Blood Orange Upside-Down Cake with Olive Oil & Yogurt

This simple yet vibrant blood orange upside-down cake is made with Greek yogurt, olive oil, and optional almond flour for a tender, moist crumb. The buttery brown sugar blood orange topping is baked on the bottom of the cake, then flipped upside down to reveal the beautiful orange slices on top! No mixer and less than an hour needed to make this simple, single layer winter citrus cake.

A perfect winter citrus cake

I love making citrus cakes in the winter, when their bright flavor brings sorely needed sunshine to cold and grey days. Some of my favorite everyday dessert options, like my lemon yogurt loaf cake with olive oil and blood orange pound cake, are simple loaf cakes made fragrant with citrus zest and soaked in easy citrus syrups after baking for the brightest flavor.

Today though, we’re making a showstopper of a citrus cake: a blood orange olive oil upside down cake. This cake is meant for dinner parties, indulgent brunches, and date nights. She’s a beauty!

This is one of those cakes that will look like you spent all day baking it, but no one has to know just how easy it is. We have a simple butter and brown sugar mixture with blood orange slices baked on the bottom, which becomes the beautiful topping when flipped over. I recommend greasing the pan and lining the bottom with parchment paper to ensure clean removal!

I wish I could send you the smell of this cake through the screen.  It’s an almond-y, buttery, citrusy, homey, rainy day, you-can’t-be-sad-when-you-smell-this kind of smell.  And the taste?  Well.  The olive oil and yogurt combination makes this cake supremely moist (I hate that word but there is no other word) and the almond flavor is just gentle enough to meld perfectly with the orange.  It’s soft, it’s complex, and it’s heaven.

Why this recipe works:

• Simple method: We make the easy blood orange topping first, layer it in the pan, then pour the the simple blood orange cake batter over it. The batter itself is made in just one bowl, with no mixer required. Stir everything together and go!
• Soft crumb: the texture of this cake is so soft thanks to the olive oil, Greek yogurt, and almond flour. It’s truly indulgent and tastes like something you’d get from a high end restaurant.
• Flavor: The blood orange citrus flavor is perfectly complemented by the subtly sweet cake. If you like the flavor of olive oil, use a grassy extra virgin olive oil for beautiful contrast against the orange flavor. Really though, any neutral oil will work here; oil provides the beautiful smooth mouthfeel of this cake.
• Presentation: the beautiful slices of blood orange on top retain their vibrant color thanks to the butter and brown sugar mixture in the topping. They’re baked at the bottom of the cake, then flipped upside down for a very impressive presentation. No one will realize just how easy this cake actually is!
• NOTE: I left the orange rinds on in these photos because it looks pretty, and they are edible after being baked — but the taste is slightly bitter, so I’d recommend removing the rinds if you’re concerned.  See my cara cara orange salad recipe for a photo tutorial of how I easily remove orange rinds (or “supreme” the orange).

Ingredients

Only a few simple ingredients needed for this blood orange upside down cake, and you can substitute or customize as noted below to make it your own! See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full printable recipe with ingredient list and measurements.

• Fresh blood oranges (zest and juice): Blood oranges always steal the show with their amazing color.  I actually find their natural flavor to be a little lacking compared to other oranges, which is why I prefer to eat them covered in butter and sugar 🙂 you can use navel oranges or cara cara oranges instead if desired.
• Unsalted butter, for the topping
• Brown sugar, for the topping (I use light brown sugar)
• Olive oil (can substitute avocado oil or another neutral oil if you prefer, but I like extra virgin olive oil’s flavor best)
• Granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs – eggs are important for the structure of this cake, so unfortunately I can’t recommend a substitute
• Almond extract – this adds subtle almond flavor to the cake, but you can use vanilla extract instead if preferred
• All-purpose flour (oat flour, white whole wheat flour, or gluten-free all-purpose flour all work too!)
• Almond flour (for texture and moisture; if you don’t have it, you can substitute additional all-purpose flour)
• Baking powder 
• Salt

Equipment Needed

• Three mixing bowls – one small bowl for the butter/brown sugar topping, medium bowl for the dry ingredients, and large bowl for the cake batter
• Whisk (or fork) and rubber spatula
• Kitchen scale – I highly recommend weighing your ingredients for most accurate results, especially the flour! This is the primary way I bake these days as it is much more precise than using measuring cups (and there are fewer dishes to clean).
• 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pan
• Optional: parchment paper cake liner (to make it easier to flip the cake over and remove it cleanly)

How to make blood orange upside down cake

Like many of my recipes, the method here is streamlined and simple. No mixer needed! See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions.

Make the brown sugar blood orange topping

1. Zest the blood oranges, then remove the rinds and thinly slice them (about 1/4 inch thickness). Set aside.
2. In a microwave-safe medium bowl or a saucepan on the stove, melt the butter.  Whisk in the brown sugar until it melts.  
3. Grease the bottom and sides of the pan (or line with parchment) of an 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pan and pour the butter/brown sugar mixture into the bottom of the pan.
4. Arrange the orange slices on top of the mixture, overlapping slightly, in a spiral pattern.  You may wind up not using all the orange slices, depending on their size.  Have a snack.

Make the olive oil cake batter

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, place the sugar and blood orange zest and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar smells fragrantly orange. This releases the oils in the zest and flavors the cake.
2. Add the wet ingredients: yogurt, eggs, olive oil, and almond extract to the sugar and whisk vigorously until the mixture is very well blended.
3. Add the dry ingredients (flour mixture), and fold and stir them in with a spatula until fully blended and the batter is smooth and thick.  
4. Pour the batter over the orange slices in the cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes for a 9-inch cake, or 40-45 minutes for an 8-inch cake, or until the cake is golden brown and beginning to come away from the pan.  A cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center of the cake should come out clean.
5. Let the pan cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then run a knife or thin spatula around the edges of the cake.  Place a large plate over the pan, then flip so the cake comes out upside-down onto the plate. Remove parchment, if using.
6. Let cool to room temperature.  Serve alone or with whipped cream.

Storage

This upside down blood orange olive oil cake is best enjoyed same day, but can be stored as follows…

• Room temperature: baked cake will keep for 1-2 days in a tall airtight container that doesn’t touch the blood orange topping.
• Fridge: cake will keep up to a week in an airtight container; microwave slices for 15-20 seconds to reheat
• Freezer: cake will keep up to 3 months, well-wrapped in plastic and stored in a freezer bag. When ready to serve, allow to come to room temperature for at least 2 hours.

Additions and Substitutions

Here are some options to customize the recipe and make it your own:

• Blood oranges: you can use regular oranges or any other type of orange in place of the blood oranges. Grapefruit might be nice too!
• Greek yogurt: you could use sour cream or a plant-based Greek-style yogurt. I have not tested this with non-Greek yogurt and I think that the cake batter might be too wet with it. Try at your own risk!
• Almond flour: you can substitute almond meal or another 1/4 cup (31g) of all-purpose flour or oat flour instead
• Almond extract: you can use vanilla extract instead
• Gluten-free: substitute an equal weight (125g) of gluten-free oat flour or a gluten-free all-purpose flour mix that contains xanthan gum. I’ve tested and like Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour.

More Citrus Cake Recipes

• Blood Orange Loaf Cake (with Blood Orange Glaze)
• Lemon Yogurt & Olive Oil Loaf Cake
• Single Layer Lemon Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
• Grapefruit Yogurt Cake

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