This GF Scrumptious Olive Oil Orange Cake is beyond delicious. It’s so irresistible, that my family calls it the “Sundial Cake.” Piece by piece this cake seemling “vanishes” with the tracking of the sun until it’s no longer visible.

Is This a Dessert Cake?

Yes….no….maybe? Let me elaborate. In my household, this Olive Oil Orange “Sundial” Cake was good for pretty much every occasion. Breakfast…? Yes! Snack…? Of course! Lunch…? Why not? Dessert… Do I even need to answer that? Truly, it’s in the pairings. For breakfast, add some yogurt and berries. For lunch, add a lite salad. The rest of the day, good ol’ whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream does the job.

Where Did This Glorious Baked Creation Originate?

My first time having an olive oil orange cake was around Christmas 2010 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I went down there with my now wife, to spend Christmas with her relatives. Between the mass feedings (Brazilians REALLY love over-feeding guests), we stopped by this quaint bakery called Benjamin Abrahao to have a little snack. I had to ask myself, “what’s wrong with these people, did we not just finish a huge lunch?” Being my cordial self, I obliged the stop and ate this unsuspectingly delicious olive oil orange cake. Fast forward 10 years and the darn cake was still on my mind. That’s how good it was! In the midsts of covid with no foreseeable plans to visit Brazil, I decided it must be duplicated, but with a gluten free twist.

The Difficulty Level Of This Cake Is?

This GF Olive Oil Orange Cake, as you’ll see, is very easy to make. As long as you have a timer, two 9 inch round cake pans, and an oven you’re pretty much set! Why two 9 inch pans? Because you’ll eat the first cake and wish you had doubled the recipe! Okay that’s a joke, you only need 1 pan, BUT you may just want to double it because it’s easy AND an excellent gift to pass onto friends and neighbors. Before you know it, you’ll be the most popular house on the block.

Tips and Tricks For GF Olive Oil Orange Cake

• To make it easy to get a cake out without any trouble, spray the pan with cooking spray (baking spray is even better) and then place a circular piece of parchment (like these) in the bottom of the pan.

• As always, when using Xantham gum, make sure to mix dry ingredients thoroughly before adding them to wet ingredients. If you don’t, then it tends to get clumpy and you don’t get the desired effect. eve

• You can hand sprinkle the powdered sugar into a design (that’s how I did the spiral pictured below). For a cleaner look, you can also cut a shape out of paper and use that as a template on top of the cake. For a nice even distribution, use a sifter and powder the entire cake.

• Use a good quality olive oil that you like the taste of. Good quality does not mean the most expensive! In fact, some of the best olive oil I have found is from Costco and it is also one of the best prices. It’s officially Costco’s “Kirkland Signature Organic Extra Virgin Olive”. Don’t believe me? Read this article.  

• If you love Gluten Free cakes (and who doesn’t?), check out this other cake from C&C. It’s so decadent and rich, it will fulfill your every craving to a T.

GF Olive Oil Orange Cake

5 from 4 votes

Recipe by Stevens Haen Course: DessertDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6-8

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• 1.5 Cups 1.5 Gluten Free 1:1 Flour (I used King Arthur)

• 1/2 tsp 1/2 Xanthan Gum (beyond what is in the 1:1)

• 1/3 Cup 1/3 White Sugar

• 1/3 Cup 1/3 Brown Sugar

• 3/4 tsp 3/4 Pink Himalayan Salt

• 1 tsp 1 Baking Powder

• 1/2 tsp 1/2 Baking Soda

• 3/4 Cup 3/4 Cup Olive Oil

• 1/2 Cup 1/2 Greek Yogurt (Whole Milk)

• Orange Zest from 1 Orange

• 3 Tbs 3 Juice from Orange

• 1/8 Cup 1/8 Powdered Sugar

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350° F
• Combine dry ingredients, mix thoroughly
• Combine wet ingredients, mix thoroughly (except zest)
• Mix dry and wet ingredients together.
• Use a sturdy whisk or electric hand mixer until the batter is no longer clumpy.
• Fold in zest with a spatula
• Grease one 9 inch round cake pans
• Pour the batter into greased pan.
• Place a baking sheet on the bottom rack and pour in 2 cups of water.
• Place pan with batter in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes.
• Test with a toothpick to make sure it comes out clean, if not give it a couple more minutes in the oven.
• Let rest for 20 minutes.
• Flip the cake and remove the pan.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

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