a bowl and mix with an electric mixer.

 

Mix on medium speed until combined and add eggs one at a time. Mix for another minute then, add sour cream, mix on low until blended, scrape down sides of bowl.

 

Put the flour, baking powder and salt into small bowl, combine the dry ingredients with the olive oil mixture and blend on medium, then mix on high for 1 minute. Scrape the batter into the floured bundt pan and smooth the top with a spatula.  

 

Bake for 30/35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool about 10/15 minutes, before inverting onto a serving plate.

 

Ingredients For the Orange Icing:

2 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice

3 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 ¾ c. confectioners sugar

 

Directions:

 

In a small bowl, whisk the orange juice, lemon juice and sugar until smooth. When the cake is cool, drizzle the icing on top, allowing it to drip down the sides of the cake. I like to use all the icing! Top with the crystallized rosemary and put some around the bottom of the cake for extra décor.