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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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!