Paprika Courtyard · Desserts

Orange & Almond Olive Oil Cake

A tender orange-zest cake with finely ground almonds, olive oil and a thin icing drizzle. Makes one 20 cm cake; total time includes cooling.

115 minutes · Medium · 8 pieces / portions

Also allow: The 115-minute total includes 15 minutes cooling in the tin, 30–35 minutes on a rack and 5 minutes for the icing to settle.

Original house recipe · Not yet kitchen-tested

Ingredients

Almond flour150 g
All-purpose flour100 g
Sugar150 g
Egg3 whole
Olive oil80 ml
Plain Greek yogurt100 g
Orange1 whole
Baking powder2 tsp
Salt0.25 tsp
Icing sugar35 g
Water10 ml

Keep this original batch size for consistent texture and setting.

Allergen notes

Tree nuts (almonds), wheat, egg and milk.

Method

Prepare the tin and orange

Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease a 20 cm round cake tin at least 5 cm deep with 5 ml of the measured oil and line the base with baking parchment. Wash the orange, finely grate its zest and squeeze 60 ml juice, saving any surplus juice for another use. Use finely ground almond flour rather than chopped almonds.

Mix the batter

Whisk the almond flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt together, breaking up almond-flour lumps. In another large bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and orange zest for 2 minutes until slightly thickened. Whisk in the remaining 75 ml oil, yogurt and 60 ml orange juice. Fold in the dry mixture just until no dry pockets remain; do not beat after adding the wheat flour.

Bake through

Scrape into the prepared tin and level the top. Bake on the middle shelf for 35–45 minutes. The top should spring back lightly, and a skewer pushed into the centre should emerge without wet batter. If the surface colours before the centre is set, cover loosely with foil for the final minutes. Do not taste uncooked batter.

Cool before icing

Cool in the tin on a rack for 15 minutes. Loosen the edge, turn out carefully, remove the paper and set upright on the rack. Cool for another 30–35 minutes, until no longer warm. The cake is delicate while hot, so wait before moving or slicing it.

Drizzle and slice

Stir the icing sugar with the measured 10 ml water until smooth. Drizzle in thin lines over the cooled cake. Leave for 5 minutes, then cut into eight slices. This is one fixed-size cake; for a larger batch make separate cakes in the same size tin.

Measure the orange juice rather than pouring it all in: oranges vary, and excess liquid can leave the centre heavy.

AI-generated food image. Presentation is illustrative. This menu belongs to an imagined restaurant.