Go Back
Whole orange olive oil cake on a marble board with glossy glaze and chopped pistachios, one slice pulled away to show the crumb.

Moist Orange Olive Oil Cake with Toasted Pistachios

A moist olive oil cake with orange zest, orange juice, and toasted pistachios, finished with a simple orange glaze.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Calories: 248
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cake
  • 180 ml extra virgin olive oil plus more for greasing the pan
  • 200 g granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs large; room temperature
  • 2 tbsp orange zest from about 2 medium oranges
  • 120 ml fresh orange juice from the same oranges
  • 100 g plain whole milk yogurt
  • 250 g all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 60 g shelled pistachios toasted and finely chopped
Glaze and topping
  • 100 g powdered sugar sifted
  • 2 tbsp fresh orange juice
  • 30 g shelled pistachios toasted and roughly chopped, for topping

Method
 

Prep
  1. Heat the oven to 175 C / 350 F. Grease a 23 cm / 9-inch round cake pan and line the base with parchment paper.
  2. Toast all 90 g of pistachios in a dry 25 cm / 10-inch skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, shaking the pan often, until fragrant and lightly colored. Cool, then chop 60 g finely for the batter and 30 g more roughly for topping.
Mix the batter
  1. In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil, sugar, and eggs together for about 2 minutes, until pale, thick, and slightly foamy.
  2. Whisk in the orange zest, orange juice, and yogurt until smooth.
  3. In a second bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
  4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in two batches, folding gently with a spatula just until no streaks of flour remain. Don't overmix or the cake will turn dense.
  5. Fold in the 60 g of finely chopped toasted pistachios.
Bake and finish
  1. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
  2. Bake for 42 to 48 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed. Check at 40 minutes since darker pans can bake faster.
  3. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely before glazing.
  4. Whisk the powdered sugar and 2 tbsp orange juice together until smooth and pourable, adding a few extra drops of juice if it's too thick.
  5. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake and immediately scatter over the remaining 30 g of chopped pistachios. Slice and serve at room temperature.

Notes

  • Toast pistachios before chopping, it makes a real difference in flavor.
  • Cool the cake fully before glazing or the glaze slides off.
  • A cheap olive oil will taste flat, use one you'd eat plain.
  • Yogurt can be swapped for sour cream in the same amount.