Folks really underestimate how elegant olive oil can be in a cake. In this lemon olive oil cake, I swap out the butter giving the cake a lot of moisture, richness and sophistication ya dig. It’s got a lot of citrus flavor too which is like my fave flavor in the world. Serve it for tea time or with your morning coffee because we grown and we can do what we want. Thank you Leidi for testing this recipe until it was perfect.
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How to Make a Lemon Olive Oil Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12 cup Bundt pan with butter and a little flour.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and lemon zest. Add the eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition. Whisk the eggs and sugar together until the eggs aerate, thicken and lighten in color.
- Add the vanilla to the large bowl, whisking to fully combine. While still whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil.
- Alternate between adding the dry ingredients and the lemon juice to the rest of the ingredients. Mix until a smooth batter forms. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes back clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert the pan onto a wire cooling rack.
For the Syrup
- Place lemon juice and sugar into a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until simmering and all sugar has dissolved.
- While the cake is still hot, poke it with a toothpick or skewer and immediately brush with syrup.
- Allow the cake to cool completely.
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For the Glaze
- Place powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla into a 2 cup measuring cup. Stir with a fork until fully combined. Drizzle over cake.
- Top the cake with any leftover lemon zest you might have and serve!
Lemon Olive Oil Cake Recipe
Glazed Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake is sweet, buttery, citrusy, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
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Servings: 16 servings
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup fine yellow cornmeal
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 1/4 cup granulated sugar or cane sugar
- 1 lb meyer lemons, zested and juiced *The lemons should produce about ¾-1 cup of juice. Be sure to measure that! Any leftover juice can be used for the glaze.
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
For the Syrup
- 1/4 cup meyer lemon juice
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar or cane sugar
For the Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
- 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream up to 3 tablespoons
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12 cup Bundt pan with butter and a little flour.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and lemon zest. Add the eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition. Whisk the eggs and sugar together until the eggs aerate, thicken and lighten in color.
- Add the vanilla to the large bowl, whisking to fully combine. While still whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil.
- Alternate between adding the dry ingredients and the lemon juice to the rest of the ingredients. Mix until a smooth batter forms. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes back clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert the pan onto a wire cooling rack.
For the Syrup
- Place lemon juice and sugar into a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until simmering and all sugar has dissolved.
- While the cake is still hot, poke it with a toothpick or skewer and immediately brush with syrup.
- Allow the cake to cool completely.
For the Glaze
- Place powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla into a 2 cup measuring cup. Stir with a fork until fully combined. Drizzle over cake.
- Top the cake with any leftover lemon zest you might have and serve!
Notes
When it’s not being served, store the cake at room temperature in an airtight container or cover it tightly with plastic wrap. An olive oil cake will keep for 3 days. After that, it’s best to refrigerate it for up to 2 more days.
Alternatively, you can freeze lemon olive oil cake for up to 3 months. To do so, double wrap it with cling film (plastic wrap) and a layer of foil. Thaw at room temperature for 3-4 hours, or until soft and tender again.
Nutrition
Calories: 449kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 172mg | Potassium: 160mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 123IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 2mg
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I’ve made this many times — it’s the best recipe out there! Have you ever added fresh blueberries to the batter?
No, I haven’t, but I am sure you could! And, thank you so much!
Hi! I’m just curious as to why you don’t also have measurements by weight?
Hi there! That’s such a great question—thank you for asking! I totally understand that a lot of bakers love using weight measurements for that extra level of precision. I personally grew up baking using cups and spoons, and that’s how I still love to develop and share my recipes today. It’s how my grandmother taught me, and it’s part of that comforting, passed-down tradition that makes baking feel like home to me.
That said, I completely get the value of baking by weight—it’s just not how I test my recipes, so I don’t feel comfortable converting to grams since it might not turn out quite the same. I always want to make sure what I share reflects exactly how I bake in my own kitchen, so you can get the same delicious results at home.
But I so appreciate you bringing this up! I’m always thinking about how to make my recipes more helpful for everyone, so I’ll definitely keep it in mind.
Very useful to list your flour weight in grams. Going to make it noW
Can I make this into a half sheet cake?
Hi Susan, I don’t see why not! I do not have a recipe for it as I haven’t tested it.
Cannot wait to try this. When you juice the lemons, you say they could produce between 3/4-1 cup of juice. How much exactly do you add to the cake batter? 3/4 cup or 1 cup? Feels like a quarter cup of liquid one way or the other can make a huge difference in final outcome.
Yep 3/4 cup for this.
This cake looks so perfect for spring! I never would have thought to include cornmeal.
I hope you enjoy!
This sounds delicious! Cannot wait to make it! Is there N alternative flour you can use in place of all purpose flour? Some of the women at my office need a gluten free dessert! Thanks!
You can substitute the all purpose flour for a gluten free flour that says it can be a replacement at a 1:1 ratio. Hope that helps and everyone enjoys!
Wonderful recipe. Everyone loved it. Do you think this could be made with blood oranges instead of Meyer lemons?
I don’t see why not! If you try it you’ll have to let me know what you think!