Italian Olive Oil Cake is made with olive oil, lemon zest, and lemon juice for a bright, citrusy, yet simple cake that is light and fluffy. It’s easy to throw together and can be made in one bowl in a little over 30 minutes. I’ve included step-by-step photos and plenty of tips and tricks below to ensure your baking success!
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Recipe Inspiration
This recipe is inspired by my time living in Spain and traveling throughout Italy. Where I lived in Barcelona, olive trees grew everywhere, and olives were often served at most restaurants as a warm-up to the meal. I quickly learned to love them, and while I have always cooked with extra virgin olive oil, I was keen on trying to bake with it.
While living in Europe I took several trips to all different parts of Italy. One of my favorite stops was in Positano on the Amalfi coast. The iconic town is built into the hillside, and to my surprise, lemon trees grew everywhere. Baking this cake brings me right back to that trip and has me dreaming of shaved lemon ice on the winding streets covered in lemons and wisteria and sips of limoncello.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Olive Oil and Lemon: The olive oil brings an almost buttery aroma to this cake fresh out of the oven (but without any butter). It adds a subtle fruity flavor which pairs perfectly with the fresh lemon flavor.
Super Simple: This cake is made by mixing all the ingredients in one bowl, pouring it into a springform or cake pan, and baking it for under 30 minutes. No complicated steps, techniques, or equipment. Super easy, super quick.
Light and Fluffy: The extra virgin olive oil in this cake creates a light, airy, fluffy texture that always seems so hard to achieve with cake. It also has an ultra-thin crisp top that is super delicate and satisfying.
Choosing Olive Oil:
Olive oil is the key ingredient in this recipe. It is important to choose an extra virgin olive oil rather than regular or light olive oil. You can choose an Italian olive oil or a Spanish olive oil. I am partial to Spanish olive oils since I lived in Spain for a couple of years. Spain is one of the largest olive oil producers in the world and their olive oil is often exported to Italy and packaged in Italian olive oils.
Choose an extra virgin olive oil that you already know that you love, or if you need a recommendation or starting point choose an Italian or Spanish olive oil from Trader Joe’s or Costco.
Variations:
There are many different delicious variations that can be made when it comes to olive oil cakes. Here are two of my favorites:
- Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil Cake: A lemon cake made with rosemary-infused olive oil (don’t worry, that part is simple).
- Grapefruit Olive Oil Cake: A fun citrusy twist on a lemon cake, made with grapefruit zest and juice. It’ll make your taste buds dance.
- Lemon Blueberry Olive Oil Cake: The best combo of lemon and blueberry in a light and fluffy, yet flavorful cake.
- You can also make this into a pound cake with a loaf pan, serve it with berries, a drizzle of honey, lemon curd, or mascarpone, double it to make it into a birthday cake with mascarpone icing or use orange zest and juice instead of lemon.
Ingredients
- Olive Oil: Use extra virgin olive oil only. If you don’t know where to start, I recommend using Spanish olive oil from Trader Joe’s or Costco. This olive oil is also great for making a crispy bottom crust on Grandma Pie Pizza.
- Milk: Use whole milk, not reduced fat.
- Eggs: Use large eggs, pasture-raised if possible.
- Lemon Zest: The lemon zest is where all the lemon flavor comes from. The zest is full of bright lemony flavor without any acid or sourness. To zest a lemon use the smallest grate of a box grater (or a zester) and zest only the outer bright yellow skin. Stop before you get to the inner white pith. I also use lemon zest in these Blueberry Lemon Poppyseed Muffins.
- Lemon Juice: Use real lemon juice from one of the two lemons that you zested. Consider juicing both lemons and making a quick lemonade from the leftover lemon juice.
- Vanilla Extract: Use real vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla.
- Granulated Sugar: Adds sweetness. Using ¾ cup of sugar creates a sweet cake that is not too sweet, however, you can tone down the sugar to ½ cup or increase it to 1 cup for a very sweet cake.
- Baking Powder: For leavening. Baking powder is double-acting, so the first leavening happens when the baking powder is exposed to liquid. For this reason, don’t let the cake sit too long before putting it in the oven or it will not rise properly.
- Salt: To balance and bring out flavor.
- Flour: Use all-purpose, unbleached flour.
- Powdered Sugar: Optional for dusting the cake.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Italian Olive Oil Cake
Below are the step-by-step instructions and photos for how to make Italian Olive Oil Cake.
*Note: The recipe card with instructions, ingredient list, and quantities is included further below these step-by-step photos.
Step 1. Preheat the Oven and Prepare the Pan: Preheat the oven to 350℉. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform or cake pan.
Expert Tip: If you'd like to line the pan with parchment paper to make it easier to remove the cake and cut clean slices (optional), cut a circle of parchment paper to fit into the bottom of the pan. Then butter the sides and bottom of the pan. Press the parchment circle into the bottom of the pan. Then flip the parchment paper over and press it into the pan again. Now lightly dust the pan with flour shaking off any excess.
Step 2. Mix the Wet Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl combine the extra virgin olive oil, milk, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
Step 3. Add the Sugar and combine.
Step 4. Add the Baking Powder and Salt and combine.
Step 5. Add the Flour and stir until just combined. Do not overmix. Small lumps are okay and will bake out in the oven.
Step 6. Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and bake at 350℉ for 26-28 minutes.
The cake is done when the top has a nice round dome and is a light golden brown in the center. Insert a toothpick in the center of the cake. It should come out clean without any wet crumbs or batter.
Expert Tips
- Use Extra Virgin Olive Oil (not regular or light).
- Real High-Quality Ingredients: Use real high-quality ingredients such as real lemon juice (and zest), real vanilla extract, all-purpose unbleached flour, and pasture-raised eggs. Using real high-quality ingredients will significantly improve the flavor and outcome of the cake.
- Lemon Zest: Zest only the outermost bright yellow part, not the inner white pith.
- Don’t Overmix: Mix by hand using a large spoon to prevent overmixing. Mix until all ingredients are just incorporated. Some small lumps in the cake batter are just fine and will bake out in the oven.
- Scrape Down the Bowl: To ensure that all the ingredients are evenly incorporated.
- Prepare the Baking Dish: Butter and flour the dish prior to baking to ensure that the cake does not stick to the pan.
- Allow the Cake to Cool: Prior to cutting in order to cut nice clean slices.
- Dust with Powdered Sugar: Optional, but makes the cake look fancy without much extra effort.
How to Store and Serve
To Store: The cake can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container or wrapped with plastic wrap on the counter for up to 3 days.
To Serve: Serve on its own or dusted with powdered sugar, a drizzle of honey, or a dollop of whipped cream.
Italian Olive Oil Cake FAQs
The thing that sets this Italian olive oil cake apart is the olive oil. Most cakes are either made with butter (flavorful but dense) or vegetable oil (light and fluffy but flavorless). This cake is made with olive oil, which means that you are getting both fat and flavor AND a light and fluffy cake. It’s a win-win.
Texture: To avoid issues with the cake's texture use extra virgin olive oil (not regular or light) and do not overmix the ingredients. Overmixing will develop gluten (which you want in your pizza crust but not in your cake) and create a dense cake.
Sinking in the Middle: To prevent your cake from sinking in the middle make sure that your cake is fully baked before taking it out of the oven. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the middle of the cake. It should come out clean without any wet or moist crumbs.
Sticking to the pan: Butter and flour the springform or cake pan to prevent the cake from sticking to the edges. Wait until the cake has fully cooled so that you can cut nice clean slices.
Different olive oils have different flavors, some are more fruity and some are more bitter. Depending on which olive oil you choose you will have a different impact on the cake. However, in general, the flavor of the olive oil imparts a fairly subtle flavor in the cake. Using Spanish olive oil from Trader Joe’s or Costco will impart a subtle fruity and buttery flavor to the cake.
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Italian Olive Oil Cake
Ingredients
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 2 large eggs
- zest of 2 large lemons
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tsps baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- powdered sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan or cake pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the extra virgin olive oil, whole milk, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
- Add the granulated sugar and stir to combine. Add the baking powder and salt and combine.
- Add the flour and stir to combine until just incorporated. Small lumps are okay.
- Bake for 26-28 minutes or until the top has a domed shape, it is lightly brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to fully cool, then dust with powdered sugar (optional) and cut into slices.
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