Olive Oil Carrot Cake Recipe
This Olive Oil Carrot Cake is full of warm spices and the sweet flavors of apricot and pineapple. With an unusual carrot ribbon top, this upside down cake brings easy-to-find ingredients together to make a show-stopping dessert!
Servings: 6 to 8
Calories: 372kcal
Ingredients
For the topping
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup apricot jam or preserves
- 2 large carrots, peeled into ribbons
For the cake
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup crushed pineapple, drained (save juice for another use)
- 1 tablespoon apricot jam
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt (if using table salt, use a pinch)
- 2 large eggs
- 1¼ cups grated carrots (about 2 large carrots)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
For the spiced whipped cream
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- pinch teaspoon cardamom
- pinch teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line the bottom of an 8-inch cake pan with parchment paper. (If you don't use parchment paper, a non-stick cake pan is best.)
For the topping
- Prepare the pan. Add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil to bottom of the pan, on the parchment. Use a pastry brush to spread it evenly around the bottom and sides of the pan. (There will be more on the bottom than the sides -- that's perfect.)
- Add the apricot jam (or preserves) to the pan. Now add the ¼ cup of the apricot jam or preserves to the pan. Place the pan in the oven (even if it's not preheated all the way) -- only long enough to melt the jam, about a minute or so. Then use the pastry brush to evenly spread it just on the bottom of the pan. set aside.
- Prepare carrot ribbons. Use a vegetable peeler to peel the large carrots into ribbons. Arrange them haphazardly on top of the apricot and olive oil in the pan, so that they're evenly spread out. Set aside.
For the cake
- Combine the wet ingredients and carrots. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the sugar with the olive oil, drained pineapple, apricot jam or preserves, vanilla, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until it's smooth. Then add the eggs, and mix until they're fully incorporated and then fold in the shredded carrots.
- Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking powder and baking soda and mix only until the flour has blended in and then pour the batter directly on top of the carrot ribbons in the cake pan.
- Bake. Bake in the preheated 350°F oven just until the cake is firm and slightly golden, about 40 minutes.
For the spiced whipped cream
- While the cake is baking, use an electric mixer or a whisk to whip the cream with the spices until you have soft peaks. Set aside in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve.
Assembly
- Cool and invert the cake. Let the cake sit out of the oven for about 10 minutes. Go along the edges of the cake with the back of a knife. Then invert it directly onto a serving platter and gently peel off the parchment paper. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes.
- Serve. Add a dollop of the spiced whipped cream to each slice as you serve.
Notes
Nutritional information is only only an estimate.
Nutrition
Calories: 372kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 130mg | Potassium: 218mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 6768IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 1mg