This lemon-scented Olive Oil Cake is perfectly crafted with some of the most basic ingredients! The olive oil adds a fruity flavor to the cake, while keeping it moist. Serve it with lots of berries or a dollop of cream, or sprinkled with a bit of powdered sugar. With just a few simple steps and a fairly quick prep time, this cake recipe will surely become one of your most cherished family favorites!
The Olive Oil cake is an easy cake with and accessible ingredient list that are pantry staples. The versatility of it is definitely another big win, since you can serve it with fresh berries, whipped cream or even ice cream.
Olive Oil Cake
- Short Prep Time
- Simple Pantry Staple Ingredients
- Delicious Flavors
An easy and tasty dessert, the Olive Oil Cake is a soft and moist cake that will catch the eyes of everyone. It’s not overly sweet but extremely soft and moist. The ability to decorate it any way you’d like, makes it one very fancy cake to offer at the dinner table or even if you wish to spruce up your weekend BBQ’s.
Ingredient Notes
- Flour – All purpose flour or even cake flour can be used for this cake. Cake flour has less gluten than all-purpose, resulting in a finer, lighter and softer cake.
- Eggs – Room temperature, large eggs bind perfectly with the batter.
- Milk – I’ve made this cake with regular milk and also with lactose free milk and both work.
- Lemon – One large lemon is all you need to supply you with the zest and the juice required for the recipe. I wouldn’t skip the lemon because it will give the cake a burst of fresh lemon flavor.
- Sugar – You’ll need granulated sugar. Keep in mind this is not an overly sweet cake.
How to Make Olive Oil Cake
- Prepare the basics: Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Line a 9-inch round of parchment paper on the bottom of the pan. Dust the pan with flour lightly, shake out any excess. Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
- Start mixing your ingredients: To the bowl of your mixer, beat the eggs together with the olive oil well to emulsify. Add the milk, lemon zest and lemon juice and continue mixing until well combined. Add the sugar and mix until well combined. Pour in half the flour mixture and mix until combined, then pour in the rest of the flour mixture and mix until the flour is well incorporated.
- Bake the cake: Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan, place it on a baking sheet and transfer it to the preheated oven. Bake for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean when the cake is done.
- Allow the cake to cool: Cool the cake in the springform pan for 1 hour before releasing it. Finish cooling the cake on a wire rack.
- To serve: Dust with icing sugar and top with berries and rosemary.
FAQ’s and Expert Tips
FAQ’s
The olive oil adds a fruity flavor to the cake, while keeping it moist and very tender. Olive oil is great in cakes, especially if using an extra virgin olive oil. It’s one of the healthiest oils and it remains very stable during baking.
It does not taste like olive oil at all. This cake has a hint of lemon flavor and it’ll taste light, fruity and buttery.
Expert Tips
- You can make this cake just as easily in a Bundt pan if that’s what you have on hand or if you’d like a different shape.
- Be sure to use the milk and eggs at room temperature, this is the key to achieving a nice, velvety batter.
- Feel free to decorate this cake as you like, with berries or fruits of your choosing. You can even cut the cake in half and ice it with your favorite frosting.
Leftovers
This cake can be stored in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container. Or it can actually freeze quite well, wrapped tightly in a plastic wrap, it lasts beautifully for about 3-4 months in your freezer.
More Delicious Recipes To Try
Looking for more recipes? Follow on… My Newsletter Pinterest Facebook Instagram
Olive Oil Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 1⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1¼ cup milk at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup sugar granulated
Toppings
- icing sugar
- assorted berries
- rosemary
Instructions
- Prep oven and pan: Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Line a 9-inch round of parchment paper on the bottom of the pan. Dust the pan with flour lightly, shake out any excess. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Combine dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
- Combine the wet ingredients: To the bowl of your mixer, beat the eggs together with the olive oil well to emulsify. Add the milk, lemon zest and lemon juice and continue mixing until well combined. Add the sugar and mix until well combined.
- Combine wet and dry: Pour in half the flour mixture and mix until combined, then pour in the rest of the flour mixture and mix until the flour is well incorporated.
- Bake the cake: Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan, place it on a baking sheet and transfer it to the preheated oven. Bake for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean when the cake is done.
- Cool the cake: Allow the cake to cool in the springform pan for 1 hour before releasing it. Finish cooling the cake on a wire rack.
- Decorate and serve: To serve, dust with icing sugar and top with berries and rosemary.
Recipe Notes
- You can make this cake just as easily in a Bundt pan if that’s what you have on hand or if you’d like a different shape.
- Be sure to use the milk and eggs at room temperature, this is the key to achieving a nice, velvety batter.
- Feel free to decorate this cake as you like, with berries or fruits of your choosing. You can even cut the cake in half and ice it with your favorite frosting.
- This cake can be stored in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container. Or it can actually freeze quite well, wrapped tightly in a plastic wrap, it lasts beautifully for about 3-4 months in your freezer.
Olive oil is great for cakes and desserts! Especially the extra virgin one. It has a wonderful taste and won’t make your dessert smell like olives, in case you wonder. I use it in majority of my desserts because it is also healthy: in fact one of the healthiest oils in the world.
Tree Services Littleton
This recipe was amazing!! I made it and my mother and I loved it because it reminded us of a cake my Nonna used to make a lot. Thanks for this it was delicious.
Roofing Contractors Boulder
I tried a few and this was the best !
I agree! But part of the appeal of olive oil cakes is that they’re more moist relative to cakes made with something like butter, since olive oil is liquid at room temp while butter isn’t. Ilove your cooking!
Stamped Concrete Greeley
I had to put the cake in for 20 minutes extra and the middle was taking a long time to set I don’t know if I did anything wrong the only thing I did differently is use skim milk instead of whole milk. Roofing Lakewood Co
No, you didn’t, each oven is different, so bake it as long as you need.
I am drooling over receipe…can I use almond flour, monk sugar and almond milk as substitute.
We haven’t tried in that combination so I couldn’t advise either way. Let us know how it works out if you try it.