Rosemary, Olive Oil and Orange Cake
- Total Time
- 1½ hours, plus time for preparing crystallized rosemary
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 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
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.
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Preparation
- 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.
- 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
Comments
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.
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.
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.
Delicious! Wonderful flavors and not too sweet. I baked mine in a regular 9” cake pan and it turned out great. Also ran out of sour cream but had ricotta so just used that, no problems. Skipped the candied rosemary entirely, I’m sure it’s great but without it this is a quick fix when you need a little something sweet.
I made this for work and it disappeared in minutes! Cake has rarely been so celebrated. This cake is next-level delicious. Instead of brushing egg white on the rosemary, I lightly dipped them (one less thing to clean) and then used the leftover whites and the yolk as one of the two eggs in the cake.
All my favorite flavors in one fluffy place.