Olive Oil Cake

By Samantha Seneviratne

Updated Jan. 27, 2022

Olive Oil Cake
Romulo Yanes for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Vivian Lui.
Total Time
1 hour, plus cooling
Rating
5(8,065)
Comments
Read comments

This simple, lemon-scented olive oil cake is an elegant treat all by itself or topped with whipped cream, fruit or ice cream. The olive oil contributes a pleasant fruity flavor while keeping the cake moister for longer than butter ever could. Make sure your olive oil tastes delicious and fresh. If you wouldn’t eat it on a salad, it won’t be good in your cake.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:One 9-inch cake
  • 1cup/240 milliliters good-quality extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan
  • 2cups/255 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
  • 1teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼teaspoon baking soda
  • 1½cups/300 grams granulated sugar, plus about 2 tablespoons for sprinkling
  • 3large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1¼cups/295 milliliters whole milk, at room temperature
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan using extra-virgin olive oil and line the bottom with parchment paper. Oil the parchment and flour the pan, shaking out any excess flour.

  2. Step 2

    In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

  3. Step 3

    In the bowl of an electric mixer set on high, beat the sugar, eggs and lemon zest until very thick and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer still running, slowly drizzle in the oil and beat until incorporated, another 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add milk and lemon juice. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, smooth the top using an offset spatula and sprinkle the top with about 2 tablespoons sugar.

  4. Step 4

    Bake the cake until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool for 20 minutes, then run a knife around the edge to release the sides of the cake from the pan. Invert the cake onto a plate and then flip it back over onto the rack to cool completely. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

5 out of 5
8,065 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Isabelle

This is one of my "back pocket recipes." Elegant, easy, frugal. Best of all it is endlessly riffable. I have swapped out the lemon zest for vanilla extract; almond extract and slivered almond/sugar topping; mini chocolate chips; minced rosemary. I bake it at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, then check for doneness every 5-10 minutes. Perfect. 375 degrees is too high for me and causes the top to brown way too quickly. I use a Nordic 9-inch round cake pan (the best!) and have no issues with spillage.

Julia

A 9-inch round cake pan was much too small for this recipe. It ran out over the sides - luckily I had it on a baking sheet. Use two 9-inch cake pans instead and split it between the two of them

Leilani

This cake was so good, I surprised myself! Definitely use a springform pan, and check the cake every 5-10 minutes after 45 minutes. I ended up cooking for 60 minutes, but the top middle still had a little pudding consistency. This is GOOD. I probably could have baked five minutes less, but the cake was still delicious and moist. I served with marscapone whipped cream and balsamic strawberries. OUT OF THIS WORLD.

creampuff

This cake is very good. I baked it in a large loaf pan (9x5) at 350 for about 55 minutes and it was perfect. I used less sugar but I think it would have been fine with the full amount. If you like olive oil cakes I would also recommend Claire Saffitz's meyer lemon bundt cake. A little more labor intensive than this one, but excellent.

MG

Just to give further info on adapting this recipe; I followed other reviewers recommendations to make this gluten free and used half Bob's Red Mill 1:1 GF flour and half Almond flour and it didn't work well at all. It came out of the oven beautifully raised and browned, then quickly collapsed and became and oily, dense mess. Flavor was still good, but the consistency was awful. I think the oil is just too heavy for the GF flour mix to hold the rise.

Emily

I cooked exactly as described except I used coconut sugar instead of regular sugar which gave it a hint of caramelized depth that was so delicious. I topped with lemon juice macerated strawberries and it was so good with that little extra tart sweetness soaked in the top. I noticed that the crumb of my cake turned out a little less dense than the image on the header of the recipe. I'd love to try to get it a little more dense/moist next time, I wonder how to change up my recipe a bit?

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.