You probably already know my deep love for Olive Oil cakes! While they almost always have citrus in them, I decided to kick this one up a notch and celebrate lemons with this Easy Lemon Olive Oil Cake Recipe! I got a box of gorgeous lemons from Spain and was inspired by how they immediately transported me back to Europe. Whether you’ve been daydreaming of a Mediterranean vacation or you’re just warming up to the feeling of the warmer months in the air –– this Lemon Olive Oil Cake is for you! It’s the perfect balance between sweet and tart.
Looking for a more decadent Olive Oil Cake recipe? Try my Olive Oil Cake with Browned Butter Frosting!
Easy Lemon Olive Oil Cake
Prep Time: about 20 – 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 – 50 minutes
Easy Lemon Olive Oil Cake Ingredients
- 2 cups AP flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/3 cups extra-virgin olive oil (I highly recommend using a high quality oil, I used some from a tree I adopted in Italy through Nudo)
- 1/2 cup milk (I actually didn’t have milk on hand, so I used 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream diluted with 1/4 cup water)
- 3/4 cup lemon juice (about 2 medium lemons worth, if you’re a tiny bit short you can some water)
- zest of two small lemons
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
Directions
- Preheat oven at 350*F. Grease a 9″ cake pan. I used EVOO to do so. I highly recommend adding a circle of parchment to the bottom, for ease of cake removal later.
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl –– 2 cups AP flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder & baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 1 cup sugar, 3/4 cup brown sugar.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients until just combined –– 1 1/3 cups EVOO, 1/2 cup milk, 3/4 cup lemon juice, zest of two small lemons, 3 large eggs (crack them into a separate bowl before putting into the wet ingredients bowl, in case one isn’t good).
- Gradually add the wet mixture into the dry mixture while stirring, until just combined.
- Put batter into greased pan. Bake for 45 – 50 minutes. I recommend checking it with a skewer at 45 mins! Be sure to check the center. The cake is meant to be moist and almost a bit puddingy.
- Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. While cake is cooling, prepare the glaze.
The Glaze
Crunchy 🍋-y Glaze Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- juice of about 2 small lemons
Crunchy 🍋-y Glaze Directions
- Pour lemon juice gradually into sugar while whisking, until you get your desired consistency –– mine was a bit liquid, so if you’d like it thicker add less lemon juice.
- After the cake is cool, turn over onto a plate. Pour drizzle onto cooled cake. It will mostly seep into the cake and leave a bit of a lemony crunch on the outside!
Aside from being deliciously versatile, did you know lemons have a bunch of health benefits?
- Packed with Vitamin C to help out our immune & nervous systems
- Protect cells from oxidative damage
- Promote energy metabolism & psychological function
- Facilitates the normal formation of collagen
What a superhero citrus!
Looking for more olive oil cake inspiration?
Easy Olive Oil Cake with Browned Butter Icing
When the Almond Board of California challenged me to integrate Almond Milk into something that doesn’t immediately come to mind (ie. cereal or…
The Best Olive Oil Cake with Browned Butter Frosting
Are you looking for the best Olive Oil Cake ever? This Olive Oil Cake with Brown Butter Frosting is seriously the perfect balance…
Easy Lemon Olive Oil Cake with crunchy 🍋-y glaze
You probably already know my deep love for Olive Oil cakes! While they almost always have citrus in them, I decided to kick…
Happy travels through baking,
Corey
[…] balance between sweetness and acidity. If you’re looking for a lighter topping, check out this Olive Oil Cake recipe […]
[…] When the Almond Board of California challenged me to integrate Almond Milk into something that doesn’t immediately come to mind (ie. cereal or smoothies), I found out that you can basically replace regular milk with Almond Milk in any recipe. My immediate next thought was that I HAD to try this with some sort of decadent cake, because I love baking – behold this Easy Olive Oil Cake! Looking for a little less decadent Olive Oil Cake? Check out this recipe! […]