Even die-hard butter devotees can admit that olive oil makes exceptionally good cakes. And this dairy-free olive oil cake recipe has serious fans. One commenter proclaims: “This is the best dessert I have ever made, I can't stress enough how much everyone loves it—I could eat the entire cake.” Because olive oil is liquid at room temperature, it lends superior moisture to the crumb over time, meaning this cake improves as it sits on your counter for a few days—not that it will last that long, but it’s best to make it at least a day before serving.
Be choosy about your olive oil here. “You definitely want a [high-quality] olive oil with ‘extra-virgin’ on the label, but you don’t have to shell out for fancy-shmancy single-estate stuff,” explains Antara Sinha. Lemon juice and zest in the cake batter will help pick up on a good quality olive oil’s fruity notes (for an olive oil cake that’s extra lemony, try this one). To drive home the oil’s flavor, you’ll reserve 2 tablespoons worth to drizzle on top after the warm cake comes out of the oven.
This perfect little dessert needs little adornment, but if you’re making it for spring, spoon a pile of raspberries alongside and add a big dollop of whipped cream. In the fall, swap the berries out for plums.
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What you’ll need
9" Springform Pan
$17 At Amazon
Electric Mixer
$40 At Amazon
Get It Right Spatula
$13 At Amazon
Whisk
$10 At Amazon
Parchment Paper
$3 At Amazon
Recipe information
Total Time
1 hour 15 minutes (plus cooling)
Yield
8 servings
Ingredients
1¼
1
2
⅓
2
½
½
3
1
3
2
3
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 400°. Drizzle bottom and sides of a 9" springform pan (or a 9” round cake pan with sides at least 3” high) with extra-virgin olive oil and use your fingers to coat. Line bottom with a round of parchment paper and smooth to eliminate air bubbles; coat parchment with more extra-virgin olive oil. Generously sprinkle pan with sugar and tilt to coat in an even layer; tap out excess. Whisk 2 cups (250 g) cake flour, ⅓ cup (32 g) almond flour or meal or fine-grind cornmeal, 2 tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. baking soda, and ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. plus ⅛ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a medium bowl to combine and eliminate any lumps. Stir together 3 Tbsp. amaretto, Grand Marnier, sweet vermouth, or other liqueur, 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, and 2 tsp. vanilla extract in a small bowl.
Step 2
Using an electric mixer on high speed (use whisk attachment if working with a stand mixer), beat 3 large eggs, room temperature, 1 Tbsp. finely grated lemon zest, and 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (225 g) sugar in a large bowl until mixture is very light, thick, pale, and falls off the whisk or beaters in a slowly dissolving ribbon, about 3 minutes if using a stand mixer and about 5 minutes if using a hand mixer. With mixer still on high speed, gradually stream in 1¼ cups extra-virgin olive oil and beat until incorporated and mixture is even thicker. Reduce mixer speed to low and add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with wet ingredients in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold batter several times with a large rubber spatula, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of bowl. Scrape batter into prepared pan, smooth top, and sprinkle with more sugar.
Step 3
Place cake in oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 350°. Bake until top is golden brown, center is firm to the touch, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40–50 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack. Poke holes all over top of cake with a toothpick or skewer and drizzle with remaining 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil; let cake cool in pan 15 minutes.
Step 4
Run a thin knife around edges of cake and remove ring from pan. Slide cake onto rack and let cool completely. For the best flavor and texture, wrap cooled cake in plastic or place in an airtight container and let sit at room temperature at least a day before serving.
Do Ahead: Cake can be baked 4 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.
Editor’s note: This olive oil cake recipe was first printed in our November 2017 issue. Head this way for more of our best cake recipes →
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