Rosemary, Olive Oil and Orange Cake
- Total Time
- 1½ hours, plus time for preparing crystallized rosemary
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:10 servings
- 10small rosemary sprigs, no more than 1 inch/3 centimeters each in size (see note)
- 1egg white, lightly whisked
- 2teaspoons granulated or superfine sugar (caster sugar)
- About 2 tablespoons/30 grams unsalted butter, softened, for greasing the pan
- 2cups/240 grams all-purpose flour (plain flour), more to flour the pan
- ¾cup/160 milliliters extra-virgin olive oil
- ½cup plus 1 teaspoon/120 grams superfine sugar (caster sugar)
- 1tablespoon finely grated orange zest (from about 1½ oranges)
- 1½tablespoons/7 grams packed finely chopped rosemary leaves
- 2large eggs
- ½cup/130 grams sour cream
- 2teaspoons baking powder
- ¼teaspoon salt
- 1½tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2½teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1¾cups/175 grams sifted confectioners’ sugar, or 1½ cups/150 grams sifted icing sugar
For the Crystallized Rosemary
For the Cake
For the Orange Icing
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
442 calories; 21 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 60 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 40 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 156 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
At least 6 hours before you plan to ice the cake, prepare the crystallized rosemary: Brush rosemary on all sides with a little of the egg white and then dip it in the sugar, so the needles are lightly coated on all sides. Set aside on a wire rack to dry. Repeat with remaining rosemary.
- Step 2
Make the cake: Heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit/160 degrees Celsius. Generously grease a 9-inch/23-centimeter Bundt pan with half the butter and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Butter again, generously, and then flour it, tapping away the excess.
- Step 3
Put olive oil, superfine sugar, orange zest and chopped rosemary leaves in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium speed until combined, then add eggs, one at a time. Whisk for another minute, until thick, then add sour cream and mix until combined on low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the whisk.
- Step 4
Sift flour, baking powder and salt together into a small bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the olive oil mixture and mix until combined. Increase speed to high and whisk for 1 minute.
- Step 5
Scrape batter into the Bundt pan and smooth the top with a small spatula. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until cake is cooked and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. (You may want to trim the cake at this stage, if it rises unevenly, to allow it to sit flat on the plate.)
- Step 6
Prepare the icing: In a small bowl, whisk together orange juice, lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. When the cake has cooled, drizzle icing on top, allowing it to drip down the sides of the cake, then top with the crystallized rosemary and serve.
Tip
- For the rosemary, you want small, decorative clusters of needles. The simplest way to do this is to pull the smaller, bottommost clumps off of large sprigs, or trim off the very tops of several sprigs.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Cate
Better way to prep a Bundt pan is with baker's pan release. Mix until smooth equal parts shortening, oil, and flour. Mix will look like a roux. Use a pastry brush to apply to pan. Be sure to coat liberally if pan has a design.
Baker's pan release is used by many professional baker's because it works exceedingly well. And, unlike flour, it will not leave a gunky residue on your cake like a flour dusted pan.
Ara
This IS a great Cake but I have to say I reread the recipe twice after seeing the weird, gloppy batter in the mixer. I was sure some liquid had been omitted. It baked up just fine. I told my family the crystallized rosemary sprigs were centipedes. You had to be there.
Emily Weinstein, Deputy Food Editor
Our recipe tester made the cake with both granulated sugar and superfine sugar. Both work, but the superfine sugar makes for a slightly fluffier cake.
Red
This is such a lovely cake! The flavors of orange and rosemary, together with the body the sour cream add, create a truly delicious cake. Instead of crystall
izing the rosemary sprigs, I finely chopped fresh rosemary and added the leftover orange zest to the icing. It's beautiful with the specs of orange and green and the flavor is so unique. Thank you for sharing this recipe. It is an exquisite cake.
Darlene
Great recipe. The cake tastes better the second day. It can also be baked in a loaf pan. I give the sugar, orange peel and rosemary a spin in the food processor or blender. This way you you don't have to chop those pesky little needles and the flavours are well blended. BTW, thanks for the metric measures!!
Zhi Zhi
I made this as my wedding cake. Between the ceremony and dinner we held a cocktail hour at our home and I chose to pair this cake (and a lemon lavender version) with Veuve Cliquot Rose. Made in layers with marmalade/lemon curd and a touch of whipped cream frosting they made a beautiful "naked cake".
CFXK
Just Google "baking pan conversion charts" - the web is filled with helpful charts suggesting pan substitutes and adjusted baking times.
steven kenzer
Easy to make and whole mile plain yogurt works well as a substitute for sour cream. Added a bit more liquid citrus to powdered sugar.
Louise
Delicious. Next time I'll add orange zest to the icing as someone suggested. For folks who found it dry, perhaps they used 1/2 cup sour cream instead of 130 grams. I don't think those quantities are fully equivalent. I used my scale, and ended up scooping more than half of the sour cream out of the 1 cup tub.
Erin
The first time I made this cake, the flavor was great, but it was a little dry. I made it again and used 3/4 cup of sour cream instead of just 1/2 cup, and it was much better. Not dry at all.
Phoebe
We loved the wonderful velvety texture and all was fine with regular sugar. Fearing over-seasoning I reduced the rosemary to one tablespoon but will use the full complement next time. Also, I used a blood orange because it was on hand. It made a pink icing and I inadvertently discovered a way to get that color without having to resort to food coloring.
Vita
A bundt pan usually holds the equivalent of 2 loaf pans
Donna Harrison
I ramped this up with a little extra rosemary and a little extra orange zest. I sent the cake to a Bundt-loving friend for her birthday and she was over the moon! Since I had to trim the cake, I got to have a taste and I was pretty pleased with it also. I will be making this again and again! It is light, fresh, not too sweet and the flavor is quite subtle, but distinct. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Katherine
I used Meyer lemons instead of both the lemons and the oranges - zest of two for the cake and juice of two for the icing, just adding powdered sugar until it's the right consistency. I found the recipe as written made too much icing. Also, you don't need very much egg white for the rosemary sprigs so I just used a little if the egg white from the cake recipe. In any case it was delicious!
Sue L
As a "survivor" of some 10 years cooking and baking in UK, I can only add that I never knew that "caster sugar" meant superfine sugar--I ignorantly assumed it was plain ol' granulated. This may've been because I'd never heard of superfine anywhere, period. All my recipes worked just [super]fine, so as the Brits say: "Not to worry"!
Great recipe, so moist!
Wonderful recipe, very flavorful, and the olive oil & rosemary give it an interesting palette that manages to convince most of the “I don’t like orange-flavored desserts” crowd. I would perhaps reduce the olive oil quantity just by a tiny bit.
Anna
Baked for 30 mins. Next time increase temp (170?) and time (35-40 mins?)
Judy
Followed the recipe almost exactly. Just added the extra step of processing the sugar and zest together before adding to the rest. This cake is perfection. Perfect crumb, texture and flavor. Will definitely make again and again. Used metric measurements.
me
Do you have to use a Bundt pan?
CW
I made this in a loaf pan, baked at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Slightly longer at 325 would maybe have been better, I just wasn't paying attention to the temperature. Only greased and floured the pan once since I wasn't going to remove the whole cake at once as with a Bundt.
Judy
Made this as written. Used metric measurements (thank you, YO!). Incredibly moist, perfect texture, lovely citrus-herb flavor. Really special. Agree with a commenter that it’s ideal to pulse the sugar with orange zest and finely chopped rosemary in food processor; it’s just one extra step. This distributes the oils from the orange zest into the sugar really nicely. Will def make again.
Elia
I made this in a 10-inch Bundt pan because that’s all I had and it turned out fine (delicious!), though not very tall. The bottom wasn’t flat but I didn’t cut anything off. I baked the cake for almost 35 minutes and would try 30 minutes next time because it was a bit dry. I measured the ingredients by weight. The rosemary flavor was subtle when using the specified amount.
Davis Priest
This is so good SDP Davis made Jan 2024
Eileen
I found the cake to be dry and relatively tasteless.I weighed all my ingredients and followed directions exactly except for more orange zest. I used fresh, good quality olive oil and didn't taste it much over the rosemary. I added extra orange zest and it didn't come through. There are much better olive oil cakes out there.
Sarah
This is the most beautiful thing I've ever baked! I added orange zest spirals in-between the rosemary sprigs. It's delicious too.
Smith
I have made this recipe twice, both times for special occasions, and both times disappointed with the texture. Maybe it's me, but on both occasions, this was way drier than I expect an olive oil cake to be. It had almost a corn cake-like texture, nothing like the lusciousness of what I want in an olive oil cake. The second time I even lowered my oven temperature, and I was very careful to pull this cake after testing for doneness. still dry. Won't make again.
Iris
Lovely cake, a bit like lemon drizzle but better! Saving this recipe and will be making this again in the future! I will also add more rosemary and orange zest next time. Same for the icing I changed the proportions slightly in favor of the liquid and it was a hit. Especially as the cake soaks up the excess liquid oh yummy!
Milan
This recipe was straightforward and cooked as expected. I felt the cake was extremely aesthetic. The crystallized rosemary was a wonderful touch. I used blood orange and half the sugar. I think in retrospect I would have used the full amount of sugar. The cake could be more moist, perhaps I would add more sour cream next time.
cheryl
Add orange zest to icing
LK
Bake in mini muffin pan for 15 minutes
dauterman
5/5/23 added: 1 and a half T sugar, /- 2T more sour cream, 1/4t more baking powder, cooked for 35 at 325. it filled the bundt pan nicely as it baked. used baker’s release generously on bundt pan and it came out beautifully. see how it tastes tomorrow
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