Bake: Orangey Lemony Olive Oil Cake

Happy 2013!!! Things have been busy lately - we're expecting our baby in February (could be any day now - we're in the final stretch!),  and now live in the OC. Things will surely change once the little one arrives, but stay tuned as we continue to live deliciously - cooking and baking good foods at home, and exploring the wonders that LA/OC has to offer as our family grows. :)

I've taken advantage of my maternity leave to nest, and have recently returned to baking - something that I haven't had time for in a while.  Last night, while surfing the web, a tasty treat on Gilt Food caught my eye and suddenly I had a craving for olive oil cake! I was just one click away from buying it, when I thought, why not bake it myself?  I found this recipe online, and we had all the ingredients in our pantry.

So this morning, I satisfied by craving by baking my first Orangey Lemony Olive Oil Cake! After reading reviews, I made a few modifications and came up with the following recipe:
Ingredients:

•  PAM spray (for greasing pan)
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour, 
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp lemon extract
• Juice and zest of 1 orange (I used a large california navel orange which produced 2 TBSP zest, and used 4 tablespoon of juice)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• confectioners' sugar for dusting (if desired)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease (or spray with PAM) a 9-inch round cake pan.
2. Mix together the sugar and eggs in a medium bowl with a hand mixer on medium speed until blended and light. Drizzle in the olive oil, lemon and vanilla extracts - mix until light and smooth. Add the orange juice and zest and mix well.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another medium bowl. 
4. Add the flour mixture half at a time to the wet ingredients and mix on low just to incorporate.  (I mixed gently by hand at this stage)
5. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake, 20-25 minutes. (21-22 min for me)
6. Let the cake cool 15 minutes, dust with confectioner's sugar, and serve!

Note: other reviewers recommended eating the cake for dessert with some added marmalade and whipped cream/ ice cream. I ate this cake as is for breakfast, but can imagine how wonderful it would be dressed up for dessert! Enjoy!