maialino olive oil cake

I'm a sucker for pretty foods and no grocery shopping. I saw the recipe on Food52, loved the gorgeous picture, realized all the ingredients were on deck, and decided, "Why not?" This I did, despite having never been drawn to the idea of olive oil in a baked sweet good.

I tried it out not once, but THREE times in as many weeks. Yes, I like it that much, and I fiddled a bit with the measurements to see if I could reduce the sugar and oil. Attempts #2 and #3 were in vain and bordered on epic fails. The Daughter's Attempt #4 followed the original to a T, and GUESS WHAT? Some recipes just shouldn't be fiddled with. (Ok, I still reduced the sugar, just a tad.)

My favorite aspect of this cake is its crackling top. It's rather unique in a cake. I also love the creamy, almost bread-pudding like texture.

The citrus scent is such a hopeful and lovely aroma, particularly as I'm still wearing wool sweaters mid-March. Hit me with some sunshine and vitamin C, please!

You probably have All-Ingredients-On-Deck, too. If so, gather those two bowls and whisk and get going. You'll be so glad you did.

Maialino Olive Oil Cake
adapted slight from Food52

2 cups all-purpose flour
1⅔ cup granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1⅓ cups extra virgin olive oil
1¼ cups whole milk
3 large eggs
1½ tablespoons grated orange zest
¼ cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup Grand Marnier

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9" cake pan. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

Whist together the olive oil, milk, eggs, orange zest, orange juice, and Grand Marnier.

Add the dry ingredients and whisk until completely smooth and combined.

Pour into prepared pan, and bake 1 hour or until top is golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan 30 minutes. Run a knife around the sides to loosen, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool for 2 hours.