This post is sponsored by Wholesome!® – we used their Organic Blue Agave in this recipe, and many more, because YUM!
Okay, first of all, let’s pause for a moment of reflection on the fact that this is a BRUNCH CAKE. Really the main word that comes to mind is LUSH. It is cake without being *cake* while still being cake. Do you feel me?
This is very much a brunching wow-factor that doubles as second breakfast if you need brunch vibes in your life on a Wednesday.
Time for some straight talk. When I think of Pinch of Yum and what I want it to be, I always come back to this: IS THIS A RECIPE PEOPLE WOULD ACTUALLY MAKE? That’s what I want this blog to be. *nervously side glances the fancy cake*
And so usually the question that filters my decision to post a recipe or not is: IS THIS A RECIPE THAT I WOULD ACTUALLY MAKE?
I mean, for sure, I have a level of appreciation and respect for beautiful food. Like the fancy cakes of Instagram and cupcakes from our local little Copper Hen and even this fruit pizza that my sister makes just to shame me, I’m sure of it.
But friends, I have somewhere between 0 to -100% interest in spending hours, minutes, or really even seconds decorating food. I just don’t. That part of my brain is broken. Maybe it’s a vulnerability complex – I’m not good at it so I don’t want to try? or maybe it’s just plain and simple – that I don’t want to do it. I mean, HELLO. Can we get to the eating part already?
HOW TO MAKE OUR BRUNCH CAKE:
This might be a good time to mention that, considering I was born without decorating and fancy food abilities, it probably looks as if this lovely brunch cake may have taken me years to put together. Good solid YEARS of my life. I’m not a fancy food girl. This is not a secret. We know this. So this princess cake must have been my life’s work up till this point, right?
No. Very wrong.
The truth of the brunch cake? ONE HOUR is the truth of this brunch cake.
Plus or minus a little time depending on how much whipped cream you eat out of the mixer and/or how many finger swipes through the whipped cream cake layers you need to try to cover up. But generally speaking, this is no more complicated than making quick bread.
Guys, in my journey for a regular person’s pretty cake, I tried so many different things to make this cake amazing and *almost literally* sparkly and Instagram-worthy like #cakegoals, and then (here’s the not awesome truth) I got legitimately mad at all of them for being too slow and particular and tedious. That was a SUPERfun weekend. Don’t you wish you would’ve been in the kitchen with me? I think they call it a hot mess or something. The five “test” brunch cakes and various decorating attempts of that weekend shall no longer be mentioned on this blog.
So I eventually channeled my frustration with the lush cake life and landed on something so simple and so stunning and straight up EASY that also happened to completely blow up my brunch game and make me look like I had skillssss, man.
While being still A RECIPE THAT I WOULD ACTUALLY MAKE.
ohmygosh. On point and on brand.
It’s just this is all:
- AMAZING cake made with olive oil and a whole orange. I can die happy.
- Real whipped cream.
- Blueberries.
- Pistachios.
- More agave on top to look like you know what you’re doing with cakes.
The beauty of the whipped cream layer is you just sort of plop it on in big swathes and give it a swirl with a spatula and WHOA. It looks amazing. THIS IS MY KIND OF DECORATING. Same with the rest of the crew – blueberries, pistachios, and agave are color and texture magic all on their own.
Friends, when you do make this, I fully expect pictures. Tag me, snap me, email me, do what you need to do. For the heart and soul of this blog, I need to know that I’m right in saying that this is a faux fancy cake that people will actually make. And adore.
Also guys. We’re using Wholesome!® Organic Blue Agave in this recipe which is our favorite. Have I mentioned that before?
Their organic sweeteners that are not only practical and accessible (s/o to TARGET), but they are also non-GMO and fair trade. Win win!
Also, gurl got a packaging makeover! Their new bottle for the Organic Blue Agave is made from up to 30% recyclable plant-based PET, which means it’s a more sustainable and environmentally friendly packaging option. And that picture above shows what it looks like after SOMEONE has used a large amount of it for sweetening real, thick, creamy whipped cream and then eaten it by the heaping-wooden-spoonful for an inappropriately wonderful “DINNER.”
The adults have officially left the building.
Print
Blueberry Orange Brunch Cake with Agave and Pistachios
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
Orange Brunch Cake – SUPER YUMMY because it’s made with olive oil and whole oranges! topped with whipped cream and blueberries and you’re in fancy brunch business.
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE:
- 2 oranges, peeled
- 1/4 cup Wholesome!® Organic Blue Agave
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup olive oil
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM AND TOPPINGS:
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup Wholesome!® Organic Blue Agave
- blueberries, pistachios, and additional agave for topping
Instructions
- PREP: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two 8 or 9-inch round cake pan with non-stick spray or parchment paper on the bottom (I cut mine to a circle so it would fit right in there).
- ORANGE MIXTURE: Place the oranges and agave in a food processor and pulse until a pulpy juice forms. Set aside.
- CAKE: Whisk the sugar, eggs, and olive oil and mix until incorporated. Stir in the orange juice mixture. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and stir until just combined. Transfer batter the prepared cake pans and gently knock the bottom of the pan on the counter to eliminate bubbles in the batter. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the tops spring back. Let the cake cool to room temperature to avoid melting your whipped cream layers.
- WHIPPED CREAM: Using an electric mixer, beat the heavy whipping cream until light and fluffy. Fold in the agave. Spread whipped cream on top of the first cake, staying close to the center so you don’t get whipped cream overflow. Then gently place the second cake on top, and top with another layer of whipped cream. Cover with blueberries, pistachios, and agave.
Notes
I also took the juice of a few oranges and simmered it down into a thick syrup, whisked with a tiny bit of agave, and poked holes in the finished cakes and poured my “orange syrup” over the cakes. Makes it extra moist and amazing. Totally worth the addition of one extra step between baking and frosting.
In general, I like this cake refrigerated! Especially once it’s had a soaking of orange syrup if you decide to go Next Level with the whole thing.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: brunch cake, blueberry orange cake, blueberry cake
Thanks to Wholesome!® – makers of this Organic Blue Agave – for partnering with us for this post! And for being a great brand all-around.
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of easy brunch recipes. Check it out!
Does not taste like orange. The olive oil is not a desirable taste. Disappointing.
This Blueberry Orange Brunch Cake looks absolutely delicious! I love the combination of flavors, and using agave and pistachios adds such a unique twist. Perfect for a weekend brunch—thanks for sharing this recipe! Can’t wait to try it!
Have you made this the night before all assembled and does it hold ok? Thanks!
Hi, Jennifer! We haven’t done that yet to know if it’ll work well. It might work to prep the cake in advance and then just add the whipped cream and toppings right before serving.
This didn’t work out for us unfortunately. It tasted heavily of olive oil and didn’t have lot of orange flavor. Perhaps a neutral oil and orange zest next time? It looked pretty though!
Sorry to hear how this dish turned out for you, Lexi. 😕 Sure thing! You could try both of those things next time. Let us know how that goes! 🙂
this looks amazing.
just wondering for the cake is it 2 oranges per layer, 3 eggs per layer
1 cup olive oil etc ?
Good question, Em! This recipe is for two layers, just like in the pictures. 🙂
Can the whipped cream frosting be added to the cake and refrigerated overnight or should I add it just before serving?
Cake looks great! I have a quick question. Would the type of agave affect the consistency of the whipping cream or the cake. I have light organic agave and it seems to be quite liquid-y. Thank you for your time the cake is beautiful!
I’m thinking about making this for Mother’s Day, but want to use something other than agave. What do you recommend for a substitute? Will honey work?
Honey should work just fine!
Hello,
Just wondering if I can replace the agave with honey? Planning on making this shortly but I do not have agave handy… too strong of a taste with honey you think ?
We think it should be just fine!
OMG I was doing some research for another cake but I stumbled upon this one and daaamn it looks so good! Amazing <3
Excellent recipe!!!! My kids loves this cake very muchh. This cake is better also for for kids than others. Thanks alot!!!
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Hi Lindsay, goodmorning from the Netherlands! 🙂 I have a question about this cake, I have never baked a cake with olive oil before, do you actually taste it? As there is quite a lot of it in there? Would it be possible to substitute it for melted butter? I think I will definitely give this cake a try, and true, it is sò instagram-worthy! 🙂
Hi Lisan! There’s a slight olive-oil taste to it, but if you use a mild-flavored olive oil, you really don’t notice it. 🙂
I love how you incorporated two different types of fruits in this case. The flavors seem to really compliment each other!
Thanks, Eden! 🙂
omg yum!! This looks so amazing! I would love to try this out, although I would prob do honey or maple syrup instead of the agave. PS: I totally have that song on one of my youtube videos as well lol.
I made this for Mother’s Day and it was a huge hit!
Glad to hear it, Paulina!
I really hate when there’s a “note” at the end of a recipe that throws the whole thing into doubt. Is the cake dry without the extra step (that isn’t included in the ingredients or time estimate, by the way)?
Hi Vivan! The cake is still plenty moist without that extra step – just ups it a bit of you decide to do it. 🙂
Could I make this ahead of time, like the night before? Or should I just make the cakes ahead of time and ice the next day? Thanks!
Hi Savilla! We’d recommend only making the cakes the night before and then icing the next day.
let me just say: you’re hilarious.
I can’t wait to try this cake….. And I may or may not be sharing it with my family. But:: speaking of family, maybe I should share after all…. So, our son has an egg allergy— have you ever successfully substituted the eggs out? I make boxed cake mix (gasp,
I know, right?!) using vanilla Greek yogurt in place of the eggs… Any thoughts on trying that with this recipe? Just curious…
Salivating in SC 😉
Hi Ali! We’ve haven’t tried it with an egg substitute. We’d love to hear how it turns out if you give it a shot!
This sounds like a perfect backyard grilling party dessert! I am totally adding this to my “Pinch of Yum” board on Pinterest and using it the next time we have people over this summer!
Sounds like a great idea! 🙂
I made your cake and it was delicious! thank you, Only I changed the topping of pistachios with my homemade granola. I will send you pics
Granola sounds amazing! 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
It looks delicious!! Would this recipe works with banana or silken tofu instead of eggs? (Vegan)
We haven’t tried that so can’t say! We’d love to hear how it goes if you give it a try!
Wow this is so helpful! Thanks for sharing I’ll definitely use these tips in the future!
Xoxox,
http://www.darlingindenim.com
I actually have Wholesome’s organic blue agave in my pantry. This is going to be a hit on Sunday for Mother’s Day. I can’t imagine her refusing this!
Definitely not! Hope she enjoys! 🙂
It is beautiful and I’m sure is delicious. I can not wait to make them for the family at home!
This looks absolutely incredible, amazing! And your food photography is just beautiful, food photography is definitely a weak point for me but yours is perfect!
elwillmer.blogspot.co.uk
xx
Thanks for the comment, El!