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slicing into the finished cake

orange ricotta cake with olive oil and cardamom

5 from 1 vote
This is a moist cake with a tender crumb, and it features subtle hints of orange and cardamom. Perfect with a cup of your favorite tea!
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • zest from 2 large or 3 medium oranges (I used cara cara oranges.)
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1-2 tsp powdered sugar for dusting

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a nine-inch round cake pan. Set aside.
  2. Place the sugar in a medium-sized bowl and gently massage the orange zest through it until it resembles damp sand. Add olive oil and mix on medium speed for one minute. Add eggs, ricotta, juice, and extract. Mix on high speed until well combined, another minute.
  3. In a small bowl, stir together flour, cardamom, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to the olive oil mixture and mix just until combined, another minute.
  4. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out cleanly. Let it cool 5-10 minutes and then remove from the pan and transfer to a plate. Once it's completely cool, dust with powdered sugar.
  5. Store the cake, covered, for a few days at room temperature.

Notes

  • You might want to increase the cardamom. As written, it's very subtle.
  • I draped the pan loosely with foil for the last few minutes of baking because it had already browned nicely.