• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spray cooking oil on 2 eight inch round cake pans.
• Zest 2 blood oranges.
• Add zest to 1 cup sugar.
• Remove peel, membranes, and pith from 2 oranges. Cut into 1/4" pieces.
• Juice the 3rd blood orange for about 1/4 cup of juice.
• Add juice to the zest/sugar mixture.
• Add the buttermilk or yogurt to this mixture, whisk well.
• Whisk in beaten eggs.
• Whisk in vanilla extract.
• In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Whisk dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
• Add orange segments, or blend them in with a hand held mixer (which I did in this case, not choosing to use large chunks of oranges).
• Fold in olive oil.
• Pour batter into pans.
• Bake cake for 30 minutes or until golden and a knife inserted into center comes out clean.
• Cool cakes in their pans on racks.
• Poke holes all over the top of each cake layer.
• Keep the cakes in their pans for the pouring of the orange syrup.

1Prepare the orange syrup

• Combine the blood orange juice with sugar and boil for about 5 minutes on medium heat on the stove in a small pan.
• Ladle the warm syrup on top of each cake layer.

Prepare the orange mascarpone filling

• Blend 2 Tbsp. blood orange marmalade into marscarpone.
• Add honey and sugar. Blend well.
• Add whipping cream until a spreadable frosting/icing consistency is achieved; otherwise it will be too thick.
• Sweeten the filling by adding more sugar to your taste preference.
• Carefully remove syrup-filled cakes from their pans.
• Place one cake layer on a serving platter.
• Spread orange mascarpone filling on top of this first cake layer.
• Place the second cake layer on top of the filling,
• Dust with powdered sugar.
• Garnish with mascarpone filling and sliced blood oranges.
• Drizzle honey all over cake and serving dish.