Blood Orange & Pistachio Olive Oil Cake

Here’s a riff on my previous upside down blood orange olive oil cake which opts for a blood orange glaze instead of sliced fruit. It’s a little less fussy, but equally as impressive. The crushed pistachios are completely optional but make for a wonderful compliment to the citrus. Video of the process down below.

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup cornmeal (coarse)

3/4 cup fine granulated sugar (caster) *regular white sugar works fine!

½ cup blood orange juice (freshly squeezed) + ¼ cup for glaze

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

1/2 plain yogurt (sour cream works well too)

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tbsp butter at room temperature

½ cup confectioner’s sugar (for glaze)

Chunky flake salt

1/4 cup crushed pistachios

Directions:

Set your oven for 350F.

Add the yogurt to the sugar and whisk together until incorporated. Add in the eggs and olive oil and continue to mix together. Add in all of the dry ingredients one by one and continue mixing. Finally whisk in the blood orange juice. 

Grease your baking pan liberally with butter and line with a sheet of parchment paper and add more butter to the top of the paper. Pour the batter into your pan. 

Bake for 30-35 minutes until done. If using a deeper rectangular pan, this may take 35-45 minutes. Use a toothpick to make sure it is fully cooked through. It should come out clean. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes while you prepare your glaze. 

In a small bowl add the confectioner’s sugar. Slowly begin whisking in the remaining blood orange juice little by little until it has the consistency somewhere between maple syrup and icing. A little juice goes a long way. You should be able to drizzle/pour the glaze over the cooled cake and it should begin to firm up within a few minutes. Before it fully hardens, sprinkle the flake salt all over the surface. If adding crushed pistachios, now is the time to sprinkle on a layer across the top.

Upside Down Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

This is a wonderful cake to make in the winter when blood oranges are at their peak. The addition of the coarse corn meal gives it a wonderful texture and flavor.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cornmeal (coarse)

3/4 cup fine granulated sugar (caster)

3 - 4 blood oranges

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

1/2 plain yogurt

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp water

Set your oven for 350F.

Zest one orange and mix with the sugar. Peel remaining oranges and slice thinly into medallions. Carefully remove the rind with a knife, removing as much of the pith as possible without breaking the circular forms.

Add the yogurt to the sugar and whisk together. Add in the eggs and olive oil and continue to mix together. Add in all of the dry ingredients one by one and continue mixing.

Line a circular baking pan with a sheet of parchment paper. Combine the brown sugar and water, and pour over the parchment paper, and spread it around evenly so it covers the bottom of the pan. Carefully arrange the orange medallions so they fill the entire surface of the bottom of the pan. Cut smaller wedges to fill the gaps between the circles. Pour the batter to cover the oranges.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until done. Allow to cool before serving.