Olive Oil Cake
This Italian-inspired olive oil cake is impossibly moist, fragrant with citrus, and ready in under an hour. A stunning yet simple dessert that gets even better the next day.
The Cake That Converts Everyone Who Tries It
If you have never baked with olive oil before, this cake is going to surprise you in the best possible way. It comes out of the oven with a crackling, golden top, a crumb so moist it almost feels like it couldn't possibly be flourless, and a fragrance from the citrus zest that fills your entire kitchen. There is no creaming butter, no waiting for anything to come to room temperature for an hour. You whisk, you fold, you bake. That's it.
Olive oil cake has deep roots in Italian and Spanish baking traditions, where butter was historically scarce and olive oil was the fat of everyday life. The result was never a compromise. It became something more interesting: a cake with complexity, a gentle savory note beneath all that sweetness, and a texture that stays tender for days rather than going stale overnight.
This version leans into fresh citrus zest, both lemon and orange, which bloom into the batter and fill every single bite with brightness. It is elegant enough for a dinner party and simple enough for a Tuesday afternoon when you just need something good.
The quality of your olive oil genuinely shapes the flavor of this cake, and a good microplane zester makes getting every last bit of zest from your citrus effortless. These are the two tools and ingredients worth investing in before you start:
Tools & Ingredients We Recommend
What Makes This Cake So Incredibly Moist
Butter-based cakes are wonderful, but olive oil has a structural advantage: it stays liquid at room temperature. That means the fat never solidifies inside the crumb the way butter does when it cools, so the cake remains soft and plush from the moment it comes out of the oven until the last slice three days later.
The eggs and sugar are whisked together until pale before the oil is added, which builds a light emulsion and gives the cake just enough lift without needing a mixer. It is genuinely a one-bowl situation if you are willing to do two bowls, which is worth it for keeping the flour from getting overworked.
Chef's Tip: Do not skip zesting both a lemon and an orange. The combination of the two is what makes this cake taste layered and interesting rather than simply lemony. Orange zest adds a floral, rounded sweetness that lemon alone cannot replicate.
A Few Things to Know Before You Bake
On the olive oil: Use extra virgin. You will taste it. A mild, buttery variety is the most universally loved here, but if you enjoy that grassy, slightly peppery quality in a good olive oil, lean into it. It creates a grown-up, savory-sweet cake that pairs beautifully with a glass of wine.
On the pan: Dusting a greased pan with granulated sugar instead of flour is an old Italian baker's trick. It gives the outside of the cake a faint, barely-there crunch that is completely addictive.
On doneness: The cake should be a deep, confident golden brown on top, not pale. A toothpick should come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. If the top is browning faster than the center is setting, tent it loosely with foil and keep baking.
Ready to bake the most impressive simple cake you have ever made? Here is the full recipe:
Olive Oil Cake
This Italian-inspired olive oil cake is impossibly moist, fragrant with citrus, and ready in under an hour. A stunning yet simple dessert that gets even better the next day.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for dusting the pan
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, good quality, fruity variety preferred
- 3/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp lemon zest, from about 2 lemons
- 1 tsp orange zest, from about 1 orange
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract, pure, not imitation
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar, for dusting before serving
Instruction
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with olive oil, then dust it with granulated sugar, tapping out any excess.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a separate large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together vigorously for about 2 minutes until the mixture turns pale and slightly thickened.
Stream in the olive oil while whisking continuously, followed by the milk and vanilla extract. Whisk until fully combined and smooth.
Add the lemon zest and orange zest to the wet mixture and stir to incorporate.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold gently with a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix. A few small lumps are perfectly fine.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with your spatula.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Just before serving, dust generously with powdered sugar.
Equipment
- 9-inch round cake pan
- Two large mixing bowls
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- Microplane or zester
- Wire cooling rack
- Fine mesh sieve (for dusting powdered sugar)
Notes
Serving and Storing Your Olive Oil Cake
This cake needs very little to be extraordinary. A heavy dusting of powdered sugar and a few thin slices of fresh citrus on top is all you need for a presentation that looks intentional and beautiful.
For serving, consider these easy additions:
- Whipped cream with a tiny pinch of salt alongside each slice
- Fresh berries, especially raspberries or sliced strawberries in summer
- A drizzle of good honey over the top right before it hits the table
- A scoop of vanilla gelato for a proper Italian-inspired dessert
Because of the olive oil, this cake is naturally dairy-free if you swap the milk for oat milk or any other non-dairy alternative. It also happens to be a wonderful base for experimentation: try adding a teaspoon of fresh rosemary to the batter, a handful of toasted almond flour in place of some of the all-purpose flour, or a splash of Aperol with the citrus zest for a cocktail-hour twist.
However you serve it, do not be surprised when people ask for the recipe. It happens every single time.
