olive oil cake
This Olive Oil Cake is moist and tender, perfectly flavored with olive oil and a hint of lemon. With easy-to-follow instructions, you can pull this cake together in under 30 minutes! It stays moist for a whole week at room temperature and the flavor improves overnight!

This olive oil cake will always be one of my go-to desserts to welcome spring and summer along with Italian panna cotta. With the perfect amount of olive oil, the cake is moist without being greasy. Adding the lemon zest and juice will help bring out the floral notes in the olive oil and give it that fresh flavor.
Try pairing this cake with fresh fruit and mascarpone whipped cream or serve it with lemon curd to draw out the lemon! While we are baking with lemon, you must try this lemon poppyseed cake, lemon bundt cake, easy, chewy lemon cookies and gluten free lemon bars!
Table of contents
Why This is the Best Olive Oil Cake
- Developed by a pastry chef. I developed this recipe for the restaurants. I’ve tested it many times to ensure the texture is perfect every time!
- An easy to-pull-together recipe. With straightforward instructions, you can have a delightful moist, tender cake in the oven in under 30 minutes! And that also means the clean up will be a breeze.
- Scalability. This recipe can be scaled to your heart’s desire! The only limits are the cake pans and the size of the bowls you have. And if you don’t feel like whisking by hand, this will work perfectly in a stand mixer. Just be careful not to overmix the batter.

Professional Tips for Making Lemon Olive Oil Cake
- Fresh citrus is best! For the brightest and most flavorful cake, I would suggest freshly squeezed lemon juice. If you must use store-bought, try to find a frozen option that is frozen fresh juice, or sometimes it can be found in the refrigerator section. If it looks dark in color, then it is no longer going to taste fresh.
- Quality olive oil will make all the difference. I’ve learned this the hard way. You want high-quality and fresh extra virgin olive oil. You can taste if the olive oil is flat or old. Since it is one of the main flavors here, you want to ensure you enjoy the oil you are using.
- Zest the lemon into the sugar ahead of time. It won’t be the end of the world if you don’t have time or don’t want to wait for the zest to sit with the sugar, but I promise you, if they sit together for a few hours or overnight, you will taste the difference in the cake.
Ingredients & Substitutions

- Olive Oil: Olive oil makes this cake exceptionally moist – even more moist than using melted butter. I emulsify it into the sugar and eggs to make the batter extra moist and not greasy. Be sure to choose a high-quality extra virgin olive oil to ensure a beautiful flavor, just like in these olive oil chocolate chip cookies!
- Whole Eggs: Whole eggs allow you to emulsify all that oil into the batter, resulting in a moist, not greasy, cake.
- Lemon Juice and Zest: Lemon is the flavor here! My motto for citrus is that fresh is always best kist like in lemon poppy seed muffins and meyer lemon scones.
- Granulated Sugar: I use granulated sugar in this cake. It is there for the more obvious flavor reasons but also to aid in leavening, moisture, texture, and stability.
- Whole Milk: I generally bake with whole milk for the added flavor and fat. It has a lower water content, and the extra fat helps keep the cake tender and moist.
- Baking Powder: Double-acting baking powder reacts instantly when mixed with an acid, which is lemon here, and then again when heated. It allows for a much more even rise than baking soda alone, creating an evenly risen and baked crumb.
- Baking Soda: ?? Check the freshness of your baking soda! It does lose potency over time. If it’s not fresh, send it to the back of the refrigerator to absorb some odors, or clean your marble countertops with it!
- Kosher Salt
- All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour has just the right amount of gluten to make a tender, soft cake. To avoid holes and “tunnels” in your cake, do not overmix the batter. This cake batter is very loose, so I do not recommend substituting cake flour but all-purpose gluten-free flour works well, just reduce the milk to ½ cup.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Change the Citrus. Try using oranges, blood oranges, limes or, if you are feeling fancy, some key limes! You could also ask extracts like vanilla extract, lemon extract or omit the lemon and use almond extract.
- Add some fresh fruit. Fold in some strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries like I do in my blueberry cake recipe and raspberry cupcakes! They will sink to the bottom of the cake, but it will be delicious all the same! You can also macerate the berries in some lemon juice and sugar and serve them as an easy, fresh sauce on top!
- Make cupcakes! Everyone loves cupcakes! Try topping the cupcakes with mascarpone whipped cream, coconut frosting from my coconut cake, or just a classic American buttercream recipe.

How to Make this Olive Oil Cake Recipe
Use these instructions to make the perfect olive oil cake every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Make the cake:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F for non-convection ovens. Then spray and line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper.


Step 2: Zest the lemon into the sugar and massage the zest into the sugar to release some of the oils that help flavor the sugar. Allow to sit while scaling the remaining ingredients.
If you have time to plan ahead, zest the lemons into the sugar and let them sit overnight for a more full lemon flavor.
Step 3: Scale the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt into a bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
Step 4: Add the eggs to a large mixing bowl and whisk to break up the protein. While continuing to whisk, slowly pour the olive oil into the eggs. Whisk until fully emulsified.
Step 5: Add the sugar and zest and whisk until fully combined. Followed by the lemon juice and milk.
Step 6: Then add the flour mixture to the bowl and whisk until combined and few lumps remain. Don’t over-whisk the batter. You don’t want to develop the gluten and create tunnels in the cake.
To keep the dry ingredients from lumping too much I like to sift them directly into the bowl.
Step 7: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown and the center springs back when pressed lightly. It is essential that it is fully baked, or it will fall in the center. You can also test it with a cake tester, inserting it into the center of the cake; you want it to come out clean.
This cake is extra moist, so I don’t open the oven door for 30 minutes. This ensures the crumb has time to set before it is jostled.


Step 8: Allow the cake to cool completely in the pans before turning it out onto a cooling rack or cake stand.

Frequently Asked Questions
Store the olive oil cake well-wrapped in the fridge for up to 6 days or up to 2 months in the freezer. Be sure to wrap the cake well, as the cake has such a light flavor, and you don’t want it to take on flavors from the fridge or freezer.
I suggest only baking the olive oil cake in metal cake pans. A ceramic or glass pan will affect the rise and texture of the cake. You can use different shapes or sizes; just be aware that this will affect the baking time.
Fresh fruit and lightly sweetened whipped cream is always my go to with this cake. Try a simple lemon glaze made of confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice or top with lemon curd whipped cream!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below! I love hearing from you and your comments make my day!
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olive oil cake
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 12 Slices 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
This Olive Oil Cake is moist and tender, perfectly flavored with olive oil and a hint of lemon. With easy-to-follow instructions, you can pull this cake together in under 30 minutes! It stays moist for a whole week at room temperature and the flavor improves overnight!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive Oil (160g)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 lemons zested
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (287g)
- 2/3 cup whole milk (173g)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice, ~2 lemons (50g)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (186g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F for non-convection ovens. Then spray and line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper.
- Zest the lemon into the sugar and massage the zest into the sugar to release some of the oils that help flavor the sugar. Allow to sit while scaling the remaining ingredients.
- Scale the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt into a bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- Add the eggs to a large mixing bowl and whisk to break up the protein. While continuing to whisk, slowly pour the olive oil into the eggs. Whisk until fully emulsified.
- Add the sugar and zest and whisk until fully combined. Followed by the lemon juice and milk.
- Then add the flour mixture to the bowl and whisk until combined and few lumps remain. Don’t over-whisk the batter. You don’t want to develop the gluten and create tunnels in the cake.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown and the center springs back when pressed lightly. It is essential that it is fully baked, or it will fall in the center. You can also test it with a cake tester, inserting it into the center of the cake; you want it to come out clean.
- This cake is extra moist, so I don’t open the oven door for 30 minutes. This ensures the crumb has time to set before it is jostled.
- Allow the cake to cool completely in the pans before turning it out onto a cooling rack or cake stand.
Notes
Yield – 1, 9 inch round cake
Flavor Tips – Fresh lemons and quality olive oil are key in the flavor of this cake.
Storage – Store the olive oil cake well-wrapped in the fridge for up to 6 days or up to 2 months in the freezer.
Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this professional chef created recipe. Check out our other delicious cake recipes or try this strawberry cake recipe, raspberry cupcakes or vanilla cupcake recipe!
thank you, I love all lemon flavored baked stuff, and always prefer olive oil when it works, so thank you for both!
Hi Sabrina! I’m so glad we could provide! Big lemon-olive-oil fans over here as well! Thank you for taking the time to rate and comment, we appreciate it. ~gvd team