Candied Orange Olive Oil Cake (Printable)

Moist almond flour cake with olive oil and sweet candied orange slices, perfect for a light dessert.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Candied Oranges

01 - 2 medium oranges, thinly sliced
02 - 1 cup granulated sugar
03 - 1 cup water

→ Cake Batter

04 - 2 cups almond flour
05 - 1/2 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour blend
06 - 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
07 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
08 - 3 large eggs, room temperature
09 - 3/4 cup granulated sugar
10 - 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
11 - 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
12 - Zest of 1 orange
13 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

→ Garnish

14 - Powdered sugar for dusting
15 - Fresh mint leaves

# How To Make It:

01 - In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add orange slices in a single layer. Simmer gently for 20-25 minutes, turning occasionally, until translucent. Remove from syrup and cool on a parchment-lined tray.
02 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
03 - Place cooled candied orange slices on the bottom of the prepared pan, overlapping slightly if needed.
04 - In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, gluten-free flour blend, baking powder, and salt.
05 - In another bowl, beat eggs and 3/4 cup sugar until pale and slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Whisk in olive oil, Greek yogurt, orange zest, and vanilla extract until smooth.
06 - Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined.
07 - Pour batter over the candied oranges, smoothing the top with a spatula.
08 - Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
09 - Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate. Peel off parchment paper.
10 - Dust with powdered sugar and garnish with fresh mint leaves if desired. Serve at room temperature.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It's naturally gluten-free without tasting like a compromise, which I learned matters more than you'd think.
  • The candied oranges create pockets of sweet-tart flavor that feel like a small luxury in every bite.
  • Olive oil keeps the cake impossibly moist for days, so you actually get better results when you make it ahead.
02 -
  • Don't skip bringing your eggs to room temperature because cold eggs create a broken, curdled batter that never recovers no matter how much you mix.
  • The candied oranges are crucial to the flavor, and making them yourself takes the same 25 minutes as buying them would anyway, so you might as well control the sweetness.
  • If the toothpick test comes out with wet batter (not just crumbs), give it another 3-5 minutes because underbaked centers won't hold their shape when you flip the cake.
03 -
  • Zest your oranges before you do anything else with them because once they're cut or cooked, the zest becomes harder to remove cleanly.
  • If you don't have Greek yogurt, sour cream works beautifully and creates an almost identical texture with a slightly tangier edge.
  • The cake actually tastes better at room temperature than warm, so bake it in the morning and serve it in the afternoon when the flavors have settled.
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