Easy Orange Olive Oil Cake

4.88 from 8 votes

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This Easy Orange Olive Oil Cake is delicious sliced and filled with whipped cream or simply glazed. This incredibly moist and fragrant cake uses light olive oil, orange juice and zest.

You will also like my Orange Drizzle Cake!

Orange olive oil cake filled with cream and decorated with orange slices

Published 2015, Updated 2021

Orange Olive Oil Cake Recipe

This easy orange cake is has been buried in the blog archives, largely ignored, until I realised that it finally needed a spot in the spotlight!

Baking with olive oil may be slightly unusual but it yields amazing results! This cake is soft, tender and moist with a delicate orange fragrance.

The cake stays fresh for days and is delicious as a snacking cake simply dusted with icing sugar or drizzled with a simple glaze.

But if you like to jazz it up a bit then turn it to a layered cake by slicing in half and filling with your favourite frosting!

Slice of orange olive oil cake on a patterned plate

How to make Orange Olive Oil Cake

Full measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page. Please take a look at the steps and video before attempting this recipe!

STEP 1 Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper, letting the edges hang over the sides of the tin. Pulse the pecans in a food processor until finely ground. 

STEP 2 Put the orange zest, olive oil, sugar, eggs, orange juice and yogurt in a mixing bowl and either beat together to combine using a hand mixer or vigorously mix together with a wooden spoon.

STEP 3 Stir in the ground pecans and sift in the flour, spices, salt and raising gents. Mix well until you have a smooth batter.

mixing batter for orange cake in a large bowl

STEP 4 Spoon the batter into the tin and level. Bake for 50-55 minutes – testing with a skewer to see whether the cake is ready. The skewer should come out clean and the cake should feel firm on top. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then lift out using the paper. Let the cake cool completely before slicing in half, if you wish to fill it.

levelling cake batter in a loaf tin

STEP 5 Whisk cold double cream and icing sugar together until you have firm peaks. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip
Pipe a generous amount of filling over the bottom layer and top with the second.

Piping cream over orange loaf cake

STEP 6 Put all the glaze ingredients in a bowl and mix together with a spoon, adding a bit more orange juice if needed until you have a thick glaze.

Drizzle the cake with the glaze, letting it drip down the sides. Add orange slices (or candied orange slices) and dust with icing sugar.

orange loaf cake filled with cream

Tips & FAQs

Brushing orange loaf cake with syrup
  • Use a light olive oil instead of an extra virgin. It is cheaper and just right for baking.
  • Add a simple orange glaze to keep the layers moist. Alternatively you can brush the cake with some (warmed up) marmalade!
  • The (unfilled) cake will stay fresh for several days in a cake container at room temperature.
  • You can use walnuts instead of pecans if you like.

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HAVE YOU MADE MY ORANGE OLIVE OIL CAKE RECIPE? Please leave a rating, post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #supergoldenbakes and make my day!

4.88 from 8 votes

Orange Olive Oil Cake

This easy Orange Olive Oil Cake is delicious sliced and filled with yoghurt whipped cream and simply glazed.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 10 slices
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Video

Ingredients

For the cake

  • zest of 1 orange
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) light olive oil
  • 200g g (1 cup) light brown sugar
  • 120 ml (½ cup) freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 2 large eggs lightly beaten
  • 160 g (½ cup) Greek yogurt
  • 100 g (1 cup) pecans ground
  • 260 g ( 2 cups) flour (plain / all purpose)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground cloves
  • ½ tsp salt

Orange syrup (optional)

  • 80 ml (⅓ cup) orange juice
  • 100 g (½ cup) sugar

For the filling

  • 240 ml (1 cup) double cream heavy cream
  • 125 g (1 cup) icing sugar

For the glaze

  • 3 tbsp Greek yogurt
  • 6 tbsp icing sugar or as needed
  • ½ tsp orange juice or water or as needed

To decorate

  • orange or mandarin segments
  • icing sugar to dust

Instructions 

Make the cake

  • Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper, letting the edges hang over the sides of the tin. Pulse the pecans in a food processor until finely ground.
  • Put the orange zest, olive oil, sugar, eggs, orange juice and yogurt in a mixing bowl and either beat together to combine or vigorously mix together with a wooden spoon.
  • Stir in the ground pecans and sift in the flour, spices, salt and raising gents.
  • Mix well until you have a smooth batter.
  • Transfer the batter into the tin and level. Bake for 50-55 minutes – testing with a skewer to see whether the cake is ready. The skewer should come out clean and the cake should feel firm on top.
  • Cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then lift out using the paper. Let the cake cool completely before slicing in half, if you wish to fill it.

Orange Syrup (optional)

  • Put the orange juice and sugar in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Brush this over the inside of the cake. Any leftover syrup can be used in drinks.

Make the filling

  • Whisk cold double cream and icing sugar together until you have firm peaks. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip
  • Pipe a generous amount of filling over the bottom layer and top with the second.

Glaze and decorate

  • Put all the glaze ingredients in a bowl and mix together with a spoon, adding a bit more orange juice if needed until you have a thick glaze.
  • Drizzle the cake with the glaze, letting it drip down the sides. Add orange slices (or candied orange slices) and dust with icing sugar.

Nutrition

Calories: 517kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 208mg | Potassium: 278mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 49g | Vitamin A: 448IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 111mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.

Like this recipe? Leave a comment below!

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4.88 from 8 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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10 Comments

  1. Anonymous says:

    Looks lovely will give it a try

  2. Lucy Allen says:

    Simply beautiful, the candied mandarins are gorgeous

  3. Sarah | Broma Bakery says:

    5 stars
    What a gorgeous loaf, Lucy! I love the idea of frosting in the middle. And those oranges are such a welcomed pop!

  4. Keep Calm and Fanny On says:

    Gorgeous as ever, I particularly like the sound of the cloves with the oranges and Total Greek Yoghurt, yum!

    1. Lucy Parissi says:

      A classic combination in a lot of Greek desserts…

  5. Amy @ Thoroughly Nourished Life says:

    5 stars
    This is the most charming loaf cake I have ever seen! It's like sunshine and pretty lemons and all the good things. I can't wait to try it! I love baking with Greek yoghurt too. It gives your baked goods beautiful texture and gorgeously moist crumbs.

  6. Rachel Davis says:

    Love the idea of dressing up a loaf cake, it looks so pretty! I love baking with yoghurt, although I tend to go organic with my dairy. Greek yogurt is just so heavenly, I'm sure most of it ends up in my mouth rather than the batter 😉

  7. Jennie Cranham says:

    Absolutely gorgeous looking cake! Pinned 🙂 xx

    1. Lucy Parissi says:

      thanks Jennie!

  8. Laura Denman says:

    5 stars
    Another perfect looking cake. I can practically smell how delicious it is through my computer screen. Mmmmmmm. The ground pecans are even more of a bonus!