An award winning olive oil cake

The contest was the office bakeoff but it still counts.

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I don’t really bake a lot. In a long ago startup job, I was the resident cake baker for team celebrations, but I am rarely interested in baking unless some sort of event is involved. One place I make an exception to my not-a-baker personality is an office cooking competition. So when the yearly office bakeoff came around, and I just so happen to be craving a particular type of cake, I decided to throw my hat in the ring.

I entered with an olive oil cake, a cake that to me, is perfect in its simplicity. I added citrus because I had a lot of it. I also tried adding ground ginger, but that flavor got lost. I wasn’t sure about the cream cheese frosting, but I was swayed to keep it.

Much to my surprise, this simple cake won against some very interesting sounding desserts! According to the judging panel of local bakers, it was a close competition, but I like to think that simple takes the cake.

the cake on competition day

Citrus olive oil cake with cream cheese frosting

I love olive oil cakes because they punch way above their weight in terms of flavor payoff compared to how easy they are to make. Citrus adds a nice brightness here and the cream cheese frosting adds a bit of tangy-creaminess to balance out the sweetness of the cake.