This easy and delicious olive oil cake recipe is the perfect brunch or dessert recipe for your special holiday gathering or for enjoying by the fire with a cup of tea. Swapping olive oil for butter gives the cake extra richness without weighing it down.
This post was created in partnership with Primal Kitchen.
![A cranberry orange olive oil bundt cake topped with white glaze, sugared cranberries and sprigs or rosemary.](https://therealfooddietitians.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Cranberry-Orange-Olive-Oil-Cake-10-683x1024.jpg)
an Olive Oil Cake to Love
You may have thought that olive oil was only for dressing salads and sauteing or roasting but we’re here to show you that it’s also great for baking. This decadent citrus-scented olive oil cake is studded with tart cranberries and the simple orange glaze makes it a festive and delicious addition to your holiday table.
Ingredients for Cranberry Orange Olive Oil cake
Here’s what you’ll need to make this show-stopping dessert:
- Almond flour
- Gluten-free all-purpose flour – If you don’t need this olive oil cake recipe to be gluten-free feel free to substitute all-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Cane sugar
- Eggs
- Olive oil – Primal Kitchen Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil is our go-to oil for dressing salads, sautéing, and roasting and it’s great for baking
- Apple cider vinegar
- Orange juice
- Orange zest
- Fresh cranberries – May substitute frozen whole cranberries if desired.
- Optional for garnish – Sugared cranberries and fresh rosemary
For the Orange Glaze:
- Powdered sugar
- Orange juice
- Orange zest
- Butter – For dairy-free, use plant-based stick butter
For the complete directions and ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card below. All of our recipes include the nutrition information, listing kcals, protein, carbohydrates, cholesterol, fiber, sugar, sodium, total fat, and more per serving.
Ingredient Spotlight: Primal Kitchen Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Primal Kitchen Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil is unrefined and sourced from Spain and Tunisia. It’s Whole30 Approved®, Certified Paleo, Keto Certified, Certified Organic, non-GMO Project Verified and NAOOA Certified for quality and purity.
We love the complex, fruity flavor for dressing salads and for roasting and sautéing vegetables. It’s incredibly versatile and the perfect addition to every pantry.
How to make this olive oil cake recipe
- Preheat the oven then prepare a bundt pan by greasing and flouring it.
- Whisk together the almond flour, gluten-free flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cane sugar then add the eggs, olive oil and apple cider vinegar and mix well.
- Fold the orange juice, zest and cranberries into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely before turning the cake out onto a serving tray.
How to Make the Simple Orange Glaze:
- Combine the powdered sugar, orange juice, orange zest, and melted butter. Stir until a thin glaze forms.
- Drizzle over cooled cake. Garnish with sugared cranberries and fresh rosemary just before serving, if desired.
Frequently Asked Questions
We recommend greasing and flouring the pan before adding the batter to prevent your olive oil cake from sticking when turning it out of the pan. If you’re a visual learner, check out this post from Taste of Home to see how to properly grease and flour a bundt pan.
We haven’t tested this cranberry orange olive oil cake in a regular cake pan or Springform pan and instead, highly recommend making it in a bundt pan. Not only is a bundt cake a classic and stunning dessert, the increased surface area means more deliciously crisp edges for the simple orange-scented glaze to cling to!
Unfortunately, because this citrus olive oil cake is so moist and relies on eggs for leavening and structure in the absence of gluten, we do not recommend making this with an egg replacer.
Recipe Swaps & Substitutions
Make it Grain-Free
Easily make this cake grain-free by substituting the gluten-free flour blend for with cassava flour.
Make it Dairy-Free
Make this citrus olive oil cake recipe dairy-free by swapping the butter for plant-based (vegan) stick butter or coconut oil in the glaze and for greasing the pan.
When to Serve this Cranberry olive oil cake
Cranberries and citrus are at their peak in the winter and together their flavor has become synonymous with holiday treats. This stunning yet easy-to-make olive oil cake is perfect for holiday gatherings, for gifting to friends and family, or for enjoying alongside a cup of tea by the fire.
Video: How to make cranberry orange bundt cake
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Cranberry-Orange Olive Oil Cake with Simple Glaze
This Cranberry Orange Olive Oil Cake with a simple orange glaze is easy to make, gluten-free, and gets its richness from fruity extra virgin olive oil.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 cup almond flour (112g)
- 1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour* (148g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅔ cup cane sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup Primal Kitchen Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed orange juice
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 ½ cups fresh cranberries
For the Simple Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- ½ tablespoon melted butter (use plant-based butter for dairy-free)
Optional for garnish – Sugared cranberries and fresh rosemary
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan generously with cooking spray or grease with coconut oil. Take a spoonful of gluten-free flour and sprinkle it evenly in the pan. Pick up the pan and gently tap the sides of the pan while rotating it to spread the flour. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, gluten-free flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cane sugar.
- Add the eggs, olive oil and apple cider vinegar and mix well.
- Add the orange juice and zest and mix into the batter.
- Fold in the fresh cranberries. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and smooth the batter with a spatula to evenly fill the pan.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Slide a spatula around the edges of the cake pan to loosen the cake from the sides. Place a plate or serving platter over the top of the pan, flip the pan over onto the plate and remove the pan.
For the Simple Glaze:
- In a small mixing bowl add the powdered sugar, orange juice, orange zest, and melted butter. Stir until a thin glaze forms.
- Drizzle the glaze over the completely cooled cake and garnish with sugared cranberries and fresh rosemary just before serving, if desired.
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Notes
*May substitute an equal amount of all-purpose flour, if you don’t need cake that is gluten free. Or, may substitute an equal amount of cassava flour for cake that is both grain free and gluten free.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1 slice with glaze (1/12th of cake)
- Calories: 233
- Fat: 11 g
- (Sat Fat: 1 g)
- Sodium: 131 mg
- Carbohydrate: 29 g
- (Fiber: 2 g
- Sugar: 16 g)
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg
Dietary
The photos in this blog post were taken by Rachel Cook of Half Acre House.
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What could I substitute for the almond flour to make this nut free?
We have not tested this recipe without the almond flour so, unfortunately, we cannot suggest a substitute with any degree of confidence at this time.
What can I sub for the almond flour? I’m not gf, so could I use AP or white whole wheat flour?
Because the almond flour is part of what makes the crumb so tender in this recipe, we can’t recommend a substitute without any confidence at this time (at least not until further testing).
If I’m not GF, can I substitute regular all purpose flour?
Hi, absolutely, you can use regular all-purpose flour in place of the gf flour.
Can I make this as muffins?
We haven’t tested this cranberry orange olive oil cake in a regular cake pan or Springform pan and instead, highly recommend making it in a bundt pan. Not only is a bundt cake a classic and stunning dessert, the increased surface area means more deliciously crisp edges for the simple orange-scented glaze to cling to!
The first cake is made with regular flour. It looked good and was tasty as well.
Sister came over with GF Flour and Almonds flour and we made cake number two. It was lighter but had a nice fruit taste, stronger than with regular flour.
All went well Thanks