🍋🥚💛 This Lemon Olive Oil Cake is my new FAVORITE lemon dessert of all time! Lemon zest, juice, extract, and Limoncello add so much AMAZING lemon flavor to this EASY, ridiculously moist no-mixer cake that’s unique and INCREDIBLE!
Saying this dessert is my new favorite is a huge statement, because my Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf with hundreds of glowing reviews is very hard to beat. However, easy, made in one bowl with no mixer, this cake quickly took the throne.
The olive oil lemon cake itself is not overly sweet, which I appreciated since it’s rich from the olive oil. An excellent cake for holiday parties and events, it’s unique and different in the best possible way.
It would also be the perfect cake to serve after a fancier dinner party with equally rich or luxurious food. I liken olive oil cake to cakes served in fancy restaurants. They are never sugar bombs – even the chocolate ones. They are more refined and tend to have unique flavor pairings that you don’t encounter often.
I have made this cake many times. It is loved by all and requested quite often. A favorite in our house. Just like my Italian grandmother used to make. I do use gluten free flour (due to an allergy) and it turns out perfect every time. Thanks for the recipe
Paula
Ingredients in Lemon Olive Oil Cake
Below are a few notes regarding some of the key ingredients. Please be sure to scroll down to the recipe card below for the complete details!
- Extra virgin olive oil – Do NOT substitute any other oil for this recipe. I used Trader Joe’s Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil. While I’m sure the flavor of the cake will change depending on the exact brand and type of oil used, I recommend a quality extra-virgin olive oil here. Something you’d dip bread in, cook chicken in, or use in a homemade salad dressing. If you use a cheap olive oil, it will have a stronger, harsher flavor that will negatively affect the cake
- Large eggs – Let them come to room temperature for easy mixing
- Whole milk – I prefer whole milk for the richest flavor and a tender crumb, but I’m sure any regular or non-dairy milk will work
- Lemon – I use freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest, and lemon extract for a bold, delicious citrus flavor
- Limoncello (store-bought or homemade) – I realize you may not want to buy a bottle of Limoncello just for this recipe, and you can substitute an orange-flavored liqueur like Gran Marnier. Or, you can make your own limoncello, but it needs 2 to 6 weeks before it can be enjoyed
- All-purpose flour – I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, but readers have and have reported that it turns out great
- Confectioners’ sugar – I use this as the final finishing touch
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make the BEST Lemon Olive Oil Cake Recipe
This recipe for Italian lemon cake with olive oil is incredibly easy to make! Here’s a look at how it comes together:Â
- Simply whisk together the wet ingredients, then add in the dry.
- Turn the batter into a greased and parchment-lined 9-inch springform pan.
- Bake the limoncello cake until golden brown and domed in the center.Â
- The cake needs to cool for 1 hour in the pan, then you can release it and let it finish cooling on a wire rack.
- Dust with confectioner’s sugar just before serving.Â
A note about the bake time: This limoncello cake bakes in a fairly cool oven for a long duration, low and slow. Start checking your cake at 60 minutes, but due to oven and climate variances it could take as long as 75 minutes or so to bake; watch you cake and not the clock.
Love Olive Oil Desserts?
After making this Italian lemon olive oil cake, try making my orange olive oil cake and olive oil chocolate chip cookies next!
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! Not every cake recipe is suitable for using olive oil (rather than canola or vegetable oil), but this Italian cake is perfect with olive oil!
If you’ve never tried baking with olive oil, you’re missing out! I have always preferred oil in cake rather than butter. Oil is 100% fat whereas butter is about 80% fat. That extra 20% of fat simply keeps oil-based cakes softer and moister than butter cakes. You can’t argue with science.
Olive oil cakes are supremely soft, tender, and exceedingly moist without being too heavy or dense. You can literally almost see the moistness oozing from the cake, but it doesn’t taste greasy and it stays moist for days. The cake is just as good a week later as it is on the first day which never happens with cakes, and it’s even more moist.
What I tasted more than anything was the lovely lemon flavor without being too tart or overpowering. The cake has lemon incorporated four ways: lemon zest, lemon juice, Limoncello liqueur, and lemon extract.Â
You only use 1/4 cup of limoncello in the entire cake, which doesn’t sound like much but it’s also something I wouldn’t skip. It adds a luxurious flavor that’s so elegant tasting.
If you don’t drink alcohol for whatever the reason, I cannot say how the cake will taste or turn out if you, for example, just use 1/4 cup water in its place or use an extra 1/4 cup lemon juice — that worries me more because of the extra acidity in the lemon juice coupled with the baking soda/powder and I’m not sure what will happen.
My thoughts are that during baking, the potency of the actual alcohol bakes off and what you’re left with is simply the flavor. Again, it’s only 1/4 cup divided between a cake that will easily feed 12 so each person is maybe getting 1/2 teaspoon. Cough syrup has more.
Yes! Do NOT make this cake in a regular 9-inch cake pan. Most are only about 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep and this cake rises to about 2 1/2 to 3 inches on the sides and nearly 4 inches in the center. It will overflow in a regular 9-inch pan.
Recipe Video
Lemon Olive Oil Cake
Equipment
- 1 (9-inch) Springform Pan
- 1 Wire Rack
Ingredients
- 1 â…“ cups extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ÂĽ cups whole milk
- 1 ½ tablespoons grated lemon zest
- ÂĽ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ÂĽ cup Limoncello, Gran Marnier may be substituted
- 1 to 2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 1 Âľ cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F, add a circle of parchment paper to the base of a 9-inch springform pan, and spray the parchment paper and the sides of the pan very well with cooking spray; set aside. Do not make this cake in a regular 9-inch cake pan. Most are only about 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep and this cake rises to about 2 1/2 to 3 inches on the sides and nearly 4 inches in the center. It will overflow in a regular 9-inch pan.
- To a large bowl, add the olive oil, eggs, and whisk well to emulsify and incorporate.
- Add the milk, lemon zest, lemon juice (I was able to get sufficient zest and juice from one very large ripe lemon), Limoncello, lemon extract, and whisk to incorporate.
- Add the sugar and whisk to incorporate.
- Add the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and whisk until just incorporated; don’t overmix. The batter in on the thin side; this is normal.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, place pan on a baking sheet as insurance against a leaky springform pan, and bake for about 68 to 75 minutes. Start checking after 60 minutes since all ovens vary. Cake will be golden browned and domed in the center when done, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow cake to cool in the springform pan for about 1 hour before releasing it and allowing the cake to finish cooling on a wire rack.
- Dust with confectioners’ sugar prior to serving. Cake will keep airtight at room temp for 1 week and although I haven’t tried it, I think this cake would freeze very well for up to 3 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Lemon Desserts:Â
The Best Lemon Loaf (Better-Than-Starbucks Copycat) – Took years but I finally recreated it! Easy, no mixer, no cake mix, dangerously good, and SPOT ON!
Lemon Lemonies – Like brownies, but made with lemon and white chocolate! Dense, chewy, not cakey and packed with big, bold lemon flavor!
Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze – An easy little cake with big lemon flavor! Soft, fluffy, and foolproof if you like puckering up!
Lemon Crinkle Cookies — Lemon crinkles are pillowy soft on the inside and chewy on the outside, with slightly crispy edges from the powdered sugar coating!Â
Soft and Chewy Lemon Cookies – Packed with big, bold lemon flavor for all you lemon lovers! They’re soft, chewy and not at all cakey!Â
Softbatch Glazed Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies – Big, bold lemon flavor packed into super soft cookies thanks to the cream cheese! Tangy-sweet perfection! Lemon lovers are going to adore these easy cookies!
Originally published December 27, 2019 and republished February 18, 2022 with updated text.
I have made a this cake twice to rave reviews! It’s s easy, but somehow so elegant. I soaked some frozen raspberries in a little liqueur and served them over the cake….perfect~
Thanks for the five star review Nancy and I love hearing that you’ve made it twice and has gotten rave reviews! I completely agree with you that it’s very easy, yet somehow feels so elegant. This is a great dinner party or entertaining cake, especially for the hostess because it’s so simple to make! Your raspberries in liqueur sound like an amazing touch!
I used this recipe for a wedding cake. Split 1 recipe into an 8in (39% of batter) and 10in (61% of batter) for perfectly even layers and then repeat for how many layers you want. I cooked in aluminum pans with oil and parchment paper on bottom and they came out perfect, no sticking. Super moist even if you have to refrigerate. I did have to bump up the lemon though, couldn’t taste it very much against raspberry filling so doubled that and added a thin layer of lemon curd under the raspberry. Great recipe.
Wow thank you for sharing that you made this as a layered wedding cake and the raspberry filling with lemon curd sounds incredible! I love your precision with the 39/61% division of batter between 8 and 10-inch pans. Thanks for adding a photo! Lucky bride and groom to have had this as their wedding cake! Amazing job!
hello. I, too, want to split 1 recipe into 2 8″ round metal pans. How long did you bake the 8″ pans for? Thank you
Rose there is not enough batter from a 9-inch cake to then fill TWO pans that are 8-inch each.
Your choices as I see it are to either double the recipe and fill the two 8inch pans appropriately and then discard excess batter because you’ll have some.
OR
Make the recipe as is, fill one 8inch pan, and still discard a bit of batter.
Hi Rose, I baked it for about 30-35 minutes…I had to watch it for my test run to see how long it would take. it doesn’t brown very much with the aluminum pans but the center was cooked through with the toothpick test. when I split between the 8 and 10 inch pan the 10 inch had to cook for a bit longer after the 8 inch came out. I imagine you’ll need to go a bit longer because if you split between 8 inch pans there will be more batter in each pan compared to my ratio with the 10 inch.
thank you! I was sure I could do it.I have been baking for 55 years
I used this recipe for a wedding cake. Split 1 recipe into an 8in (39% of batter) and 10in (61% of batter) for perfectly even layers and then repeat for how many layers you want. I cooked in aluminum pans with oil and parchment paper on bottom and they came out perfect, no sticking. Super moist even if you have to refrigerate. I did have to bump up the lemon though, couldn’t taste it very much against raspberry filling so doubled that and added a thin layer of lemon curd under the raspberry. Great recipe.
I have made this cake many times. It is loved by all and requested quite often. A favorite in our house. Just like my Italian grandmother used to make. I do use gluten free flour (due to an allergy) and it turns out perfect every time. Thanks for the recipe
Thanks for the 5 star review, Paula, and it’s wonderful for me to hear that it turns out just like your Italian grandmother’s cake did. That is such high praise and I love it! Also good to know that it comes out great for you with GF flour.
I started making this one from Averie about three years ago after trying my first olive oil cake in Sorrento. Not only is this recipe super easy, but the cake is delicious. I am definitely not a baker, but my friends who are workd class bakers were blown away by this when I served it.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Terri, and I’m so glad to hear that you love this cake and that world class baker friends of yours are very impressed by it!
Absolutely delicious! I have made this several times exactLy as written, always gets rave reviews and recipe requests.
I was wondering if I could make an almond version substituting amaretto and almond extract?
Thanks for the 5 star review, Sherri, and so great to hear this always gets rave reviews!
And yes I’m sure that you could use amaretto and almond extract. I have this version https://www.averiecooks.com/olive-oil-orange-cake/ that uses Gran Marnier so yes you can switch up the alcohol and flavoring. Let me know how it goes if you try it with amaretto!
Hi! For this recipe, can you make the batter the night before and put it in the fridge overnight? If yes, in the morning before baking it would you allow it to get to room temp first, or bake it straight from the fridge? Thank you in advance!
No, you cannot do that with cake batter. Cakes because of either baking soda or baking powder need to be made, then baked, right away.
Hi! Do you think it’d be ok to make the batter the night before and keep it in the fridge, baking it in the morning? If yes, do you suggest letting it get to room temp before baking or think it’s ok to bake straight out of the fridge? Thank you
Great cake and everyone loved how lemony and moist it was. I cut the sugar to 1cup, increased the lemon extract and fresh lemon juice for added zing. Thank you for the recipe, definitely will bake again!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad this was a winner and that you will definitely bake it again! It’s such a moist and very lemony cake and glad everyone loved that!
Extremely good cake!!!
So easy.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Donna, and I am glad it’s extremely good and easy for you to make!
Can you convert it to grams for me as I am in the uk, thank you Andrea.
I suggest a trusted baking brand’s conversion tables such as this https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart to help you work out the conversions.