Orange Olive Oil Cake

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Lightly oil the cake pan by pouring about 1 tablespoon of Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil into the pan and use a clean paper towel to spread it around. Make sure to oil the sides of the pan as well.

Slice the oranges as thinly as you can (about ⅛ to ¼-inch thick), using a sharp, serrated knife.

In a medium pot, combine the sugar and 6 tablespoons water and place over medium-high heat. Stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves and it begins to boil. Once it starts boiling, stop stirring, and instead, swirl the contents around every now and again. You can also use a pastry brush moistened with water to brush down the sugar granules that come up the side of the pan back into the mixture.

Boil the sugar and water until it turns a medium-dark amber color, about 10 -15 minutes. At that point, immediately remove the pot from heat and stir in the butter and salt until incorporated. Pour this caramel into the cake pan.

Starting in the center of the pan, layer the orange slices on top of the caramel, filling the entire top with orange slices in any arrangement that you like. Feel free to get artistic! Set pan aside.

In a large bowl, whisk by hand the yogurt, olive oil, eggs, orange zest and juice until well blended.

Add the sugar, flour, polenta, baking powder and salt. Mix well. The mixture will get very thick, so you may want to use a spatula instead of a wire whisk.

Spoon the batter on top of the oranges in the cake pan, being careful not to move them around too much. You can smooth the top of the batter with a wet offset spatula or the back of a spoon.