A moist, tender Lemon Olive Oil Cake recipe that will leave you amazed! This easy cake is flavored with lemon zest and lemon juice and is mixed in one bowl with a whisk!
Preheat the oven to 350°F convection (with the fan) or 375°F conventional. I do find it bakes best using the convection setting, but if your oven doesn’t have that, don’t despair. Spray with non-stick cooking spray and line a 9-inch round cake pan with a parchment paper circle. I trace an outline of my cake pan on the parchment paper and then cut out a circle inside my sharpie marks.
Zest the lemon into sugar, rub it in gently to begin releasing the oils, and allow to sit while scaling remaining ingredients. You can do this up to a week in advance and store it in the refrigerator.
In a medium bowl whisk together baking powder, baking soda, salt and all-purpose flour; set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the olive oil, eggs, sugar with the zest, lemon juice and milk.
Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until very few lumps remain. The batter is loose, so I find a whisk to be the best tool.
Pour into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven, 30-45 minutes or until golden brown and the center springs back when pressed lightly. It is essential that it is fully baked or it will fall in the center. This cake is so moist that it is a bit delicate before the crumb sets while baking, so I do not open the oven door for the first 30 minutes. A toothpick, bamboo skewer or metal cake tester should come out clean.
Allow to cool 10 minutes before turning out of the pan to cool completely on a wire rack. I just cool mine upside down but you can flip it using a second wire cooling rack. I do not recommend trying to move the cake while hot.
Serve warm or room temperature.
Notes
Yield – 1, 9-inch round cake Presentation – Be sure to bake it fully or it will sink in the middle. If it is 95% baked, this isn’t catastrophic, it just won’t look as perfect. It is only the very top part of the center that bakes last. Flavor Tips – Zest the lemon into the sugar ahead of time for the best flavor. Variations – Use orange zest and juice instead or omit the lemon zest and use 2/3 +1/4 cup milk in place of the milk and lemon juice. Storage – Store olive oil cake well wrapped at room temperature for a week or store in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can store it in the refrigerator for a week but it will dry out after that.