Bergamot and Orange Olive Oil Cake

This Bergamot and Orange Olive Oil Cake is a soft, citrusy cake made with fresh bergamot, orange and fruity olive oil, then finished with a bergamot honey cream drizzle. The orange rounds out bergamot’s sharp, floral flavour, while the drizzle adds a little sweetness and richness to each slice.

I found fresh bergamot at the market and, having heard plenty about it but never actually cooked with one, I couldn’t resist bringing some home.

Bergamot has a bit of a reputation for being difficult. It’s intensely fragrant, sharper and more bitter than the citrus we’re used to eating, and it’s probably better known for the oil that flavours Earl Grey tea than for the fresh fruit itself.

I wanted to see how it would taste in a cake, but also didn’t want the cake to taste like grandma’s purse, so I paired it with the more familiar citrus sweetness we’re used to from oranges and a fruity olive oil.

The result is a soft, fragrant cake with plenty of citrus flavour, but without the bitterness becoming overwhelming. A simple bergamot, honey and cream drizzle goes over the top just before serving, adding a little sweetness and richness to balance the floral sharpness.

It’s a good cake for anyone who has managed to get their hands on fresh bergamot and isn’t quite sure what to do with it.

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Why You’ll Love This Bergamot and Orange Olive Oil Cake Recipe

There are plenty of reasons to give bergamot a try, but this cake is a particularly easy way to get to know it.

• A good introduction to bergamot. Orange helps soften and round out its stronger flavour, so you get plenty of bergamot without it taking over the cake.
• You can taste the bergamot. This isn’t an orange cake with a token amount of bergamot added. The bergamot has a noticeable floral, citrusy flavour.
• The drizzle makes it feel a little special. Bergamot juice, honey, cream and butter come together into a sweet, creamy topping that works particularly well with the citrus cake.
• It’s a simple loaf cake. No layers, fillings or complicated decorating. Bake it, cool it and drizzle.
• It keeps well. Like many oil-based cakes, it stays soft for a few days, making it a good one to have with afternoon tea or a morning coffee.

What is Bergamot?

Bergamot is a citrus fruit best known for the fragrant oil found in its peel, which is used to flavour Earl Grey tea and perfumes. The fruit itself looks a little like a small, uneven orange or lemon, with thick, yellow-green skin and a strongly aromatic peel.

Its exact origins aren’t completely clear. Bergamot has been cultivated around the Mediterranean for centuries, and today it is particularly associated with Calabria in southern Italy, where much of the world’s bergamot oil is produced. Botanically, bergamot is generally considered a citrus hybrid, although its exact parentage has been debated.

The fruit has a distinctive flavour that sits somewhere between bitter orange, lemon and lime, with a floral, almost perfume-like quality. The juice is quite sharp and bitter, while the peel is where much of that characteristic bergamot aroma is concentrated. It’s not usually eaten like a regular orange, but the zest and juice can be used in cooking and baking.

Bergamot is perhaps most familiar from Earl Grey tea, which is traditionally flavoured with bergamot oil. Fresh bergamot is much less common, but when you can find it, it’s worth using beyond tea. Its sharp citrus flavour works particularly well in cakes, biscuits, curds, marmalades and desserts, where its floral notes can really come through.

In this Bergamot and Orange Olive Oil Cake, I’ve paired the bergamot with sweeter, more familiar orange to soften its floral perfume aroma, while still letting that distinctive flavour come through in the cake and the bergamot honey cream drizzle.

Bergamot and Orange Olive Oil Cake Recipe Ingredients

This cake uses both bergamot and orange so that the stronger citrus flavour of the bergamot has something sweeter and more familiar alongside it. 

• The Cake. A soft, moist olive oil cake with plenty of citrus flavour. Granulated sugar sweetens the cake and helps bring out the citrus oils in the zest, while bergamot zest and juice provide its distinctive floral, slightly bitter flavour. Orange zest and juice add sweeter citrus notes and help soften the sharper bergamot. Olive oil keeps the cake moist and gives it a subtle fruity richness, while eggs provide structure. Flour, baking powder and salt bring everything together into a light, tender crumb.
• The Bergamot Honey Cream Drizzle. A simple drizzle that adds extra citrus flavour and richness to the finished cake. Bergamot juice brings the sharp, floral citrus flavour, while mild honey adds sweetness and helps soften its bitterness. Heavy cream makes the drizzle creamy and smooth, and butter adds richness and helps it thicken slightly as it cools.

How to Make this Bergamot and Orange Olive Oil Cake

This is a straightforward loaf cake, but there are a couple of small steps that make a difference. In particular, take the time to rub the citrus zest into the sugar before mixing the batter.

• Prepare the tin. Line your loaf tin with baking paper, leaving a little overhang so the cooled cake is easy to lift out.
• Rub the zest into the sugar. Add the bergamot and orange zest to the sugar and work them together with your fingers until the sugar becomes fragrant and slightly damp, like wet sand. This helps release the citrus oils from the zest.
• Mix the wet ingredients. Whisk the olive oil, eggs and citrus juices into the scented sugar until everything is well combined.
• Fold in the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and fold gently until you have a smooth batter. Avoid overmixing once the flour goes in.
• Bake. Transfer the batter to the prepared tin and bake until the cake is risen, golden and cooked through.
• Cool the cake. Let the cake cool in the tin briefly before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Make the bergamot honey cream drizzle. Gently heat the bergamot juice and honey until runny. Add the cream, stirring, until warmed through. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter glossy, then leave aside to cool and thicken slightly.
• Drizzle the cake. Spoon the drizzle over the cooled cake, letting it run naturally down the sides.
• Serve. Slice and serve once the drizzle has settled. It’s particularly good with a cup of tea or coffee.

Bergamot and Orange Olive Oil Cake Recipe FAQs

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Fresh bergamot has a much sharper personality than the citrus most of us use every day, but that is exactly what makes it interesting in this cake. Paired with orange, olive oil and a sweet bergamot honey cream drizzle, it becomes a little softer and easier to love without losing its distinctive flavour. If you find fresh bergamot at the market, this is a good excuse to bring some home and bake with it.

Bergamot and Orange Olive Oil Cake Recipe