Test Kitchen: Citrus Olive Oil Cake

Easy, healthy recipes tested for you weekly at the Sargent Choice Test Kitchen

Caila Yates, Graduate Dietetics Student, SAR ’20

About the Sargent Choice Test Kitchen: We’re all about making healthy taste delicious here at Sargent Choice.  That’s why we’ve teamed up with faculty-in-residence Dr. Karen Jacobs to offer students a one-of-a-kind opportunity to trial and taste-test new Sargent Choice healthy recipes each week at the Sargent Choice Test Kitchen.  Dr. Karen Jacobs invites students of all majors (not just nutrition) into her home on Boston University’s campus to cook up a recipe developed by Sargent Choice Registered Dietitian, Jennifer Culbert.  Feedback from the weekly Test Kitchen gets incorporated into future Sargent Choice recipes and helps shape the face of healthy dining at BU.

To get into the holiday spirit, we experimented with a citrus olive oil cake.  Olive oil, you ask? In cake? It may sound weird, but the fat from the oil made this cake perfectly moist, and gave it a bit of a savory flavor to balance out the sweetness of the citrus.  It’s a match made in heaven, and a perfect (and easy!) side dish or dessert to bring to holiday dinners or parties.

What we liked:

  • We were amazed at how little citrus juice and zest was needed to make this cake taste citrus-y.
  • There was very little sugar in each serving of the recipe – a lot of the sweetness came from the citrus juice and zest.
  • The olive oil made the cake incredibly moist.
  • We LOVED the lemon juice in the recipe, but weren’t as stoked about the orange juice.

What we would change:

  • When we used orange juice in the recipe, the cake was denser and not as flavorful. We would stick to using just lemon juice.
  • We would have liked to experiment with different citrus juices. Maybe a mixture of lemon and lime next time? Get creative!
  • You can also get creative with type of sweetener added to the recipe. Instead of granulated sugar, it would be interesting to use honey or maple syrup instead.

Nutrients that you’re getting from this recipe:

  • Vitamin C from the citrus zest and juice
  • Fiber and iron from the whole wheat flour
  • Vitamin D and calcium from the Greek yogurt
  • Protein from the eggs and yogurt

Sargent Choice Citrus Olive Oil Cake

Recipe modified from Cookieandkate.com
Yield: 1 loaf (10 servings)
Serving size: 1 slice

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons citrus zest (your choice – orange, lemon, etc.)
¼ cup freshly squeezed citrus juice
1 cup sugar
¾ cup plain yogurt
3 eggs
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Optional: Citrus glaze

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Generously grease and flour an 8 ½ by 4¼-inch loaf pan. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  2. Pour the sugar into another medium sized mixing bowl. Use a microplane to grate 2 teaspoons zest from your fresh citrus fruits and add it to the bowl. Rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar takes on the color and fragrance of the citrus.
  3. In a liquid measuring cup, measure out ¾ cup yogurt and squeeze in about ¼ cup citrus juice to yield 1 cup total liquid. Whisk the yogurt and juice, eggs, and vanilla into the sugar mixture until well blended.
  4. Gently whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, just until incorporated. Switch to a spatula and fold in the oil, making sure it’s all incorporated. The batter will be shiny. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
  5. Bake the cake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the top is golden and the sides start to pull away from the sides of the pan; a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.
  6. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife between the cake and the sides of the pan to loosen. Unmold the cake by placing a large plate upside down over the loaf pan and carefully turning them over. Carefully flip the cake back over and let it cool to room temperature.
  7. To make the glaze (optional): Measure the powdered sugar into a small bowl. Whisk in just enough juice to make a think glaze that drizzles easily off your whisk when lifted. Drizzle the glaze back and forth over the cake. The glaze will need about 15 minutes to set, then it’s ready to slice and serve.