Olive Oil Tangerine Cake with Pomegranate Glaze

I’m going to start by being really to the point here—this is one of the top three cakes I’ve ever made. This Olive Oil Tangerine cake has sweetness, moistness, fruitiness, and a little almond-y nuttiness. The interior has the perfect crumb, and the outside edges are crispy and toasted due to the almond meal in the cake. The moistness inside the cake is due entirely to the hefty amount of rich and silky California Olive Ranch extra virgin olive oil that I poured into it. I love using olive oil in cakes because it lends a wonderful richness to them and keeps their interior moist, but without weighing you down after having a slice (or two!) I grated up and juiced some of the beautiful winter tangerines currently flooding the market shelves and included that in the cake, too. Since the tangerines have such a fresh and bright flavor, I paired the ‘Rich & Robust’ California Olive Ranch blend with it to meet one bold flavor with another. It’s fascinating to me how different types of olives have such drastically different flavors, and how mixing them is almost like blending wine, you’re balancing the varietal flavors to try and get the best combination in each bottle of EVOO.

For the glaze, I kept it very simple and just mixed together powdered sugar with freshly juiced pomegranates. I juiced them by taking the pomegranate jewels and crushing/rubbing them over the top of a wire mesh sieve on top of a bowl, so that the bowl underneath caught all the juice. Wear a black shirt if you do this, though, because they kind of explode sometimes and that juice makes a real deep stain. The glaze had an awesome kick to it because of the tartness of the pomegranate juice, and I think I might try using the same one on donuts at some point. To top it off, I dumped a bunch of pomegranate jewels on top of the cake, which you *have* to do. Not only does it look good, but the tiny burst of each little jewel and accompanying tart outpouring of flavor contrasts super duper well with the rich, almond-y citrus cake. The whole thing is just the greatest. Oh, and did I mention how easy it is to throw together? Because it is 🙂 Highly recommend making this for any holiday parties you’re attending, or any entertaining you’re doing.

5 from 2 votes

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Olive Oil Tangerine Cake with Pomegranate Glaze

Course Dessert

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 1 cake

Author Eva Kosmas Flores

Ingredients

Olive Oil Tangerine Cake

• 5 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed tangerine juice
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated tangerine zest
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour
• 3/4 cup almond meal
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 pomegranate jewels

Pomegranate Glaze

• 3 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed pomegranate juice

Instructions

Olive Oil Tangerine Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease two 8-inch cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and set them side. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs with the sugar at medium speed until light, pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to medium low and add the olive oil, tangerine juice, tangerine zest, vanilla extract, and almond extract and mix until combined. Turn off the mixer.

2. In a separate medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, almond meal, baking powder, salt, and cardamom until combined. Set aside.

3. With the mixer going at low speed, alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk to the egg mixture, adding in three increments. Once combined, evenly distribute the batter between the prepared cake pans and bake until golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing the cakes from their pans and allowing them to cool to room temperature on a wire rack, bottom-side down.

Pomegranate Glaze

1. Once the cakes have cooled, you can prepare the glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar and pomegranate juice in a large bowl until smooth.

To Assemble

1. Use a bread knife to cut the dome off of one of the cake layers so that it is flat on top. Place this cake on a serving plate and drizzle it with half of the glaze. Place the other cake on top of it and drizzle it with the remaining half of the glaze. Top with the pomegranate jewels and serve immediately.