Dario Cecchini’s orange olive oil cake
This recipe, adapted from Judy Zeidler’s Italy Cooks as well as from versions by Nancy Silverton and Ruth Reichl, is a delicious non-dairy dessert, and a fitting tribute to Zeidler, the Los Angeles-based cookbook author whom Cecchini considered his second mother. Use Italian leavening, which you can buy from the link above, and the best navel oranges you can find.
Ingredients
- ½ cup golden raisins
- 1/4 cup rum
- 1 1/2 navel oranges finely chopped (pulp and peel)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar (+ 2 tablespoons)
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp Italian leavening powder
- 1/3 cup shelled pistachio nuts
- Powdered sugar for garnish
Instructions
- Bring the raisins and rum to a simmer in a very small saucepan over high heat. Turn off the heat and set aside for the raisins to absorb the rum for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Spray a 10-inch springform pan generously with nonstick cooking spray and dust it lightly with flour.
- Leaving the peels attached, finely chop the oranges, remove any seeds and set aside.
- In a mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs, Italian leavening, and ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar until the mixture thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Gradually add the olive oil. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Slowly add the flour and raisins, mixing until they are well incorporated.
- Turn off the mixer. Remove the bowl from the stand. Fold the chopped oranges into the batter. Let it rest for 10 minutes, then turn into the prepared pan and sprinkle the pistachios over the top.
- Bake the cake for 10 minutes. Rotate the cake and lower the oven temperature to 325°F. Bake the cake for another 30 to 35 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, rotating the cake once during the baking time so it browns evenly. Remove the cake from the oven and set it aside to cool to room temperature.
- To serve, run a knife around the inside of the pan before opening it. Dust with powdered sugar.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
