Campari Olive Oil Cake

By Melissa Clark

Published March 11, 2020

Campari Olive Oil Cake
Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
1½ hours
Rating
4(2,164)
Comments
Read comments

When I posted a photo of this very modest-looking cake on Instagram, I was blown away by the response. Honestly, it didn’t look like much — a generic yellow cake with a golden top. I think just the very notion of putting Campari and olive oil in a cake is what made people stop and “like” it. And it is a pretty terrific flavor combination: The citrusy bittersweet character of the Campari goes really well with the fragrant oil, to which I also add melted butter for richness, as well as lots of fresh citrus juice and zest. On its own, the cake is a pretty plain-looking thing, but you can dress it up for a party, adding orange segments, berries and dollops of whipped cream or crème fraîche to the top. If you want to go one step further, simmer some Campari and a bit of sugar down to a syrup, and drizzle that all over the cake. It turns the cake more pink and accentuates its boozy flavor.

Featured in: How I Came to Cook in French

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:8 servings
  • ¼cup/55 grams unsalted butter (½ stick), melted, plus more for greasing the pan
  • 2cups/255 grams all-purpose flour
  • 1⅔cups/330 grams granulated sugar
  • 1teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1teaspoon baking powder
  • ½teaspoon baking soda
  • ⅔cup/160 milliliters whole milk
  • ⅔cup/160 milliliters mild olive oil
  • 3large eggs
  • ⅓cup/80 milliliters Campari
  • 1tablespoon grated grapefruit zest
  • 1tablespoon grated orange zest
  • 1teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • ¼cup/60 milliliters fresh grapefruit juice
  • 2tablespoons fresh orange juice
  • 1tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • Whipped crème fraîche or whipped cream, sweetened or not as you like, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

563 calories; 28 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 16 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 69 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 44 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 389 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 by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch springform pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper. (You can use a regular 9-inch cake pan that is at least 2 inches deep, but the cake will be harder to unmold.)

  2. Step 2

    In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. In a large bowl, whisk together butter, milk, oil, eggs, Campari, citrus zests, and citrus juices. Fold in the dry ingredients, then scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

  3. Step 3

    Bake until the top is golden and springs back when lightly pressed in the center, 45 minutes to 1 hour. (A cake tester might emerge with a few crumbs, which is OK.)

  4. Step 4

    Let the cake cool completely in the pan. Then run a butter knife around the edges and release the sides. Serve with dollops of whipped crème fraîche. This cake is best served on the same day that it’s baked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
2,164 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

AnneZell

I’ll try. Living in Brescia, Italy we have a lot of time to spend home. By the way: this could be for many a virtual journey to Northern Italy. And yes, I suggest Aperol for who doesn’t like bitterness. Greetings from locked Brescia (lake Garda, Italy)

Nadz

Sooo! This turned out to be a great apocalypse baking item. It is moist heaven. I made lots of modifications according to people’s feedback, my flavor profile and what needed to go in the fridge. - I reduced the amount of Compari - I used equal parts blood orange juice and grape fruit juice - I added some sour cream because why not - I used more butter (salted) and lowered the amount of oil by a little - I put blood orange slices at the bottom and then turned the cake over!

Robert Wemischner

Made it; like it but be forewarned that the cake does have a bitter edge due to the Campari in it, which will be balanced by serving it with fresh citrus fruits and perhaps some slightly sweetened yogurt edged with freshly zest citrus.

Tim in Portland, OR

Excellent ! Reduce sugar by ⅓ cup. To improve presentation, flavor and textures, cover batter (in pan) with sliced raw almonds and some sugar.

Amelia

Made this exactly as written for a party, served with lightly sweetened freshly whipped cream. Delicious! Not too bitter for me at all. The next day, I put leftover slices in the air fryer at 400 degrees for a couple of minutes until a little toasty on top, then served with Costco vanilla ice cream. Almost better that way.

Jane Thompson

Veery flavourful but the texture - a little heavy and "gummy". I'm wondering what I may have done wrong.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Credits

Adapted from “Dinner in French: My Recipes by Way of France” (Clarkson Potter, 2020)

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.