Citrus olive oil cake with honey syrup

This Mediterranean-style cake is super moist and delicious! The honey syrup, with its notes of lemon, soaks wonderfully into the cake, making for a rustic dessert that is both light and satisfying. To make this cake even healthier, I substituted almond milk for whole milk and cut back on the amount of sugar for both the cake and the syrup. More reasons to enjoy!

Ingredients

Cake:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1-1/4 cups almond milk
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil 

Honey Syrup:

• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 clove
• Zest of 1 lemon

Instructions

Cake:

• Preheat the oven to 375F
• Spray a 9″ round springfoam cake pan with pan with baking spray.
• Sift the flour, baking powder, and baking soda into a small bowl. Stir in the salt.
• In another small bowl, combine the milk, orange juice, and lemon zest. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, add the eggs and sugar. Whisk together until well combined. Gradually add the olive oil in to the eggs and sugar while continuing to whisk.
• Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the wet ingredients in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry. Whisk lightly, only until smooth. Do not overbeat.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake until a deep golden brown, slightly domed, and possibly cracked on top, 55-60 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes before slicing.

Honey Syrup:

• Bring all ingredients to a simmer in a small saucepan.
• Simmer 10-12 minutes until almost reduced by half.
• Remove from heat, pour into a container, and cool to room temperature.
• Discard the clove and zest.
• Drizzle each slice of cake with honey syrup and whipped cream if desired.

Recipe adapted from Kathy Goldman, recipe featured on NoshOnIt
Happy and healthy eating!