This lemon olive oil cake is a bright, moist dessert with citrusy lemon flavor and a tender crumb thanks to rich olive oil. Unlike butter-based cakes, olive oil gives soft texture and moistness while allowing the lemon zest and juice to shine. A sweet simple sugar dusting adds a bright finishing touch without overwhelming the natural flavors. Easy to mix and bake, this cake feels both elegant and everyday - perfect for brunch, dessert, or sipping with a cup of tea or coffee.
I've made this cake a few times in the last two weeks to recipe test it and make sure it's my version of the best lemon olive oil cake. I tried a couple of different methods of mixing the ingredients together and we found the method used in the recipe card below produced a lighter, moister, delicate cake.
I often find that people hear the title of this cake and think it must be a fancy, complicated cake. When in reality this cake couldn't be easier to bake. I mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl but you could always put a fine-mesh sieve over the wet ingredients to sift the dry ingredients together into the wet.
The beauty of this cake is it stays moist for days so it's perfect to enjoy throughout the week. I hope you adore it as much as we do.
Featured Review
"I was VERY daring and made this cake over the holidays for my friends/family. I made 20 cakes in 2 days. I know it's insanely stupid, BUT everyone raved about these cakes!! I think for next year, I'll make smaller cakes (maybe 4"?) It was the perfect gift. I've made it a couple times since then, and I'll bring it to a friends house as a gift or over to my moms. We eat ours with vanilla ice cream...seriously so good.
I am NOT a baker, actually pretty terrible at it. But, these directions were SO easy to follow.
Katie
Aside from the very simplified directions, the cake is DELICIOUS. Do NOT skimp on the olive oil. I feel like this makes or breaks the cake. Make sure you use a high quality EVOO. Also, I add the gran marnier and it was superb!"
The Ingredients That Matter Most
- Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive oil: Adds moistness and a tender crumb while letting lemon flavor shine - choose a mild extra-virgin for best results. Depending on which olive oil you use you may have a stronger flavor. I suggest using good quality extra virgin olive oil. It provides a subtle flavor. I use Colavita it is sold at most large grocery stores. Another brand I love is Bona Furtuna.
- Lemon zest & juice: Provide vibrant citrus aroma and brightness without bitterness.
- Sugar: Sweetens while balancing the lemon acidity.
- Eggs: Provide structure and lift while keeping texture soft.
- Simple Topping: Powdered sugar adds a sweet finish without taking away from the cake.
Fresh berries are also a beautiful compliment to this cake. Bake my orange olive cake recipe next.
For ingredient quantities please reference the recipe card below. On the recipe card there is a button for US or M (Metric) measurements.
Bright, Moist & So Worth It
Just look at this photo and the tenderness of this lemon olive oil cake, so so good!
★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!
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PrintRecipe Card
Lemon Olive Oil Cake (Moist & Bright)
This lemon olive oil cake is a bright, moist dessert with citrusy lemon flavor and a tender crumb thanks to rich olive oil. Unlike butter-based cakes, olive oil gives soft texture and moistness while allowing the lemon zest and juice to shine. A sweet simple sugar dusting adds a bright finishing touch without overwhelming the natural flavors. Easy to mix and bake, this cake feels both elegant and everyday - perfect for brunch, dessert, or sipping with a cup of tea or coffee.
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 Slices 1x
Ingredients
- 266 grams (1 ⅓ Cup) Granulated Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest
- 3 Large Eggs, at room temperature
- 6oz (¾ Cup) Whole Milk, at room temperature
- 2oz (¼ Cup) Limoncello or Grand Marnier
- 2oz (¼ Cup) Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
- 8oz (1 Cup) Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 250 grams (2 Cups) All-Purpose Flour
- ½ Teaspoon Baking soda
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¾ Teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325F/163C and heavily grease a 9-inch springform pan, and set aside. If you use a normal cake pan I would suggest lining the pan with parchment paper to help you more easily remove it from the pan once baked.
- In a large bowl or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on low-medium speed combine sugar and lemon zest. I like to use my fingers to rub the lemon zest into the sugar granules, do this for a minute or two. Add the eggs, whole milk, Limoncello, and fresh lemon juice, and whisk to combine. While the mixer is on low speed slowly stream in the olive oil until combined, or in a large bowl whisk in a little bit at a time.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until just combined, don't overmix.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, until the cake is done. You can test it is done by slightly pressing the top of the cake and if it bounces back the cake is done, you will notice the edges of the cake are pulling away from the sides of the pan. You can also insert a toothpick into the center of the cake to see if there is any wet batter. Take the cake out of the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes then release the cake from the springform pan to cool completely on the rack.
- Dust the cake with confectioner's sugar and store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
- This olive oil cake freezes beautifully. Once the cake is completely cooled wrap it in plastic wrap tightly, twice then wrap in foil. This tri-layer of protection helps prevent freezer burn. You can freeze slices of cake or the whole cake I suggest, dusting with confectioners sugar after you thaw the cake. Let it thaw on the counter for a couple of hours depending on what size of cake you froze.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 60
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Italian
Joann says
Made this recipe recently and I loved it!
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Joann, thank you so much for the lovely review, so glad you enjoyed the cake. Take care. XX Liz
Dee says
This recipe is fantastic! I had a bottle of lemoncello and had been looking for a way to use it. The cake was so good- a perfect balance of lemon and olive oil. I will definitely make this again!
Elizabeth Waterson says
Thank you so much for the lovely review Dee, so glad you enjoyed the cake! Take care. XX Liz
Suzanne says
Phenomenal, so light and fluffy will make again
Elizabeth Waterson says
Thank you so much for the lovely review Suzanne, so glad you enjoyed the cake! Take care. XX Liz
F says
Loved how simple this recipe was. I made it for a birthday potluck and it was a hit. Someone said it was one of the softest cakes they've ever eaten. Will definitely be keeping this recipe for the future!
Elizabeth Waterson says
Thank you so much for the lovely review! It truly is such a soft, delicious cake! XX Liz
Tasrina (zuron3127) says
Amazing and a no fail recipe. Very easy to follow and the cake came out extremely moist & light. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Elizabeth Waterson says
Thank you so much for the lovely review Tasrina, so happy your enjoyed the cake 🙂 Take care. XX Liz
Kat says
Baked this cake for a lemon themed baby shower and people were dying to dig in! It was perfectly moist and the right touch of lemon.
Elizabeth Waterson says
Soo, so happy you enjoyed this delicious cake!! XX Liz
Noelle Llorente says
I made this last night and it was an absolute hit! I topped it with a mixture of lemon curd and crème fraiche. Will definitely be making this again
Katie Churchill says
I was VERY daring and made this cake over the holidays for my friends/family. I made 20 cakes in 2 days. I know it's insanely stupid, BUT everyone raved about these cakes!! I think for next year, I'll make smaller cakes (maybe 4"?) It was the perfect gift. I've made it a couple times since then, and I'll bring it to a friends house as a gift or over to my moms. We eat ours with vanilla ice cream...seriously so good.
I am NOT a baker, actually pretty terrible at it. But, these directions were SO easy to follow.
Aside from the very simplified directions, the cake is DELICIOUS. Do NOT skimp on the olive oil. I feel like this makes or breaks the cake. Make sure you use a high quality EVOO. Also, I add the gran marnier and it was superb!
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Katie, thank you so much for the lovely review. You are a pro baker after 20 of these cakes!!! I bought some smaller springform pans to test mini ones too! XX Liz
Lou A Smith says
This was good but I didn’t get much lemon taste. I love lemon and was expecting more.
Kat says
Is it possible to make 2 tiers of this cake?
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Kat, I am so sorry I missed this comment, yes you could do two layers of this cake! Let me know if you try it! XX Liz
Paul Melgoza says
I made this cake this morning to enjoy with my coffee. I have tried a few different recipes, some with Limoncello and some without it. This recipe is one of the best that I have made. I did not measure the lemon zest, choosing to simply zest an entire lemon.
The cake was finished baking right at 50 minutes, and it probably could have come out of the oven at 48 minutes. The texture was firm, and it was a little drier than I prefer, but the flavor was spot on.