Tangerine And Olive Oil Pound Cake

While leafing through Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich for the first time, her Sherry and Olive oil Pound Cake called to me. Perhaps it was my partiality towards olive oil or citrus based quick breads, or the way the loaf was pictured in her book, wrapped in a parchment paper. Either ways, I made a mental note to make it at home some day. That some day proved to be elusive. Reasons like having one too many baked goods during the holiday season, and running out of ingredients can be blamed. Or to be honest, the cook in me went on hibernation for sometime.

Tangerine Olive Oil Pound Cake

Only after seeing this inspired creation, I realized what I am abstaining from. Cenk, who writes at Café Fernando, needs little introduction in the food blogging community. Amazing photos, inspiring posts and down-to-earth recipes makes CF one of the cherished blogs. Incidentally, Café Fernando turned two this week. Many congratulations, Cenk.

Coming back to the recipe, there was no reason not to try it; for it was a citrus based olive oil pound cake. I followed the recipe, but made two changes. Tangerines were used in place of clementines; egg whites were used instead of whole eggs, as there was enough fat in the recipe.

I was pretty excited when I baked the pound cake for the first time. The loaf was golden and risen; looked and smelt good. When I popped the first piece into my mouth, it was… er, disappointing. The cake was not sweet enough and looked like it could use more salt. Dejected, I wrapped the left-over loaf and left it in the countertop. I was thinking trifle or bread pudding to disguise it. Two days later, I took one last peek at the cake, before losing it into the depths of my refrigerator. It looked glossy and aromatic, so I doubtfully took a bite. Kapow! The cake tasted divine. The sugar and salt was just right; best of all, I could smell and taste the citrus and the fruity olive oil. Now I know the trick. It gets better as it sits. With this knowledge, here is the recipe, with due credits to Alice Medrich for the original version and Cenk for the tweaked version.

Making Tangerine Olive Oil Pound Cake

Ingredients

All purpose flour – 2 cups
Baking powder – 1½ tsp
Salt – ¼ tsp
Sugar – 1 cup
Tangerine zest – 2 tbsp
Extra-virgin olive oil – 2/3 cup
Eggs – 3, whites only
Tangerine juice – 1 cup

Method

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Sieve all purpose flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, take sugar and zest and whisk them with an electric beater to release flavour from the zest. Add olive oil and whisk until well combines. Beat eggs into the oil mixture one at a time. Divide flour into 3 portions and juice into 2. Add flour and juice alternately to the egg mixture, mixing gently after each addition. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack, wrap in a foil and enjoy after a day or two for enhanced flavour.

Tangerine Olive Oil Pound Cake

Same cake, different styles by Lara and Deeba. If you are looking to bake this cake in India, tangerines are called ‘Kamala orange’ or ‘loose jacket orange’. This is my entry to Monthly Mingle – Spring Fruit Sensations hosted by Abby at Eat The Right Stuff. MM was created by Meeta at Whats For Lunch Honey?

30 comments:

TheCooker said...

The cake looks divine!
I had a similar experience recently when I baked a date bread. It seemed just marginally ok the day it was baked but after 2 days...it was fantastic.

Gattina Cheung said...

what a lovely and perfect cake! And I really like the art concept of your photos, splendid!

amna said...

that looks lovely. the fork design with powdered sugar is awesome!! :D i used to bake an orange cake when i was 12, which was very similar. i made it once and everyone liked it so i made it again and again and again..

reminds me of that!

Madhavi said...

Hey..Cake looks awesome, i love picture too :))

Sig said...

Wow, your pictures are simply breathtaking Suganya! How do you maange this every time? Oh yeah, something called talent I guess :D

Anonymous said...

what a wonderful suprise for you when you tasted the cake again! and for us too - it looks lovely. thanks for sharing this with the monthly mingle

SMN said...

Cake luks so perfect.. must be tasting really nice

Pooja said...

OMG !!! you are a great photographer Suganya. the last pic is awesome ... i just stared at it for a while .

Sia said...

beautiful... i like that fork impression using icing sugar. had seen in one of cookery show and bookmarked in my mind;)

A Cook @ Heart said...

Oh WOW! that is to die for!!!
Ur photography leaves me speechless!

Bong Mom said...

Oooooooooohhhhhh divine. Of course I would continue looking at it the way it is presented and dare not didg that fork

Susan from Food Blogga said...

I just made a similar orange and olive cake the other night for a dinner party (I didn't have time to photograph it though). I love the idea of tangerine as well. I have lots of citrus leftover and wouldn't mind making another one. Yours is just lovely.

Cynthia said...

What was the texture like?

musical said...

The last picture is hypnotic! And yet another winner cake recipe from you!

Anonymous said...

The cake looks fabulous Suganya - am book marking this recipe.

Mamatha

Srivalli said...

suganya..I am not going to talk to you....every time you come out with such breathtaking pictures...skipped a heartbeat there..

sunita said...

I know I'm gona love this cake...made a similar one with olive oil and mix of lemon and orange...absolutely loved it :-)...and yes, I'm drooling over yours now :-)

Anonymous said...

What a great book and your interpretation of this dessert would do her proud! It's really beautiful with the powdered sugar!

Anonymous said...

Hi Suganya!
I love using olive oil in my sweet baking. Your photos are gorgeous. As usual! ;)

Unknown said...

Hi Suganya....love your pics..heard so much about olive oil cakes..have to try one...yours looks awesome

Anonymous said...

First things first: your photos are amazing! The texture of the cake is much better in your version. I will definitely try this with only egg whites. And many thanks for your nice words!

Kalai said...

Mind blowing pics, Suganya!! The cake looks and sounds phenomenal! :)

Miri said...

looks divine Suganya! And isn't it just wonderful when that happens and your disappointment turns to joy! :)

I made an orange cake last month with an ingredient from the Arusuvai chain and it was delicious!

Susan said...

This reminds me of the lovely Spanish cake recipes that use olive oil. What a stylish opening shot!

Poonam said...

Suganya, the cake looks fabulous!..

Vaishali said...

Suganya, that is one gorgeous-looking cake.

Meeta K said...

SUg! I cannot believe I am getting to this only now. But I am glad I did not miss it because I love the pics,I adore Alice Medrich and I am mad about your flavor combo! Perfect!

Anonymous said...

This looks fabulous! Thanks for the tip that it improves with a day or two - I would probably not have exercised patience without it.

Anonymous said...

Hey Suganya,

Wonder how I missed out this one! Anyways i have again stocked up on oranges and this is very very inviting. One question though... will it affect the texture if i use whole eggs?

Suganya said...

Latha, The original recipe uses whole eggs. I don't think that would be a problem. The texture may be a little dense.

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