Olive Oil Cake with Pumpkin

This simple Olive Oil Cake is made with pumpkin puree and its beyond delicious. Olive oil makes it moist and soft. Topped with an aromatic rose water icing

Disclosure: Goya sent me three of their extra virgin olive oil products (through the Meatless Monday movement). No monetary compensation was provided.  All opinions and notes are my own. 

Can you believe I baked a cake?

I had to pinch myself several times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

As you all know, I have long since known that I wasn’t born with a flour thumb!  Its my Achille’s heel.

But, I baked this cake and it turned into a soft, moist, fluffy and delicious pumpkin dessert!

Just like how a cake should be!

Take a look at that perfect texture of this olive oil cake! Its light and airy.

Plus, its all vegan!

I didn’t need to use eggs in this recipe.  The olive oil does the job of the egg which is awesome!

I also used almond milk instead of heavy creams or milk.  The almond milk gives this pumpkin olive oil cake the softness and that practically-melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Even before you taste it, you get a wonderful whiff of pumpkin, vanilla and roses.  That’s because I used the rose water in it which I had left over from my roasted vegetable recipe from last year.

Do not skip the rose water because it really makes this recipe taste heavenly!

Tips for making olive oil cake

– Use a bread pan instead of a cake pan for a more softer cake recipe.  I also like my cakes “taller” and not “wider” which is why I used the bread pan.  My pan is (affiliate link) 5.75″ x 3″ from Amazon.

– I used all purpose flour instead of cake flour. I find it easier to work with, but, you can also use cake flour or pastry flour

– I went easy on the sugar in this recipe because my icing was sweet.  You can adjust the sugar level by tasting the batter

– Mix the wet and dry ingredients separately.  I didn’t do that when I made this cake, which was a mistake.  Its much easier to mix them separately first before mixing it together

– When the cake is done, turn off the heat and leave it in the oven for about 5 minutes.  This will make the pumpkin cake softer

– About 5 minutes before the cake is done, you can place thin slices of oranges on top of the cake.  It gives it a nice texture and design to the cake

– If you don’t want the rose water in the icing, you can add it to the cake mix.  Or, you can do what I did and add it to both

– Refrigerate any left over cake for no more than a week.  Although, I doubt you will have any leftover!

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Goya’s Award Winning Olive Oil

I am a huge supporter of all Goya products.  Last year, I made a delicious, hearty vegan dumpling soup using all their products.  They really know how to make amazing ingredients.

So, its no surprise to me that their line of olive oils have won so many awards.  Goya has a press release where you can see all the awards won by these oils.

Which one is your favorite extra virgin olive oil?

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Premium Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

This is the oil I used to make this vegan olive oil cake.  I like the slightly fruity aroma that this oil had when I first opened it.  I thought it would be perfect for a dessert recipe.

This oil is made with herbs, green leaves, apple, almonds, artichokes….

…. and tomatoes!

Its no wonder that I fell in love with this oil at the first whiff!

It was awarded the 2018 Mario Solinas Quality Award.  This award, as I understand it, is awarded to the winner of the world’s most prestigious and selective competition by the International Olive Council (IOC)

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Unico Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Ok, I have to admit that this was my favorite oil when I first received the oils from Goya.  It was something I had never tried and I was totally intrigued by it.

When I first experimented baking this olive oil cake, I started with Unico.  It was really good and the cake was amazing with it.

However, I made a tomato recipe (coming soon) with it and the oil was much better suited for that recipe.  So, I decided to keep it for a savory dish.  Its also a great substitute for Greek olive oil in my dipping oil appetizer recipe.

Check out just a few of the awards that this delicious oil has won:

– 2018 Gold award by NYIOCC

– 2018 Silver award by LA IOCC

– CINVE Gold Medal 2018

– the Leone D’Oro Finalisti Gran Menzione Award 2018 in Italy

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Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil

This is my regular, every day oil.  I have used it for a while now and I love it.  I don’t think I have bought any other oils since I discovered it.

I made my Amaranth tabouli using this olive oil and you can see why that recipe is so delicious.

So, when I received a bottle of it from Goya, I was THRILLED.  Its my favorite extra virgin olive oil now and I can’t wait to make more recipes using it.

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Olive Oil Cake Origin

Baking with olive oil has been a tradition for centuries.  Mediterranean countries, Italy and even Spain have used it for generations to bake scrumptious desserts

Olive oil producing countries have long since used it in their baking because it makes the dessert very sweet.  They have used in breads, cakes and all kinds of desserts

My recipe is a blend of Spanish, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine.  Its also inspired, in part, by Short Girl, Tall Order’s recipe.

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Is the taste of olive oil overpowering in this recipe?

No, not at all.  I, personally, didn’t taste it at all in my cake.  Family members got a hint of the extra virgin olive oil when they tasted it, but, it was very little.

If you are worried about olive oil overwhelming the recipe, start with a mild olive oil that is not extra virgin.  This will give you a better sense of the taste of the cake.

I don’t know if the the mild oil will have the same effect on this cake.  I can’t say if it will be soft and moist, so, experiment with it.  Get back to me with your results because I am very curious.

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More Pumpkin Recipes

I don’t have too many pumpkin recipes, so, I am including a couple from my fellow food bloggers in this list.

Which one is your favorite.

1) Vegan Pumpkin Smoothie – I made a pumpkin smoothie with a delicious blueberry sauce.  It was delicious!

2) Vegan Pumpkin Soup –  Add butter beans to pumpkin soup and it will give you the perfect textured hearty pumpkin soup

3) Savory Pumpkin Dip – This dip is perfect for any fall appetizer, so, be ready to make a whole batch of it

4) If you have left over pumpkin puree, check out how I preserve the pumpkin puree and use it all year round.

5) Pumpkin Roll Trifle by Mildly Meandering

6) Cinderella Cake by An Affair From The Heart

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Step By Step Process of Making Olive Oil Cake

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350°

1) In a large bowl, sieve 2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour

2) Add vegan sugar to the sieve.  Its not necessary to sieve the sugar; I did it because my sugar had clumps

3) Add the baking powder, salt and baking soda to the sieve

4) Add 1/4 cup fresh orange juice

5) Add 1/2 cup Goya Organics Premium Olive Oil

6) Add 1/2 cup pumpkin puree to the bowl.  You can mix at this point, if you want

7) Add 3/4 cup almond milk.  The image shows half cup, but, I added more after that.

8) Optional: Add 1/8 tsp vanilla essence and 1/8 tsp rose water to the batter

9) Mix well and set aside

10) Lightly oil two 5.75″ x 3″ pan

11) Slowly pour the cake batter into the pan.  Fill it up about 3/4 of the way.  Use the remainder in the 2nd pan

12) Smooth out the top of the cake and gently tap the pan on a flat surface to remove any air bubbles

13) Place the pans in the oven on the bottom rack

14) At about the 35 minute mark, gently pierce the side of the cake with a toothpick

15) If it comes out clean with no liquid on it, the cake is ready.

16) Turn off the heat, but, do not remove the cake from the oven.  You can move it to the top rack.  Keep the oven door closed and the cake in there for about 5 more minutes

17) Prepare the icing by adding (affiliate link) 1/2 cup vegan powdered sugar and 1.5 Tbsp of almond milk to a bowl

18) Add 1/8 tsp of vanilla essence to the bowl

19) Add 1/8 tsp of rose water to the bowl. Mix well

20) After the cake has cooled to room temperature, drizzle the icing on top of the cake and set it aside for about 10 minutes before serving

That’s it!

I hope your family enjoys this cake as much as we did!
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RECIPE VIDEO

How to Make Olive Oil Cake (Printable)