Orange Cornmeal Cake

Ingredients

• 0.5 cup olive oil plus more for greasing the pan
• 2 large eggs 
• 1 cup sugar for the topping
• 0.5 cup orange juice dry white (or wine)
• 1.3 cups flour all-purpose
• 0.5 cup ground cornmeal yellow finely
• 2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1  orange zest 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• baking paper
• oven
• knife
• whisk
• baking pan
• toothpicks
• cake form
• wax paper

Directions

1. Preheat oven and prepare baking pan: Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Brush the bottom and sides of an 8-inch round cake pan with oil (can use butter for this too); line the bottom of the pan with wax paper or parchment paper, and brush the top of the paper with oil.
3. Make cake batter: In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, 1 cup of the sugar, and orange juice until smooth.
4. Add flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and orange zest; whisk lightly to combine.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan; sprinkle the top evenly with the remaining 1/3 cup sugar.
6. Bake until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25-35 minutes.
7. Cool: Cool the cake in the pan 20 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake to separate it from the edge of the pan. Invert the cake gently onto a plate, and remove the parchment paper. Re-invert the cake onto a rack to cool completely before serving.