Orange Blackberry Olive Oil Cake is the place where citrus season and berry season come together to make a beautiful garden to table one layer cake. Orange cake is speckled with fresh blackberries and topped with an orange liqueur glaze while still warm. A yummy, lightly sweet, dessert that can be eaten warm or cool. Using a high speed blender, like a Vitamix, makes this cake come together fast.
The fruit on my orange tree ripens late by citrus season standards. We start picking the first oranges in April and they continue to ripen right on through May, bringing us well into berry season. We are growing strawberries, blueberries and mulberries and my neighbor has several well established blackberry vines. Well, lucky me, I am tending their garden while they are traveling the world and I have been given free rein to eat anything I find. That means garden fresh blackberries all to myself!
This recipe starts with the fruit. You will need one medium sized orange that is not too thick skinned. Leave the peel on and chop the orange into big chunks, removing any seeds you find. Wash the blackberries and make sure they are very dry. Set both the orange chunks and the blackberries aside for now.
Prepare a 9 1/2 inch springform pan with oil and oiled parchment on the bottom. If you don’t have a springform pan, a 9 or 10 inch layer cake pan will work if it has 2 inch sides.
Use a large bowl to whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cloves. Make sure to use a large bowl since you will be adding the wet ingredients to the dry.
Now for the fun part. In a high speed blender combine the eggs and the sugar using a medium speed. The mixture will get nice and frothy. Add in the buttermilk and blend on a low speed. Once combined, add in the olive oil and blend just until incorporated. So here is the magic - add the orange chunks and blend on a medium speed until the orange is incorporated. You get a strong orange flavor without having to juice and zest the orange.
Pour the blender of wet ingredients into the big bowl of dry ingredients. Stir by hand just until combined. Stir in your blackberries, making sure to save a few berries for garnish.
Note. If you don’t have a high speed blender, you can whisk all the wet ingredients, as above, by hand. Process the orange in a food processor and stir it into the wet ingredients.
Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and bake until the tester comes out clean. Once done, cool the cake for only 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and place on a serving dish. Mix up the glaze and spoon onto the warm cake. Glazing the cake while it is still warm will allow some of the glaze to soak into the cake and the remaining glaze will have a more firm set.
I made the glaze using an orange liqueur, Patrón Citrónge. You can use Grand Marnier or even rum or bourbon. If you don’t want the alcohol then use orange juice or lemon juice. If you use citrus juice the glaze will be less shiny and a bit different texture but it will still taste great.
Before serving garnish with extra whole berries and orange slices. Enjoy - maybe with a little whipped cream and some extra fruit!
Orange Blackberry Olive Oil Cake
CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 orange
2 cups blackberries
PROCESS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9 1/2 inch springform pan with oil and parchment paper on the bottom.
Whisk flour, baking soda, salt and cloves in a large bowl.
Cut the whole orange into chunks - removing any seeds you find. Set aside.
In a high speed blender, blend eggs and sugar at a medium speed until frothy.
Add olive oil and buttermilk to the egg and sugar mixture. Blend until combined.
Add the orange chunks to the blender and process until smooth. There may be small chunks of orange in the liquid.
Pour the blender of wet ingredients into the reserved bowl of dry ingredients. Stir to combine and then stir in the blackberries.
Pour batter into the prepared springform pan. Bake for about 40 minutes or until tester comes out clean (time will vary depending on pan size).
Remove springform and flip cake onto your serving dish. Remove the parchment paper. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.
Prepare glaze and glaze while the cake is still warm to the touch.
GLAZE
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
4 to 5 tablespoons of orange liqueur. I used Patrón Citrónge. If you use citrus juice instead, you may need less liquid.
Extra blackberries and orange slices for garnish.
PROCESS:
Make glaze by adding orange liqueur to the sifted powdered sugar. Stir vigorously to remove any clumps. Spoon glaze on top of warm cake.
Garnish with extra blackberries and orange slices.
Enjoy!
Can be served with whipped cream and additional berries.
If you don’t have blackberries, any berry or berry combination will work. Thawed frozen berries are fine too.