In this moist and easy Lemon Olive Oil Cake recipe, lemon juice and zest create a sunny flavor perfect for afternoon tea, picnics, or as a light dessert after dinner. Complete this delicious olive oil cake with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and a topping of chopped berries.
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Move over buttery cakes! This olive oil cake with lemon is a scrumptious, super moist and sunny cake that is so easy to make! It's a delicious treat alongside afternoon tea or as a light and refreshing dessert after dinner.
Olive oil cakes are a popular dessert in the Mediterranean, which uses a lot of olive oil as the base to many recipes, not just sauces and pasta.
I grew up learning that a simple healthy base to dinner often consists of olive oil, garlic, and onions. Not only is olive oil healthier than butter, it works nearly the same in many recipes.
You won't get that sweet creamed butter taste as you would when using butter, but you will get a light yet robust oil flavor. I love using olive oil in my muffin recipes and prefer it to butter most of the time.
While the star of this olive oil cake recipe is undoubtedly olive oil, crisp and tangy lemon is just as important. You can make it with orange, rosemary, or almond too. It's also fantastic made with fresh fruit baked right inside.
My daughters and I love making new lemon recipes throughout the summer. My oldest's favorite is this classic homemade lemonade (made with less sugar) and my baby loves this one-pot lemon ricotta pasta.
I love all of our lemon recipes too much to choose a favorite, but because it's grill season, this grilled cilantro, lime, and lemon chicken is my go-to chicken marinades all summer long.
My husband isn't a fanatic over tangy and refreshing lemon like we are, but he ate almost all of the strawberry lemon bread that I was storing in the freezer, so I'll assume that's his favorite summertime lemon recipe.
This lemon olive oil cake is also a fun and easy recipe that kids can help with. Mine love to squeeze the lemons, mix the batter, and sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar. And of course, they love licking the spoon! (disclaimer: be careful about licking the raw batter, as it contains raw eggs)
Yes, you can use olive oil instead of butter when making cake. Olive oil will make a cake with a light, robust flavor.
No, you will not be able to taste the olive oil, especially in this lemon olive oil cake recipe. Since we are omitting butter, you will also not have a sweet buttery flavor either. But the cake will be super moist and delicious.
Ingredients
For this scrumptious lemon olive oil cake recipe, you'll need:
- olive oil
- eggs
- sugar
- milk
- vanilla extract
- lemon juice + lemon zest
- flour
- baking powder
- salt
While this cake is fantastic and flavorful sliced and served straight out of the oven with no additional ingredients, it is even better sprinkled with powdered sugar and topped with fresh cut berries.
You'll also need a stand mixer or hand mixer. Because the first beating of the batter takes about 5 minutes, it may be easier to use a stand mixer.
🍰 Make It Dairy Free
If you'd like to try a dairy free version of this cake, you can swap the milk for unsweetened almond milk and replace the eggs with flax eggs. I have made this recipe without eggs by using flax eggs and while it came out delicious and moist, it was ever-so-slightly crumbly.
Step-By-Step Directions
Making lemon olive oil cake is very easy, just make sure to follow the beating times as written, as not mixing the batter long enough can result in a crumbly cake.
Here are the steps:
- Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a springform pan with cooking oil or butter. Line the bottom with wax paper for easy cake removal. Wrap the outside of the pan in foil to prevent the batter from leaking through, just in case.
- In a large bowl, beat the olive oil, eggs, and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. This is important. Make sure that the mixture is fluffy and airy before moving onto the next steps.
- Add the milk, lemon juice and zest, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium until combined, about 2 minutes.
- Slowly add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until smooth, about 2 minutes more.
- Pour into the pan and bake for 45 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing and serving.
Recipe
Lemon Olive Cake
Ingredients
- ¾ cup olive oil
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- 1 ¾ cup flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a springform pan with cooking oil or butter. Line the bottom with wax paper for easy cake removal.
- In a large bowl, beat the olive oil, eggs, and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add the milk, lemon juice and zest, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium until combined, about 2 minutes.
- Slowly add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Pour into the pan and bake for 45 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with chopped berries, if desired.
Nutrition
Serving
To serve your olive oil cake with lemon, you can top it with whipped cream, cool whip, my favorite sugar glaze, chopped berries, or leave it plain. It is also fabulous topped with plain yogurt.
Olive oil cakes keep moist and tender stored at room temperature for up to 7 days. Store it in a covered cake stand or wrapped in foil.
I hope that you’ve enjoyed this lemon olive oil cake! Let me know how it turned out! I’d love to hear from you.
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