Olive Oil and Raisin Cake (egg-free)
Raisins
Olive Oil and Raisin Cake (egg-free)
A simple, egg-free cake made with olive oil and orange juice — the kind of old recipe passed down through generations and found in handwritten notebooks. Golden Delies raisins give it a depth that sugar alone cannot.
Ingredients
- 100 ml olive oil
- 160 g sugar
- 400 ml fresh orange juice
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 100 g raisins — Golden Delies raisins
- A splash of brandy
- A pinch of cinnamon
- 500 g self-raising flour
Method
- Place the raisins in a bowl, splash with brandy and dust with a little flour. Leave to soak.
- Whisk together the olive oil and sugar until the sugar dissolves.
- Dissolve the baking soda in the orange juice and add to the bowl, continuing to mix.
- Fold in the flour gradually, then the cinnamon, then the raisins. Mix with a spatula.
- Pour into a 30 cm baking tin lined with parchment paper.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 50 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Keeps well for 4–5 days in an airtight tin. Better on the second day.
- The brandy can be replaced with a little raki or left out entirely.
- Use half Corinthian and half sultana raisins for a more complex flavour.
Why it works
Olive oil keeps the cake moist and adds a faint savouriness that cuts the sweetness. Our raisins, dried slowly under the Cretan sun at Profitis Ilias, have a depth that supermarket raisins lack — they add character, not just sweetness.
