This Glazed Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake is sweet, wonderfully moist from the oil oil, citrusy, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. This recipe is perfect for Winter and Spring celebrations or simple Sunday afternoons!
Recipe by Leidi Rodriguez
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Hello hello and welcome back to the show! You know, the one where we talk about all things creamy, crunchy, sugary, and sweet galore? Thanks for tuning in again!
Today we’re talking about a TIP TOP favorite of mine: olive oil cake. That’s right, the way to my heart is a thick slice of tangy, tender EVOO-infused cake. Can you blame me?
Glazed Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake is an easy, flavor rich recipe I make more often than I’d like to admit. Made with simple ingredients and served up warm with a hot cup of tea or coffee, this cake is the definition of heaven on earth. Or at least mine.
What’s An Olive Oil Cake?
If you love the taste of olive oil, you’re in for a treat today. Olive oil cake is super-rich, dense, and sweet. EVOO is used in the place of butter, making for an ultra-moist and decadent dessert (or snack). You’ll totally be able to taste the oil in this recipe, which I personally love. To ensure the best flavor, use a high-quality EVOO.
Ingredients
There are all but 10 ingredients in this recipe. I promise you that anyone can pull off a 10 item recipe, including you!
This is what you’ll need:
- ALL PURPOSE FLOUR- to add as much lift to this cake as possible, sift the flour.
- CORNMEAL- this time around, I used fine yellow cornmeal but I have experimented with coarser ground options in the past. Coarse grind cornmeal adds a unique texture.
- BAKING POWDER- always make sure to use fresh, active baking powder.
- SALT-kosher salt is king!
- SUGAR- most often, I use cane sugar in my baking but you can use granulated or cane. Both will yield the same results.
- MEYER LEMONS- Meyer lemons are a small, sweet hybrid lemon that tastes like a cross between a regular lemon and an orange. They’re a bit more mellow. If you’d like, regular lemons can be used for this recipe.
- EGGS- it’s absolutely necessary for the eggs to be room temperature for this recipe. Eggs incorporate air and bind together the batter. Cold eggs will make for a separated, heavy batter that doesn’t rise as well in the oven.
- VANILLA- spending the extra cash on pure vanilla extract will make the biggest difference in your baking.
- POWDERED SUGAR- for a smooth glaze, sift the powdered sugar.
- HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM- the key to a silky glaze is a splash or two of cream. Add more to thin out the mix or add more sugar to thicken it.
How to Make a Lemon Olive Oil Cake
Alright, you wanna know the real reason why I love olive oil cakes? There’s no butter in it! That means no waiting for that pesky stone cold butter to come to room temperature. Because let’s be honest, none of us remember to take it out the fridge ahead of time. And if you do, well, you go glen coco.
There’s not much that goes into making this tender-crumbed cake. In fact, it’s one of the easiest cakes I’ve ever baked. It’s as simple as sifting together dry ingredients, slowly adding the wet ones, and pulling together a batter.
Pour that smooth, lemony batter into your prepared pan of choice (see section below) and bake the cake for just under an hour. While you wait for the cooked cake to cool in the pan, make that sticky-icky syrup! Brush that bad boy over the top of your inverted cake and watch all that shiny goodness seep through.
Once your cake has cooled to room temperature, whisk up that glaze and slowly drizzle it over the top. This is arguably the best part. If you’ve got any extra lemon zest, go ahead and sprinkle that on too!
Stop right there! Take a moment to stare down that beauty! And once you’ve really taken it in, cut yourself a fat slice and enjoy. A second slice won’t hurt either.
Do I have to Use a Bundt Pan?
No! If you don’t own a Bundt pan, or you prefer not to use one, this recipe can also be made in a pound cake tin or two 6-cup loaf pans. But, no matter what you use, be sure to thoroughly grease and flour it.
Storage of Leftovers
Not only does Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake keep well at room temperature, it actually gets better the first day or two after it’s baked. The syrup and glaze seep into the cake, making it moister and more flavorful.
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.
Best Lemon Recipes
I’ve got the lemons if you’re trying to make some lemonade! Get your hands on some citrus and churn out a few more of GBC’s BEST lemon recipes:
- Lemon Meringue Pie
- Blueberry Lemon Cake
- Lemon Cinnamon Rolls
- Ultimate Lemon Pound Cake
- Best Lemon Cupcakes
- Lemon Layer Cake
- Lemon Loaf Cake
Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake
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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!
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Can you describe the texture of this cake? Is it dense like a pound cake?
Hey Leah! I’d be happy to describe it for you- it’s very buttery, super moist with a tender crumb. Think of a cross between a lemon pound cake and a glazed Bundt. Super delicious!!
Love olive oil cakes and Meyer lemons! Can’t wait to try this recipe! QUESTION: We have a corn allergy in our family. What would you suggest as a suitable alternative for the cornmeal?
Thanks Becky! The only non-corn based substitution I could recommend would be semolina flour. Semolina is coarser than typical flour, which means it can replicate the texture of cornmeal. You will need to slightly increase the amount called for in this recipe. I’d start by adding 1/4 cup more (so 1 1/4 cups total).
This looks amazing! I’m allergic to eggs. What is the best substitute in this recipe?
Thanks Cristina! Unfortunately, I would not recommend replacing the eggs in this recipe. It would simply alter the structure/flavor too much. Try GBC’s vegan peanut butter cookies or vegan fudge brownies instead!
I made this for Tu Bishvat (Jewish new year of the trees – lemons and baked goods are traditional treats!) and it was so good! I used vegetable oil and white cornmeal with no issues. Also made them in two loaf pans each filled halfway. My husband wanted one loaf without the icing so I wrapped that one tight in plastic wrap to store it and found that it stayed soooo much more moist than the iced loaf stored in tupperware. I kept the leftover icing in the refrigerator for individual slices. Lovely recipe, thanks!
I personally don’t care for olive oil cakes, however I love Meyer lemon/regular lemon everything. With that being said can I replace the olive oil with butter?
TYVMIA for your reply!
If you prefer a lemon butter cake, try my ultimate lemon cake here: https://grandbaby-cakes.com/lemon-cake-lemon-pound-cake-recipe/
This turned out super moist and perfectly flavorful! It will definitely be in regular rotation! 🙂
Thanks so much Kristen! It’s one of my favorite recipes. So lovely to have with a cup of tea or coffee!!
This is my absolute favorite lemon cake recipe! It was light, fresh and so delicious!
So glad to hear that!! Let me know if there are other lemon recipes you’d like to see on the blog Jessica 🙂
Olive oil cakes are the way to my heart as well except so many places don’t get them right – dry and low on flavor. This cake is oh so tasty! Thank you for the recipe!
We love all your recipes, and this cake was another winner! Thanks so much for all your great recipes!
Thank you for your kind words and encouragement Keri! I appreciate your willingness to try them all!!
So yummy! Would love to try this for my family! Thanks for sharing!