Lemon Olive Oil Cake: Recipe and 4 Baking Tips
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Sep 17, 2022 • 3 min read
Often thought to be a strictly savory ingredient, olive oil lends a silky texture and a subtle grassy flavor to baked goods. Fresh lemon juice and zest balance the olive oil’s richness in this simple yet elegant lemon olive oil cake.
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What Is Lemon Olive Oil Cake?
Lemon olive oil cake is a rich cake moistened with olive oil and flavored with lemon zest and juice. This citrus cake has a dense, moist crumb and a fluffy, melt-in-the-mouth texture, similar to a pound cake. It relies on olive oil as the primary fat component instead of dairy products like buttermilk, whole milk, or sour cream. Due to the amount of olive oil in the recipe, olive oil cakes last longer at room temperature than most other cakes.
What Does Lemon Olive Oil Cake Taste Like?
Lemon olive oil cake tastes bright, grassy, and tart, with just the right balance of sourness from the lemon and fat from the olive oil. The oil and lemon flavors balance each other out, so the cake isn’t overly rich or sweet. The lemon cake is wonderful on its own, but it also tastes great when glazed, topped with whipped cream, blueberries, and raspberries, or served with a honeyed citrus fruit salad with fresh mint.
4 Tips for Making Lemon Olive Oil Cake
Incorporate a few drops of pure lemon extract to make this cake puckeringly lemony. Here’s what else to know:
- 1. Use the right pan. While you can make this cake in a standard round cake pan or springform pan, the high edges of a bundt pan allow for dramatic arched slices. A 6-cup bundt pan has the same volume as a 9x1½- or 8x2-inch round pan, but cakes may take slightly longer to cook and cool in it. Learn more about the different types of baking pans.
- 2. Add a glaze. Adding a lemon glaze to the top of the cake can take it to the next level. To make a simple lemon glaze, combine 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, a ¼ teaspoon of lemon zest, and a ½ cup of powdered sugar, then spoon the glaze onto the cake and serve.
- 3. Diversify your citrus. Swap in Meyer lemons, oranges, or other citrus fruits to subtly alter the cake’s flavor. Regardless of which variations you use, fresh juice and zest offer the best flavor.
- 4. Use almond flour for a gluten-free variation. Make a gluten-free version of lemon olive oil cake by swapping the all-purpose flour in most recipes with almond flour. The cake may have a slightly denser crumb and nuttier flavor but will be just as moist.
Easy Lemon Olive Oil Cake Recipe
makes
1 9-inch round cake or 6-cup bundt cakeprep time
10 mintotal time
1 hr 10 mincook time
1 hrIngredients
Note: The total time does not include 10 minutes of inactive time.
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 2
Grease the sides of a 6-cup bundt pan or 9-inch round pan.
- 3
Evenly coat the sides with 2 tablespoons of sugar to create a lightly crunchy, caramelized exterior.
- 4
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- 5
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and the remaining 2 cups of sugar until well combined.
- 6
Add the lemon juice and lemon zest.
- 7
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix just until combined.
- 8
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. (This is a moist cake, so it will take longer to bake than a standard cake recipe.)
- 9
Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Carefully transfer the pan to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely.
- 10
Sift powdered sugar over the top, if desired, and serve.
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