This cake was, without a doubt, the hardest recipe to develop in The New Portuguese Table. Cindi Kruth, one of my recipe testers, and I made 13 versions of it until I knew it was as good as the recipe I got at Papas, the tiny restaurant up the hill from my apartment in Lisbon. The problem was—and I have no idea of this was intentional (you know how some cooks can be)—but they gave me a recipe for a classic chiffon cake. Yet their mighty bolo de laranja was dense and rich, and just one slice could satisfy even my appetite.

Friend and Portuguese food scholar Janet Boileau was smitten with the cake and also went to work trying to figure it out. In the end, it took a call to the wonderful Lisbon chef Fausto Airioldi to help me get a handle on the dessert. He agreed with me that this was no stinking chiffon cake. It was too full of the bold flavors of Portuguese. So, that’s when Cindi and I started from scratch, literally. Several weeks later, we came up with this. And if you had a chance to stop one of my book signings, you would have had a sample. It’s what I always serve, and people always ask for, when I’m fending off those huge lines of three and four fans.

If you want the recipe, leave a comment and let me know.

Portuguese Orange-Olive Oil Cake
by David Leite
from The New Portuguese Table: Exciting Flavors from Europe’s Western Coast
(Clarkson Potter, 2009)
Serves 10 to 12

Atenção: Make sure to use a light-colored Bundt pan. A dark one will turn out a cake that sticks and is unpleasantly brown. Since this cake only gets better with age, don’t even think about taking a bite until the day after you make it, or even the day after that.

convert Ingredients
Nonstick baking spray with flour
4 to 5 large naval oranges
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
5 large eggs
3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups mild extra-virgin olive oil
Confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling

Method
1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven, remove any racks above, and crank up the heat to 350°F (175°C). Coat a 12-cup Bundt or tube pan with baking spray and set aside.

2. Finely grate the zest of 3 of the oranges, then squeeze 4 of them. You should have 1 1/2 cups of juice; if not, squeeze the 5th orange. Set aside.

3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a handheld mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs on medium-high speed until well-combined, about 1 minute. Slowly pour in the granulated sugar and continue beating until thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. On low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and oil, starting and ending with the flour, and beat until just a few wisps of flour remain. Pour in the orange juice and zest and whirl for a few seconds to bring the batter together.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a cake tester comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, about 1 1/4 hours. If the top is browning too much as the cake bakes, cover lightly with foil. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes.

6. Turn the cake out onto the rack and cool completely, then place it in a covered cake stand and let it sit overnight. Just before serving, dust with powdered sugar.

Confused by all the conflicting information about brining a Thanksgiving turkey? Well, no wonder. There are as many brining techniques out there as there are cooks—and some of the methods are pretty weird. But a well-made brine can make a turkey more flavorful and eminently juicy. This video, from our sister site Fine Cooking, takes you step-by-step through the process of brining.

Check out some of our favorite brined turkey recipes
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Check out some of our favorite stuffing recipes
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If visions of lumpy, bland gravy are enough to keep you clear of that roasting pan—filled with luscious stuck-on bits just waiting to lend flavor to your dish—take heart, Thanksgiving comrade. You’re in good company. In this video, from our sister site Fine Cooking, you’ll learn how to make a delectable gravy from pan dripping and those stuck-on bits that are just calling out your name. (View this video to  make gravy for a brined turkey.)

Check out some of our favorite gravy recipes
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Love a brined turkey? Adore its amazingly juicy meat and kicked-up flavor? Well, we do, too. But while everyone these days is churning out beautifully brined birds—oftentimes with the most amazing brew of herbs and spices—they make a mistake when it comes to gravy. A brined turkey will turn out a salty topper. This video, from our sister site Fine Cooking, reveals a few secrets that can help you make a perfectly seasoned gravy worthy of your bronzed baby.