Lemon olive oil cake is a deliciously moist and tender Mediterranean style lemon cake perfect with a cup of coffee or tea!
what is an olive oil cake? (ciambellone)
Olive oil cakes are made with olive oil instead of butter or other vegetable oil as the primary fat ~ they have been a special part of celebrating the olive harvest across the Mediterranean. Olive oil adds a subtle fruity flavor to cake, as well as plenty of moisture ~ olive oil cakes stay moist for days! I love this cake so much I’ve made a chocolate olive oil cake, too!
does this cake taste like olive oil?
- That’s going to depend on the kind of olive oil you use, but generally speaking this recipe won’t produce a cake that tastes strongly of olive oil.
- ‘Pure’ or ‘regular’ olive oil is what I used and could only barely discern it in the background, which was perfect with the lemon.
- If you want a stronger taste, you can use ‘extra virgin’ olive oil, which is unrefined and has a bold olive flavor.
- If you don’t want any hint of olive oil flavor, you can use one of the ‘light’ olive oils on the market now, or any other kind of neutral cooking oil you like.
- The combination of the lemon, vanilla, and a hint of olive oil makes for a simple but complexly flavored cake.
this cake does not disappoint on the lemon front, either!
If you’re a lemon lover like me, you’ve probably made some lemon cakes or desserts in the past that just didn’t deliver on the lemon flavor. It can be a challenge, and I’m always striving to make my lemon recipes sing with that tart lemony flavor you and I love. Sometimes I use lemon extract to achieve that result, but here I’ve used three whole lemons and their zest for an unmistakable citrusy punch, no additional flavoring necessary.
tips for baking a great lemon olive oil cake
- Grease your springform pan well, and make sure it’s in good condition. This batter is on the liquid-y side, so you may want to place a large baking sheet underneath your pan to catch any drips. Wrap the bottom and sides of the pan tightly with foil to prevent leaks.
- Don’t skimp on the lemon zest, make sure you zest the whole lemon and that you get at least 1/2 cup of juice from your 3 lemons.
- Don’t over-mix your batter once you’ve added the flour or you will get a gummy texture.
- Allow the cake to cool partially in the pan before attempting to release it. Run a thin butter knife around the edges if it seems like it’s a bit stuck.
why this is the best lemon olive oil cake ever
I set out to make the perfect version of a classic lemon olive oil cake here, and I think I succeeded! Here’s why:
- The amount of oil is perfect, just enough to ensure a super moist texture, but not so much that you get an oily cake.
- I’ve also packed it with plenty of lemon flavor, complimented by aromatic vanilla extract which pairs beautifully with that hint of olive oil in the background
we can’t get enough lemon cakes
- Lemon Chiffon Cake
- Lemon Crunch Cake
- Mary Berry’s Lemon Drizzle Cake
- Lemon Yogurt Breakfast Cake (Ciambella)
- Blueberry Lemon Cake
- Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Poppy Seed Frosting
Lemon Olive Oil Cake
My lemon olive oil cake is a moist and tender cake with a surprisingly bright lemon flavor.
Servings: 12 servings
Equipment
- 9" springform pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup olive oil , see notes in the post about choosing an olive oil for this recipe)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, plus 2 tbsp for sprinkling the top
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- zest from 3 lemons
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- powdered sugar for dusting, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare a 9" springform pan by greasing the bottom and the sides well, and lining the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. Wrap the outside with foil to prevent leaks.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, eggs, and sugar.
- Add the vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice. Whisk briefly to combine.
- Sift together the salt, baking powder, baking soda, and flour. Alternating with the milk, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in a couple of batches. Try not to over-mix at this stage, you just want to combine everything until no streaks of dry flour remain.
- Pour the batter into the springform pan. Sprinkle 2 tbsp of granulated sugar evenly over the top.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes. The cake should be risen and starting to turn a bit golden brown on the top. Note: ovens vary greatly and you may need to bake your cake longer to get it done in the center. I recommend laying a loose piece of foil over the top of your cake if yours seems to be getting very brown towards the end of cooking.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan. Then gently remove the cake from the springform pan and allow to cool completely on a baking rack.
- When cool, dust the top with powdered sugar, if desired.
Video
Notes
A Note About Baking Time: Home ovens are not very precise. Many home ovens can be off by 25°F or more from the set temperature. This means that if you set your oven to 350°F it might actually be at 325°F. Monitor baking time closely, as it can vary. Insert a toothpick to check for doneness—it should come out clean or with a few crumbs. If there is obvious wet batter clinging to it, bake your cake a little longer.
Nutrition
Calories: 366 kcal · Carbohydrates: 43 g · Protein: 4 g · Fat: 20 g · Saturated Fat: 3 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 14 g · Trans Fat: 0.01 g · Cholesterol: 49 mg · Sodium: 266 mg · Potassium: 99 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 26 g · Vitamin A: 101 IU · Vitamin C: 4 mg · Calcium: 44 mg · Iron: 1 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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My sister isn’t much of a fan of normal birthday cakes, but she likes lemon stuff. I want to make her a cake for her birthday that she’ll enjoy… Should this work?
Yes, this would make a lovely non-traditional b’day cake.
Holy cow! This is delicious!
I had to cook an additional 20 minutes! Be sure to check often for don ness.
Yes, some other folks have had that issue. I’ve actually reduced the amount of milk in the recipe after re-testing myself. But this type of cake does take a while to bake through. The results are so worth it, though!
Cooking EVOO is fine as long at it is minimally pungent (like Costco Organic EVOO), cut the sugar to 1 cup, gluten-free flour and full fat oat milk. This cake is perfect!
Beautiful cake! Yummy too.
Thanks so much Wendy!
This cake had great lemon flavor! The problem was it was wet in the center. I baked it 10 minutes over the recommended time! Any suggestions?
I known we will love this and I truly dislike it when people change up the recipes but I have to ask. Do you suppose I can use almond flour and maybe sub the sugar? Health reasons at the moment. If not I’m making this anyway. Thanks for sharing and always replying.
I’ve made this subbing some of the flour for almond flour, and it works fine. As for using all almond flour, I think you’d want a recipe formulated for that. The sugar can be reduced by about 1/3 without too much issue. If you do use party almond flour, I would reduce the liquid a bit as it’s not as ‘absorbent’ as wheat flour.
Thanks for the reply I’ll be doing that. And BTW tonight we’ll be enjoying the chicken Marsala. Rick the husband asked for chicken piccata but your recipe popped in today and we have mushrooms and fry sherry. LOL your romantic news watching dinners sounds like ours except it usually involves police shoes . I moved us to the “off” kitchen for meals… no TV there
This is a wonderful cake! As it was baking my spouse asked “What smells so amazing?” 🙂 He usually only notice the smell of bacon. LOL. I did have to cook it 35 minutes longer than called for in the recipe. Although the outside was beginning to turn golden at 55 minutes, the center wasn’t solid yet. Amazingly, it tolerated the extra time in the oven just fine. The crisp, crackly exterior was a lovely complement to the dense, moist interior. We will definitely be making this one again. I didn’t try topping with the powdered sugar because it was perfect for us as it was. Thanks for another wonderful recipe, Sue! Oh! I should have said I used EVOO because that was all I had and we didn’t even notice the flavor, but we really like olive oil.
All I have is EVOO so could that be diluted and mixed with a high quality sunflower oil? If so what ratio would you suggest? I don`t bake much so your suggestion would helpful in making this cake. I have an orange olive oil cake recipe and felt like it could be a less EVOO tasting. Thx looking forward to trying this.
I’m working on an orange olive oil cake now, coincidentally. You can dilute your EVOO maybe by half, with the sunflower oil.
Finally made this today with a 50/50 mix of oil,the results are delicious without being to sweet with a nice texture .Really enjoy the subtle crunch of outside edge. I don`t bake a lot but your recipe makes me look like Rock Star! THX
Excellent . Made this for Christmas Day, because I was looking for a light cake after turkey and all the fixings. Tart and tasty. I would advise to use regular olive oil, not extra virgin olive oil. Bake time 55 to 60 minutes. I used tin foil under the springform form, as this batter is runny.