This lemon olive oil cake recipe is incredibly moist and filled with bright, fruity flavor. Made with simple ingredients, it's an easy, delicious treat!
This lemon olive oil cake recipe is my new favorite spring dessert…and possibly my new favorite dessert, period. It has a moist and tender texture and fruity, citrusy flavor from lemon juice, lemon zest, and plenty of olive oil. I’ve already made this cake three times this spring—it’s that delicious!
This olive oil cake recipe is easy to make with simple ingredients and equipment. I love to whip it up for an everyday treat to enjoy with coffee or tea. It’s also lovely for holidays and gatherings. I dust it with powdered sugar or pile it with whipped cream and strawberries to take it over the top!
I’ve been baking with olive oil for years. Whenever I share a dessert recipe that calls for it, readers ask why. I think this cake is the best way to showcase why I love it. The olive oil keeps it moist for days (longer than cakes made with butter!) and adds rich, floral flavor. If you’re anything like me, you won’t be able to get enough of it!
Lemon Olive Oil Cake Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this lemon olive oil cake recipe:
- Olive oil, of course! I always use extra-virgin olive oil in this cake. Its bold flavor makes the cake especially rich and fruity. If you’d like the cake to have a mellower olive oil taste, substitute virgin or light olive oil. Vegetable oil would work here too.
- All-purpose flour – Spoon and level it to avoid packing too much into your measuring cup.
- Fresh lemons – The juice and zest add bright, citrusy flavor. For a fun twist, try using orange juice and orange zest instead!
- Baking powder, baking soda, and eggs – They help the cake rise.
- Cane sugar – It makes the cake lightly sweet.
- Milk – For moisture. Whole milk will yield the plushest, moistest cake, but other kinds will work here too. Feel free to use whatever type you have on hand—almond milk, oat milk, 2%, etc.
- Vanilla extract – For warm depth of flavor.
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Olive Oil Cake
This olive oil cake recipe is easy to make using basic equipment—no mixer required! Here’s how it goes:
First, make the batter. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
In a large bowl, combine the lemon zest and sugar. Use your fingers to work the zest into the sugar until well combined. This step helps the zest release its fragrant oils, infusing the cake with lemon flavor.
Add the remaining wet ingredients to the the sugar mixture and whisk until well combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until just combined. Careful not to overmix, or the cake will be dense.
Next, bake the cake. Transfer the batter to a greased 9-inch round cake pan (I like to line the bottom with parchment paper so that the cake is easy to remove.)
Use a spatula to smooth the top, then bake at 350°F for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the top springs back to the touch.
Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the cake and turning out. Transfer to a wire rack to let the cake cool completely.
Recipe Tips
- Tap the pan on the counter before baking. This helps the cake batter release any air bubbles that are trapped inside it, which could give the cake an uneven crumb.
- Tent the top with foil if needed. Cake getting too dark before the middle is cooked through? Tent the top with foil to prevent further browning.
- Dress it up. I love this moist, citrusy cake plain, but it’s wonderful with various toppings too. You could simply dust it with powdered sugar or drizzle it with my 2-ingredient lemon glaze once it’s cooled. For special occasions, I love to pile it with whipped cream and fresh strawberries!
How to Store Olive Oil Cake
Store leftover olive oil cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the fridge for up to a week. It also freezes well.
More Lemon Dessert Recipes
If you love this easy lemon olive oil cake, try one of these lemon dessert recipes next:
I think you’ll love this chocolate olive oil cake too!
Lemon Olive Oil Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Zest of 2 lemons
- ¾ cup cane sugar
- ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- In a large bowl, place the lemon zest and sugar. Use your fingers to work the zest into the sugar until well combined. This helps the zest release its fragrant oils. Add the olive oil, eggs, lemon juice, milk, and vanilla and whisk until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until just combined.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Lightly tap the pan on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the top springs back to the touch and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
This recipe looks delicious, I can’t wait to try it out. Can I just suggest to tone it down a bit with the ad placements on the website? I know ad revenue is precious and I deeply appreciate your blog and your generosity, but one ad after each step of the recipe, 7 ads inside the recipe card, feels a bit much. Nothing will make me stop coming to this website! But as a very loyal reader, I’d love to have less ads, at least inside the recipe cards. Best to you and your team!
Hi Pauline, thanks for your feedback, we’re working on altering the placement.
Subbed gluten free flour successfully. This has a very “olive oil forward” taste, so if that’s what you’re going for, this recipe is for you! Not too sweet, perhaps could have used a bit more lemon.
Hi Brittany, I’m glad the GF flour worked. It is an olive oil cake, so we were going for olive oil-forward 🙂
Following the recipe exactly, the cake turned out nice but wasn’t quite memorable. Perhaps I should have used an even higher quality olive oil. Alternatively, a bit more sugar also probably would have done the trick.
Can you make this gluten free and substitute almond flour?
Hi Jeffery, I’d use a GF all purpose blend, we don’t usually have good results swapping almond flour 1:1.
This was so simple to make and so delicious. I appreciate that it’s not overly sweet. Just a lovely treat, warmed up with a cup of tea in the morning. Next time I’ll add even more lemon zest to really bring that flavor forward. Thanks for this one!
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
It turned out really tasty! I didn’t have any egg noodles on hand, so I swapped in some high-quality corkscrew-shaped pasta instead. The cream was a great touch—rich but still simple and comforting.
In a situation like this, I’d probably go with half-and-half since I usually keep it stocked. I’ve also found that a good-quality protein pasta, especially one made in Italy, works surprisingly well. As a bonus, it holds its shape better and stays a bit firmer, which is perfect for soups.
This was not as sweet or lemony as I’d hoped.
Hi Crystal, did you change anything about the recipe?
Making this cake tomorrow, looks lovely!!
Need to use non-gluten flour for this recipe. Can you recommend the best one to use?
King Arthur is a nice dependable gluten-free flour – and not too expensive
I usually have good results with Bob’s Red Mill.
can i make this gluten-free?
Hi Tina, I think a GF all purpose blend, like Bob’s might work.
Weights in grams please.
I agree with you.
Baking is very important to scale by grams.
Csn one use glutenfree floer ?
I think an a all purpose GF blend like Bob’s would work fine.
This olive oil lemon cake looks absolutely beautiful. It looks so light and full of fresh flavor! I love the idea of using olive oil for that subtle richness, and lemon is always such a perfect pairing. It feels like the kind of cake that’s simple yet elegant, just right with a cup of tea. I’ll definitely be adding this one to my baking list!
I hope you enjoy it!
Try to include the measurements in grams as well. For everyone!!
SO GOOD. I am going to be making this on repeat! For those asking about other flours- I subbed the 2 cups of AP flour for 1 3/4 cups almond flour, 1/3 cup coconut flour, and 2Tbs tapioca starch. Also increased to 4 eggs and 2/3 cup milk. Oh and I also subbed sugar for a granulated monkfruit (my husband is on a limited diet currently and I didn’t want to torture him with something he couldn’t eat). It’s absolutely divine!
I’m interested in trying your variations. Did you increase the eggs and milk b/c you were using almond flour/coconut flour/tapioca starch combination?
Thanks!
Yes exactly! I used chatgbt to help calculate the flour subs, and it automatically suggested adjusting the liquid amounts as well, worked out perfectly!
This looks delicious! Do you have an easy way to zest 2 lemons?
Thanks,
Sherry
I use a microplane zester.
This cake looks great!
Please could you give the metric measures?
Yes, please provide the metric measures so we can all try it! Can’t wait.
What are the adjustments for high altitude (5280)?
what about GF flour substitutes ?
Can you use other types of flour?
We haven’t tested this recipe with other types of flour.