Athena Plichta Photography

Way back in February, Deb and I drove to Soledad to visit with Maria Maldonado and to tour the olive grove located on the grounds of Mission Nuestra Senora de la Soledad, or Mission Soledad. Here Maria and her husband are the caretakers of the olive trees that produce the unique variety of olive that is used in their Mission Olive Oil.

Deb has an excellent and informative write-up in her post of that trip that touches on the history of the Mission olive variety. We both found it a fascinating story (how cool that there is an active grove at one of the 21 California missions), and we were fortunate to take home a bottle of Mission Olive Oil (found in limited quantities in local grocery and specialty stores).

I've been savoring my portion of Mission olive oil, using it in pestos and bread dips, and more recently, in this cake from Baked Explorations, called Mom's Olive Oil Orange Bundt. The buttery note of the extra virgin (read: no chemical additives) olive oil makes for a multi-dimensional flavor that complements the citrus tones. Combined with yogurt in the batter, it produces an extremely tender and moist cake.   

I opted to top the cakes with a dusting of confectioner's sugar instead of making a glaze with the orange juice. I'm starting to favor less sweet in my sweets, if that makes any sense. This cake fit the bill, and in the smaller-portioned bundt size, is the perfect breakfast treat or afternoon snack.