If you never baked with olive oil, make room for this lemon olive oil bundt cake because you'll want to make it often!
If you already added olive oil to your baking repertoire you know this recipe rocks! Oh yes it does, big time!
I started using olive oil in baking while developing recipes for a client and discovered a whole new world. I was skeptical at first too, thought the final product would be fine but not amazing.
Well, I was wrong. So, so wrong.
With the right olive oil, recipes such as this lemon bundt cake climb a few steps.
What type of olive oil is good for baking?
Baking recipes usually call for neutral tasting oils, such as sunflower or canola. That ensures that it will not mask the flavor of the cake, cookie or whatever it is you're baking.
Olive oil tends to have a deeper and stronger flavor than regular oils. So a classic, mild or light extra virgin olive oil works perfectly. I only use extra virgin, but I guess virgin olive oil works fine too.
In some cases, flavored oils might be used to. Nowadays there can be many to choose from. It is really a matter of personal taste.
Nowadays I make all kinds of cakes with olive oil. And to tell you the truth, I'm tempted to use olive every single time a recipe calls for oil. I'm an olive oil baking groupie.
My favorite is the apple walnut cake, very moist and easy to make, it's just SO good!
And if you want to make crumble but omit the butter give this lemon blueberry crumb cake a go, it's made with olive oil and it's beyond amazing.
Give it a try if you haven't used olive oil in baking recipes. You won't regret it at all.
Lemon Olive Oil Bundt Cake
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 70 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 servings 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Super flavorful and moist, this is a wonderful bundt cake with simple flavors and the surprise ingredient olive oil that is amazing!
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups (280g) cake or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 eggs (at room t°)
- 1 ¼ cups (250g) sugar
- 1 cup (250ml) mild extra virgin olive oil
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the glaze:
- 1 ½ cups (240g) powdered sugar
- Lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350°F/180°C.
- Butter or spray a 10 cup (26cm) bundt cake pan and dust with fine dry breadcrumbs or flour, shaking off excess.
- In a large bowl beat eggs with sugar for 3-4 minutes, until foamy and light.
- Add oil in a stream while you keep beating (similar to homemade mayonnaise).
- Add zest and vanilla.
- I sift dry ingredients directly over batter, but you can do it separately.
- Add sifted dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) in 2 parts and mix until combined but don’t overmix.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.
- Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes and carefully unmold.
- Let cool completely.
For glaze:
- Mix sugar and juice until creamy and lump-free. It should have the consistency of thick honey.
- Pour over cooled cake and let drip down the sides.
Notes
Using olive oil instead of butter gives this cake a fabulous moist crumb and a rich flavor that complements perfectly the citrus. Use a mild extra virgin olive oil for the best results.
You can add a handful of chopped walnuts to the batter or use limes together with the lemon.
You can make 1 bundt cake or 2 medium loaf cakes.
Keywords: olive oil lemon cake
This cake is delicious! I followed directions exactly (with one very small tweak) - delicious flavor & crumb. I used the Pam for baking spray and the cake released beautifully. The lemon glaze was bright, flavorful and a fun and pretty way to amp up the lemon presence. My tweak was to microplane lemons to get the zest onto the granulated sugar and then rub it in to infuse the lemon oils into the sugar to distribute it evenly.
I had a specialty swirl bundt pan, and it baked very quickly (almost overbaked). If I use the same pan next time (and there will be a next time), I'll check progress a little earlier. Wonderful recipe and a real hit with us and our guests. Thanks!
★★★★★
Happy to read that you like it Beth! Yes, infusing sugar with zest is a great idea. As for baking times, all ovens and pans are different and it's always a good idea to check periodically. Have a great weekend!
I made this, and it came out well. I just have a couple of comments.
First off, bundt cake pans are NOT measured in inches--they're measured in cups. So when looking for a pan, the recipe called for a 10-11 inch pan, which was utterly confusing. I didn't know if I needed a 6 cup or a 10 cup or 12 cup. In the end, it's probably a 10 cup. I used a 12 cup bc I wasn't sure, but a 10 cup would suffice. Please, change the recipe so that it's correct! Very confusing!
Also, I thought the cake was good, but it was a tiny bit dry. I'm not sure if I'd add another egg to make a bit more moist next time, but I'll try that and see if it helps it. Other than that, it came out nicely. I adjusted the sugar level to only one cup for the glaze bc I thought it was going to be too sweet with 1.5 cups of sugar, and it worked out fine. Thanks very much for this recipe! It was fun to try something new!
★★★★
Can I use lemon juice in the cake batter for more flavor?
Yes Esther, you can, I suggest 2-3 tablespoons.
Hi is it possible to add lemon extract to the cake mix of this recipe to intense lemon taste?
Hi Sarah, yes, you can do that.
Make sure to beat eggs and sugar for at least 5 min! This cake came out light and fluffy. Not too sweet either. If you have lemon extract, that would make the flavor even stronger.
★★★★★
The bundt cake looks amazing! The crumb is so tender and smooth.