Tuck into a slice of rich Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Blood Orange Glaze. A touch of tart sweetness from the glaze is the perfect thing to balance the dark, bittersweet chocolate.

I meant to share this Chcolate Olive Oil Cake with Blood Orange Glaze in time for Valentine’s Day. Seriously, does that blush pink hue not shout V-DAY VIBES from the rooftops?

I shot this recipe way back in January, when blood oranges were living their best lives. But sometimes in life, things like cooking jobs in Manhattan that end up being 14 hour work days, running around with your husband  making new memories together in the city where you got engaged (and also getting food poisoning from a bagel shop together) happen, and your blogging schedule gets thrown a little off track.

It’s fine. Sometimes you just have to say yes to the things that are happening, and that might mean saying no (or hey, I see you but I’ll get to you later), to certain other things,  and even if it means you couldn’t make this Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Blood Orange Glaze in time for a certain arbitrary day of the year, I know you forgive me because blood orange season isn’t quite over yet, so there’s still time to make this beauty.

The chocolate olive oil cake recipe is adapted from Karen Mordechai’s cookbook, Simple Fare: Spring/Summer. Hers is served with cardamom cream, pistachio and rose petals- a positively swoon-worthy version- but I couldn’t resist making a simple, crackly glaze from powdered sugar and fresh blood orange juice. You could add a little zest here, too if you wanted.

If I were serving this Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Blood Orange Glaze to cap off a dinner party, I’d probably make a citrus whipped cream with orange zest and a splash of Grand Marnier, then maybe garnish it with a slice of candied blood orange peel. Or chocolate curls.

But for an easy, rustic touch, I also like simply adorning the top of the loaf with a few ruby toned slices of blood orange.

MORE VARIATIONS FOR CHOCOLATE OLIVE OIL CAKE WITH BLOOD ORANGE GLAZE:

•  If you can’t find blood oranges, try making it with regular oranges, cara cara oranges or pink grapefruit.
• You can also bake this loaf cake in a round 9-inch springform pan, just grease the bottom and sides of the pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
• Finishing the cake with a drizzle of good olive oil, a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, and fresh blood orange segments is another great way to go if you want to skip the glaze.

WANT MORE CHOCOLATE RECIPES?

Dark Chocolate Tart with Cinnamon Sugared Cranberry

Chocolate Bourbon Pots De Creme

Dark Chocolate Alfajores with Sea Salt

All-Natural Chocolate Syrup

Thanks for reading Le Petit Eats! To keep up with my kitchen escapades, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. If you make this Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Blood Orange Glaze, don’t forget to share it using #LePetitEats!

5 from 10 votes

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Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Blood Orange Glaze

Tuck into a slice of rich Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Blood Orange Glaze. A touch of tart sweetness from the glaze is the perfect thing to balance the dark, bittersweet chocolate.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Keyword chicken with olives, chocolate, chocolate cake, dessert

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 8

Calories 500 kcal

Ingredients

For the cake:

• ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for greasing the pan
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup boiling water
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs room temperature

For the glaze:

• 2-2 1/2 cups powdered sugar sifted
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh blood orange juice
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch loaf pan with a little olive oil.

2. Sift the cocoa into a medium bowl and gradually add the boiling water, whisking until smooth. Add the vanilla, then set aside to cool slightly. In a separate large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the sugar, olive oil, and eggs on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

4. Reduce the speed on the mixer to low and slowly add the cocoa and vanilla mixture. Mix until just combined, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Gradually add the flour mixture and continue to mix until just combined, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. The the sides should be set but the top of the cake should looks slightly moist. A toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center should come out clean or with minimal crumbs. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack before removing from pan.

6. Combine the powdered sugar, blood orange juice and salt in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Adjust the amount of sugar or juice gradually until glaze reaches desired thickness. More powdered sugar will yield a thicker glaze, while adding more juice will thin the glaze out. Spoon glaze onto cake and allow to set for about 10 minutes before slicing into cake.

Recipe Notes

MORE VARIATIONS FOR CHOCOLATE OLIVE OIL CAKE WITH BLOOD ORANGE GLAZE:

•  If you can’t find blood oranges, try making it with regular oranges, cara cara oranges or pink grapefruit.
• You can also bake this loaf cake in a round 9-inch springform pan, just grease the bottom and sides of the pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
• Finishing the cake with a drizzle of good olive oil, a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, and fresh blood orange segments is another great way to go if you want to skip the glaze.