orange & grapefruit olive oil cake

making the most of citrus season, September 2023

this cake would take a smear of mascarpone and lemon curd on top nicely, or keep it simple with icing sugar!

sunny cake for a very grey sunday

based (loosely) on this bbc recipe, this cake is simple and homely with a lovely bitsy texture from the polenta. if you prefer a smoother texture, swap the polenta for the same weight of fine ground cornmeal

ingredients

cake

3 eggs

110g brown sugar

50g white sugar

80mL extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp vanilla paste

1 orange, juiced and zested

half a grapefruit, juiced and zested

190g polenta

75g almond meal

1.5 tsp baking powder

0.5 tsp salt

optional: 0.5 tsp ground cardamom

syrup

1 tbsp caster sugar

1 tbsp water

juice of half a grapefruit (or lemon)

method

cake

preheat oven to 150°C

line the bottom of a 19cm round springform tin with baking paper and oil the sides

in a small bowl, sift together the polenta (190g), almond meal (75g), baking powder (1.5 tsp), salt (0.5 tsp) and cardamom (0.5 tsp) and set aside

combine the orange (1) and grapefruit (0.5) juices in a small bowl and set aside

in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs (3), brown sugar (110g) and white sugar (50g) until light, frothed and ribbony (about 4 minutes with a hand mixer)

slowly pour in the olive oil (80mL) while mixing continuously so the mixture doesn’t split

fold in the orange and grapefruit zests and the vanilla paste (1 tsp)

fold in the dry ingredients and the juice in alternating batches until just combined

pour into the prepared cake tin

bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean

syrup

while the cake is baking, combine the sugar (1 tbsp), water (1 tbsp) and juice (half a lemon) in a small saucepan

stir over medium heat until the sugar has fully dissolved

brush the cake with the syrup as soon as it comes out of the oven and allow to soak in for 15 minutes before removing the cake from the tin to cool completely

serve plain with a dollop of creme fraiche or mascarpone, or decorate with mascarpone and lemon curd, or icing sugar

variations

lemon & rosemary: replace the orange grapefruit zest and juice with an equal quantity of lemon zest and juice, and infuse a sprig of fresh rosemary into the syrup

lime & coconut: add 2 tbsp of desiccated coconut to the cake mixture before baking, and replace the grapefruits and oranges with limes (4-5 limes)