A few years ago, two friends from my culinary school days came to visit me for the weekend. In preparation for my house guests, I deep cleaned, bought fresh flowers and baked an orange olive oil cake.

While my friends were still a few hours away, I decided that no one would mind if I tried a slice of the cake. Quality control, right? Well, that was a huge mistake, because I fell in love.

The cake was tender and soft, the presence of orange was playful and bright with the fruity olive oil, and there was just enough sugar to impart a hint of sweetness without a full-blown sugar rush—the marker of a true snacking cake. One slice turned into two, three, four. Before I knew it, half the cake was gone. And then my friends showed up.

I told them what happened. They laughed, then grabbed two forks and tried the cake for themselves. Laughter turned into shock, and I was jokingly berated all weekend for barely saving them “the best cake in existence.”

Every reunion weekend after that, my friends have requested the cake—with no slices taken out beforehand. And, yes, I learned my lesson: Always bake a double batch of this orange olive oil cake recipe. One for them, one for me.

Taste of Home

Find more recipes like this on my companion blog, “Good Food, Good Meat, Good God, Let’s Eat!”