Meskouta (Moroccan Orange Cake)
Updated Feb. 16, 2024
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus cooling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- ½cup plus 2 tablespoons/150 milliliters extra-virgin olive oil, more for greasing the pan
- 2cups/260 grams all-purpose flour
- 1½teaspoons baking powder
- ½teaspoon baking soda
- 1teaspoon fine salt
- ¾cup plus 2 tablespoons/180 grams granulated sugar
- 2large eggs
- ¾cup plus 2 tablespoons/180 grams Greek-style yogurt
- Zest of 2 oranges (about 2 tablespoons)
- ⅓cup/80 milliliters fresh orange juice (from about 1 orange)
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾cup/180 milliliters heavy whipping cream
- 1½tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- Dark chocolate, for shaving with a vegetable peeler
For the Cake
For the Whipped Cream (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
Make the cake: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8½-by-4½-inch loaf pan with olive oil, and line it with a sheet of parchment paper so that you have extra on the sides. (You’ll use this to lift the loaf out of the pan.)
- Step 2
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined. In another large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar and eggs until well combined. Add the yogurt, olive oil, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla extract to the sugar and egg mixture, and whisk until well incorporated.
- Step 3
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix using a spatula until you no longer see flecks of flour, making sure not to overmix. (The batter will be slightly lumpy.) Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and use a spatula to spread into an even layer.
- Step 4
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with some small, moist crumbs. (If the cake needs another minute or two, but is becoming too brown, tent with foil.) Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before using the parchment overhang to remove from the pan.
- Step 5
Make the optional whipped cream: Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the cream and the confectioners’ sugar for about 2 to 3 minutes on medium-high, or until medium peaks begin to form. You want a spreading consistency. Cover and keep in the fridge until ready to serve the cake.
- Step 6
To serve, cut the cake in slices, top with whipped cream, if using, and garnish with chocolate shavings, if using. Alternatively, you can also top the whole cake with whipped cream, then slice it. Without the whipped cream, the cake keeps for up to 5 days in an airtight container on the counter.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
A sweet version of Ras EL Hanout added to the batter (approximately 2tsp ) would make it standout from the ocean of orange cakes (including those with olive oil). 3 parts ground ginger 2 parts whole green cardamom 2 parts whole allspice 2 parts whole nutmeg 2 parts ground cinnamon (preferably Vietnamese) 1 part whole cloves Grind all together in spice mill or mortar.
Baking powder and soda are both activated with hydration. The leavening of the batter begins immediately upon mixing. The only additional leavening comes from the component in baking powder which is activated by heat. (That's why it is called "doubIe-acting"). If you were to rest the batter for 24-48 hours most of that leavening would be lost and the resulting cake would be disagreeably dense. With such a moist dough as this one, every bit of leavening power is vital for a successful result.
I also like resting doughs too, but quick breads rely on chemical reactions for leavening, so I'd want to get this in the oven as quickly as possible to capture most of that
You rest cookies to develop the flavors in the dough and because cookie dough benefits from a little drying out (concentrating the flavors) without sacrificing the texture (cookie dough is already dry). Unless a recipe specifically calls for it, don't rest cake dough. It's meant to be baked straight away, or at the most, rested only when necessary because you are, for example, baking two layers when you only have one pan and need to wait to bake the other layer.
This was yummy. I added the ras al hanout as suggested below, but will dial back the cardamom, as it overpowered the orange a bit. I also rubbed the orange zest into the sugar before mixing - I think it distributes the zest better and enhances the flavor. Will make again.
Has anyone tried replacing orange with lemon or other citruses? Maybe halving the proportions bc it would be too tart otherwise? This looks glorious but the boyfriend « doesn’t like » orange cakes (he does, fortunately, have other qualities that even out this huge flaw). Otherwise I guess my only solution is to eat the ENTIRE loaf which is not bad either
40-45 minutes is on the quick side. I would say 47-52 minutes if you don't want the middle to be underbaked. Took me the entire 52 mins. A delicious cake. Take the "cool completely before ..." instruction literally. They mean *completely*
I didn’t have a fresh orange on hand, so I used commercially prepared OJ and 1 T granulated lemon zest - came out great!
Love, love, love this cake, have to hide it from myself. I try each recipe as it is presented and then if you want to make changes okay. Most times I'm very happy with the results. This is one of them.
Following other suggestions, cut sugar to 2/3 cup. Added 1/8 tsp of following spices: nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon and a bit more than 1/8 tsp ground ginger. Happened to have ricotta in fridge so used 3/4 c plain yogurt 2 tbsp ricotta instead of all Greek yogurt. Baked 52 minutes until toothpick clean in oiled loaf Pan - didn’t bother with parchment. Delicious! May increase spices ever so slightly next time. Can be served for breakfast or tea or as dessert.
Cooking is chemistry. If you mix yogurt with baking soda it will give your bake some lift and lightness, rather than a heavy lump of dough. Quick breads are exactly what they are called, quickly made, then quickly baked to get full value of the chemical interactions betwixt the ingredients. I always mix my dry ingredients then make a well for the wet ingredients, making sure its gently blended with a wooden spoon then spooned into a pan for baking. Do not over mix. I love Hal's spice combo.
Absolutely no need to increase liquid when you reduce sugar in quick breads -- you'll end up with a soupy mess. Sugar "contributes" moistness by holding on to water (it's hygroscopic), so your bread won't last as long, but you can't fix that with more water. Reducing sugar in most cakes affects texture and raising, but since this one doesn't rely on creaming butter and sugar for leavening, you needn't worry about that issue here.
In general, a "batter" (a quickly mixed and rather fluid mixture) should be in the oven as promptly as possible, with the oven preheated before mixing the batter. Muffins, pancakes, cornbread, and cakes are examples of batters. A "dough" is stiffer than a batter. Yeast doughs need to rest in order to rise. Many cookie doughs benefit from a rest period. I suspect the rest period allows the flour and other dry ingredients to fully hydrate, changing the consistency of the dough.
Hi Margaux! I made this with lemon using the same amounts of zest and juice. I added about 1 1/2 tablespoons of poppy seeds, too. It wasn't too tart. This was my second attempt. First try was with the orange zest and juice (and no poppy seeds). I like the orange better, but the lemon was nice, too.
Perfectly delicious recipe as written. However, I did have to increase bake time to a total of 57 minutes before the toothpick came out without wet batter. Test before you pull it out of the oven. I made an orange juice powdered sugar icing instead of whipped cream.
This is a lovely cake with a delicate orange flavor and moist crumb. Doubled the recipe for two loaves and used the commenter-suggested ras el hanout spices (sans clove) whereby 1 part = roughly 1/4 tsp. I think it would have tasted very nice with just the orange, but the spices added depth and interest. All in all, it was a nice alternative to a typical quickbread! Took much longer to bake than the suggested time, closer to 55 minutes, but even 1 hour might have been ok.
Wondering if this would work as a layered cake? Maybe with a layer of jam or curd and a vanilla frosting? Has anyone tried this?
We cut it in half and spread a layer of apricot jam and then a layer of crème fraiche on top of the jam. No icing on top. The acidity of the jam and creaminess of the cream went perfectly with the delicate flavors of the cake.
Worked fine in a 9x5 pan using non-Greek yogurt (I cut back the OJ a hair- don't know if it mattered. It took 55 minutes.
Jane brought to wine Club. Excellent with fresh whipped cream and mini chocolate chips.
has anyone added bittersweet chocolate chips to batter?
King Arthur Baking Company sells Fiori di Sicilia, a vanilla extract infused with orange flavor. A little goes a long way, so in this recipe, intead of using a tsp of vanilla extract, I used 1/2 tsp of vanilla and 1/2 tsp Fiori di Sicilia. The result was wonderful. I also use this extract combined with vanilla extract in cheesecake, also a winner. If you like to bake and haven't tried King Arthur's Fiori di Sicilia, treat yourself and try it!
I put fiori do sicilia in as well! But I put the whole teaspoon of vanilla and the half teaspoon of fiori di sicila. There’s no such thing as too much vanilla :)
Lightly sweet with a fresh orange flavor
Oops, another note: I stirred the orange zest with the sugar and let it sit awhile (15-30min) before adding the eggs, etc. Sugar naturally extracts the citrus oil (look up "oleo saccharum" or ask any punch/cocktail enthusiast) for more flavor and turns the sugar a gorgeous golden orange.
Simple and delicious. I'm typically over-sensitive to sweetness, so I dropped the sugar from 180g to 150, and while it was wonderful with sweetened whipped cream and a side of coffee, I dont feel like the extra 30g would've been overwhelming at all. I wonder if people's different reactions to the sugar amount is because citrus fruit like oranges can vary so wildly in sweetness.
Lovely crumb to this cake. I liked the faint bitterness of the olive oil. It made it taste exotic.
Can you add blueberries?
Boy, this is really good! I had 2 large Cara Cara oranges, so I got a lot of zest from them and used it all. I used 2/3 cup of sugar and substituted lemon flavored Greek yogurt instead of plain. I did not have Ras El Hanout as some suggested, so I used about a quarter teaspoon of garam masala as well as a little cardamom. It did take a full 53 minutes to cook. Will definitely make again!
Easy, quick recipe with easily accessible ingredients likely already in your kitchen. Made in an instant (really) in 2 bowls that are combined. Everyone loved its delicate flavor (I did add a little bit more orange zest as well as an easy icing with confectionary sugar and orange juice and 1 tbsp salted butter to cut the sweetness). The icing dressed up the cake a bit. It is a straightforward, very good recipe. A mild orange flavor resonates.
We enjoyed this for breakfast with a little jam and yogurt. I did find it a tad bland, though thank goodness I had read the note from Hal recommending an addition of Ras El Hanout. Also, I would check it sooner than 40 minutes, as my loaf was already toothpick-crumbless at minute 40.
I liked the texture but found the flavor tending to bland. Better for morning coffee than dessert, perhaps. PS disliking overly moist cakes, I baked for one hour, which was perfect. Exterior had delectable crunch.
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