Talk about just the right about of moist and yum! The cake recipe is shared with us by Lisi of Lisi’s Luscious Desserts. Lisi was a bit concerned that the butter was substituted with olive oil, which could be overwhelming – but no! It was a tasty addition which added to the moistness. No one even knew it was in there! Don’t skip the orange syrup which provides the cake with even more orange flavor.
Lisi’s Orange Cake
Ingredients
4 navel oranges
3 large eggs (room temp)
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups olive oil (I used extra virgin, but you can also use pure olive oil – use an olive oil that you like, that is high in quality)
1 1/2 cups milk (room temp if you can)
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Orange Syrup
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
6 tablespoons sugar
Rub 2, 9 inch cake pans with a little bit of canola oil. Line bottom of pans with parchment rounds. (These might be nice in a muffin shape too.Just adjust baking time.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place rack in middle of oven.
Wash the oranges. Grate the zest from the oranges – being careful to grate only the orange part of the orange – do not grate the pith (the white bitter part). Juice enough of the oranges to reserve 1/4 cup for the syrup.  Set aside zest and juice (separately).
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the eggs and orange zest. Whisk in 1 cup of the sugar and whisk for about a minute. Then once lighter, whisk in oil and milk.In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Whisk the dry mixture into the egg mixture in three additions — whisking until smooth. But don’t over mix. Divide and pour batter into prepared pans. Bake the cakes until they are a golden, and firm when you press in the center. It should take from 50-55 minutes.
Cool the cake for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges (if needed), invert, and un-mold. Then turn right side up again. Make the syrup while the cake is cooling.  Bring the 1/4 cup juice and sugar to a boil. And simmer for a minute or so. Once cake is inverted poke little holes all over the cakes with a toothpick. Then brush the warm syrup all over the cakes and repeat until you have used it all. Delicious!