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Thursday, June 3, 2010

Portuguese Orange-Olive Oil Cake

This post is for m'dear Casey over at Eating, Gardening, & Living in Bulgaria. She is hosting a Portuguese Day cooking event. If you'd like to participate, you still have time!

As you may know, Portugal is a small country in Europe on the Western side of the continent. It runs along the Atlantic ocean and looks as though it's almost a neighborhood within the country of Spain. If you had asked the lady, Senora Cefarina, that took care of me while I lived in Spain about Portugal, she would have curtly stated that Portugal should be part of Spain. She even quickly declared to me 'el portugues es muy mal hablado espanol', which translates to English as 'Portuguese is simply poorly spoken Spanish'. Cefarina obviously didn't hold the country of Portugal or it's language and culture in high esteem.

I, however, love Portugal. The language sounds a bit like Spanish spoken with a French accent to my ear, which is perfection in and of itself to me at least when it comes to the human tongue. The food is delicious not only in terms of traditional recipes, but also in terms of high quality and naturally grown agriculture. And the place is gleaming with beauty being that it runs along the coast and runs inward towards Europe, which we all know is just beauty in raw form.


Now, Portugal has some raunchy history just like the rest of us, but I won't go into that. One nice characteristic of Portugal's history though is something that it shares with many parts of Europe as well as North Africa and that is afternoon tea! I love afternoon tea, which is preceded by a 'siest' or 'siesta' (a nap). In fact, I might argue that there is nothing better in this life than afternoon siest followed by afternoon tea with homemade cakes, cookies, confections, and bread. Usually taken with family, friends, & neighbors-the ones we love. Yes, this is life!


Unfortunately, we don't stop work, school, or anything else in the U.S. for afternoon tea.The Portuguese and many Europeans close shop for anywhere between 2-3 hours in the afternoon, so that people can go home and eat some lunch, make love, sleep, and wake up to afternoon tea. Then, they go back to work for a couple more hours till the work day is done.

Sounds nice, no? Well, write to the president or somebody. WE NEED AFTERNOON TEA LIKE PORTUGAL! Am I wrong here, Dearies?

Anyway, here is a traditional Olive Oil & Orange Portuguese Tea Cake. It is delicious, traditional and easy. I adapted the recipe from Leite's Cake. It caught my eye as Leite describes it saying that it is even better the 2nd or 3rd day after sitting. He even goes so far as to command one not to take a bite out of it till the next day, so this cake holds well, Dearies!















Here is my version:

Portuguese Orange-Olive Oil Cake
1 3/4 Cup A.P. Flour
1 Cup Sugar
3/4 Tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 Tsp. Salt
2 Eggs
3/4 Cup O.J.
3/4 Cup Olive Oil
1-2 Tsp. Orange Zest (optional but fragrant)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a bread pan with sprayed Parchment Paper.

In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, whisk the eggs. Then add the oil, o.j., and zest to the eggs and whisk well. Slowly pour the wet mix into the dry mix and gently stir till homogeneous-do not over stir. Pour into bread pan and bake for about 45-50 min or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy with afternoon tea!

49 comments:

  1. The Europeans and Portuguese are definitely on the right track. I think we need to follow in their footsteps of closing shop for a couple hours to enjoy tea. We as Canadians and Americans work too hard and forget to just slow down and enjoy life sometimes. Why must lunchtime be a rushed hour or for some even half an hour? Why not take the time to really enjoy our food?
    I have to admit I am not a huge fan of orange flavored food but my hubby andkiddies really are. This would be the perfect recipe for them as it is able to keep longer and better for a couple days.
    Ever since your wonderful camera advice Stella, I can't help but notice how clear your pictures are and what beautiful details you add to them. You sure take amazing food porn pictures my witchy friend :-D Thank you for sharing yet another wonderful recipe.

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  2. Ooh! I'm all excited about this post, Stella. First, I'm so glad you posted about Portugal Day early enough for me to jump on the bandwagon. Next, I heartily concur that we need more afternoon siestas(and longer vacations!) here in the US. And finally, I'm going to try your cake asap.

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  3. Sounds delicious, Stella..like a tastier (imo) and healthier version of pound cake. I'm with you on the afternoon tea too. Just a thought, but maybe it might lead to fewer people going postal! :)

    btw, I'm preparing for a 3 week trip to sunny California. Leaving this weekend for a long, much needed healing detox. I'll be regular blogging and video-blogging about it the whole time. I'll be sure to let you know about what all their detox plan entails. Bound to be interesting...

    Toya

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  4. This looks like it has a nice, tight crumb (love that.) Olive oil cakes have such a unique flavour to them, with an almost earthy perfume-like aftertaste...a very pleasant one. Beautiful pictures!

    And I'm with you on making afternoon tea mandatory for the entire world. :)

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  5. When I was in Portugal a few years ago...I was too busy eating their amazing pastries. We were...it seems way too busy to even take time to have afternoon tea and piece of cake. Siesta...I guess those slipped us by too. We were pooped by 8:30 and into bed! OK...I divergered...all this to say...I'm really pleased that you shared with us a citrus based olive oil cake that stands to keep for a few days. Very handy to have around! Great base for ice-cream too ;o)
    As a side note...Stella you mentioned that you like fruit ice-cream...I just saw a nice recipe on the blog: 'Wives with Knives'...you gotta love the title?!? I just discovered her today.
    Ciao for now, Claudia

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  6. This looks so good! I love orange cakes!Hmmm afternoon tea, I haven't had a proper "afternoon tea" since I was in school!

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  7. I've been dying to try an olive oil cake! This one looks super, Stella...love the orange flavor in it. It also looks like it would freeze well.
    I loved Portugal when I visited; I remember those red roofs when the plane was coming in for a landing. The tiles were gorgeous and I collect Santos and found some really lovely ones there. We spent about a week there and loved all the food, the Fado music, the art, everything. Would love to go back.

    (You have it close, Stella. I used to live in Ft. Lauderdale, now in Boca Raton.)

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  8. I could definitely use afternoon tea today. I do think that the US should adopt this practice! This cake sounds just perfect for siesta. I've got to try this one!

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  9. Hi Stella, love this orange-olive oil cake sounds delicious. I had a Portuguese co-worker and I just love to listen to her when she speaks the language. I remember when I was growing up in the Philippines, we had siesta right after lunch. I enjoyed this post. Thank you.

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  10. Ah, that cake does sound truly wonderful with afternoon tea! Very nice!

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  11. Fantastic post. Well-written and very informative. Great history lesson and a beautiful cake recipe. I am well known in these parts for olive oil pancakes, so I love the use of olive oil here.

    Cheers!

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  12. Hi Stella!

    The avocado frosting holds pretty well. I add lemon juice to it so it doesn't go brown :) So make sure you add 1 tbsp of lemon juice to your avocado butter next time so it wouldn't go crappy brown :) Lemme know if that works!

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  13. I have to agree with the afternoon tea. We sleep deprived Americans need more time to enjoy this delightful beverage. This orange olive oil cake looks delicious!

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  14. We must be sharing the same space in the universe because I just made a vegan upside down orange pound cake. It's "upside down" because the poor thing doesn't raise very well without eggs. It looks better upside down. And while I was making that, I was listening to some of my favorite Brazil music...which as you know is in Portuguese. I loved that language. Do you know Cessoria Evora? She has such a sultry voice. I listen to her any time I fly...calms my nerves! By the way, great recipe!

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  15. Mi Stellita ( asi te llamarian en Argentina)
    Primero, I LOVE siestas !!!! And on the weekends, I ALWAYS have a siesta, also on hot summer days....there is nothing better in this life than having a siesta (alone, or accompanied but I am not going into that here... ;D
    Then, your cake...j'adore because it is the type of cake I can eat...(remember my problem with chocolate), and then, I love having tea with my friends, loooong teas, 2 or 3 hours chatting....that makes life worth living...among other things!
    Besos,
    Cristina

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  16. I am fascinated by olive oil in cakes and might try it one of these days, I am not much of a pastry chef, and I am just amazed by pastries! That cake of yours is just amazing! I wish I had one slice right now (most of the time I check out posts in the evenings and I have light dinner so I am hungry).As for Europe, right now the economy is doing very poorly and working conditions are not that great either so after all that afternoon tea might not be a great idea :o) like the 35 hours work in France...it's not working. Oops I am bringing up another topic here

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  17. Such a fabulous afternoon tea cake, Stella! And we can all learn a thing or two from those siesta-loving countries, can't we?

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  18. I would LOVE to go to Portugal. I don't know too much about it but your descriptions are lovely. :)

    Orange cakes are delicious, and I'm sure this is no exception. I bet orange and olive is a delicious combination!

    About the mold... I've been less worried about it since you told me that it's most likely good mold. I did make a homemade antifungal spray after looking up some recipes out of baking soda, organic castile soap (my mints now smell slightly like lavender but oh well :P) and some hydrogen peroxide, obviously diluted in water. My dad bought me a nice sprayer that's supposed to spray pesticides or something but instead I use it for the antifungal spray. If it doesn't work, I'm not too worried, since it's stayed away from the plants themselves. Thank you for asking, though! :)

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  19. I've never tried olive oil for baking though I do love anything orange :) It does look like a very moist, dense pound cake and I love the colour of the crumb!

    The Spanish have a long history of lording it over the Portuguese ;) My mum's been to both countries and says the Portuguese are much warmer and friendlier..

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  20. I would love to visit Portugal someday... because I want to try the egg tart :)

    The orange cake looks delicious!

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  21. I love your description of the sound of the Portuguese language, so true.
    I had the pleasure the last time I was in Vegas (of all places) to be privy to a heated argument between a Spanish and a Portuguese cab driver. I asked them which country invented chorizo.

    I was just thinking this morning that I had better do something with the oranges in my fruit bowl and now I know what!

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  22. I really want to try this soon!Sounds delicious and looks moist.

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  23. I've never been to Portugal and know nothing about it. However, I just learned it today from your post. Yeah, I wish we had an afternoon tea day here! Olive oil in a cake? Dang, I've never used that. I feel like I have a lot to learn from you Stella! Your cake looks so moist and appealing!

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  24. what a great post Stella!! so much information, what a nice way to ease into a wonderful recipe!!
    I have to admit, I have never used olive oil for baking, I love olive oil, but I am not sure if I am ready for the taste in baking.....hmmm
    but your tea cake looks incredible....and I have to say your images are phenomenal!!!
    thanks so much for sharing!!

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  25. This cake Ro-ah-oks! It's so moist and good. Oddly though, it does not taste like orange. Yum!

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  26. Maybe you and I can get together for tea but you'll have to make the cake. I'll bring the tea. The cake looks great and I am sure it must taste divine.

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  27. I love olive oil cake! This would be perfect with a cup of tea!

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  28. Stella, have you tried ice cream made with olive oil? It is delicious and I think you would like it. I love cakes and cookies made with olive oil and yours looks very good. I have a similar recipe for an orange flavored olive oil cake but you chop up a whole orange and add it to the cake, I know that sounds weird but it comes out moist and delicious.

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  29. Closing up shop for tea sounds delightful especially if this delicious orange cake is served. I haven't tried putting olive oil a cake recipe yet. I would love to give this a try!

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  30. Thanks for your kind words about my country. Unfortunately we do not have time to take a nap and our business hours are a bit different from our Spanish neighbors. In big cities there is no time to make a stop in the middle of the day, but after a week in my parents' house, we maintain the tradition of tea and cakes.

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  31. Hey Fa, that's strange to me. When I was in Europe everything was dead mid day. I was mostly in Spain though. However, I did enter into Portugal and noticed the same trend.
    I know Madrid had more open stores and businesses mid day than say Salamanca did when I lived in Spain. Hmm, I suppose things are changing all over the world!

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  32. Cake cake cake cake cake cake cake. And with healthy ingredients. Oh Stella, how you know what I like.

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  33. I subscribed! YEah. The photo with the flowers should be a poster. Great read here today. Thanks... this recipe is a definite keeper.
    :)
    Valerie

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  34. oh yes I agree, a leisurely break during the day followed by a siesta, would be wonderful, and a slice of this cake would be lovely with my afternoon tea, I have made a olive oil cake with a orange compote, and the cake did taste better the following day. I love when you post cake recipes, after the carmelized sugar I tried, oh stella I would bake any of your cakes.

    sweetlife

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  35. Great post. I suddenly feel the urge to have a snack and head to bed! I love olive oil cakes, great idea to add orange zest!

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  36. The cake looks so moist, just wonderful to enjoy with a pot of freshly brewed tea...I don't use olive oil often enough to bake a cake...well, I really should.

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  37. Dear Stella - I've always thought the other half of the planet has got it right!

    Bring back the siestas & the afternoon tea and all will be right with the world. More peace, less rage :)

    I love the cake recipe. I am going to definitely give this a go soon. How can I resist when it has my fave flavors with the OJ & zest.

    Ciao, Devaki @ weavethousandflavors

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  38. I need a Portuguese Olive Oil Orange Tea Cake like how Stella makes them :)

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  39. I love using olive oil for baking this cake must be fabulous!

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  40. This looks absolutely lovely! I adore cakes and sweets with olive oil! So tasty!

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  41. I love citrusy flavoured cakes. Orange makes many things taste better even rhubarb (that's why I add it to my rhubarb crumbles)...
    A very simple cake, I like it and I'm sure I will make it soon.

    As for siestas, the break would be great, but I'm a horrible napper!

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  42. Hi Stella,
    Nandos is as far as I know about Portuguese. Sad huh? But I would like to pay a visit one day.

    Those cakes! SO simple and yet comfortingly scrumptious. I've got to try it and keep it as bored-nothing-to-do-so-lets-cook recipes inventory.

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  43. I have been considering an olive oil cake for SS lately. This may be the push that sends me into the kitchen. GREG

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  44. Wow Stella! This looks fantastic. Thank you so much for participating in Portugal Day! I agree that afternoon tea and siestas should be incorporated in the US or you can just move to Europe.

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  45. I have been wondering about these olive oil cakes -- I've seen them all over the food blogosphere. I definitely need to try this soon. It looks delicious!

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  46. I wonder why we're not allowed some time off during the afternoon. I think North America would be a much happier and less angry place. And your cake looks so magical ;)

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  47. ohoh, I'm just back from 6 days in beautiful Lisbon!!! This cake looks wonderful and it's been a long time I want to try making a cake with olive oil! Might try after my siesta :-D

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  48. Wonderful blog & good post.Its really helpful for me, awaiting for more new post. Keep Blogging!


    Cake Displays

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Please do comment, Dearies!