Lemon Olive Oil Cake
Everyone needs a vibrant, light, fluffy, moist lemon cake recipe up their sleeves. Easter is coming up and it wouldn’t be complete for me without a beautiful, seasonal lemon cake. My Grandma Faye loved all things lemon so it was essential at our Easter Sunday dinner. Her recipe, albeit wonderful, uses a cake mix and I wanted to create one from scratch. You can’t beat homemade!
Back in the day when I was competing in recipe contests, I found a contest where the grand prize was a trip to Italy! It had been at the top of my bucket list for years. I went straight to the kitchen and went to work! It was for Bertolli olive oil and since I assumed most people would go the savory route, I went to dessert. I wanted to create an Italian Lemon Cake using olive oil, reminiscent of the Tuscany countryside.
The result was a melt-in-your-mouth lemon cake that was not only super tender, fluffy, and moist but had a heavenly fresh lemon flavor as well.
This Italian Lemon Olive Oil Cake is the perfect lemon cake.
The frosting can make or break a cake. So many of the frosting found on bakery cakes are overly sweet. This lemon vanilla cream cheese frosting uses butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and grated lemon zest.
This creamy, silky frosting is the most ideal accompaniment to this fabulous Italian Lemon Olive Oil Cake. A zester makes it much easier to remove only the best parts of the lemon.
This cake does call for olive oil and the wonderful thing is that you can use canola, vegetable, or coconut oil as well. I have made this cake many, many times and have used both canola oil and coconut oil with much success. You can even use coconut oil and top the cake with coconut flakes.
My favorite cake pan is this one from USA Pan Bakeware Round Cake Pan, 8 inch. My favorite tool to use to frost a cake is definitely this Wilton angled spatula.
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If you love cake, here are some of the most popular cake recipes:
- Love at First Sight Chocolate Cake
- Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting
- Orange Cake
- Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Lemon Olive Oil Cake
- Southern Caramel Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting
- Coconut Cake
- Vanilla White Texas Sheet Cake
- 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Canola Oil
- 3 Eggs
- 1 1/3 cup Whole Milk
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Zest
- 2 Cups Sugar
- 2 Cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Lemon Curd
- 1/2 cup Butter softened
- 1 - 8 ounce package Cream Cheese softened
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar may need 1/4 cup more depending on consistency
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Lemon Zest plus more for garnish
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla or Vanilla Beans optional
- Lemon Zest
- Blackberries
- Mint
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, add oil, eggs, whole milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Cream for 2 minutes. In large bowl, add sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir into egg mixture and fold. Spray two 9-inch or three 8-inch cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Place batter into baking pans. If using three 8-inch pans, bake for 20-26 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. If using two 9-inch pans, bake for 30-36 minutes. Cool.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl often. Add powdered sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and lemon zest and cream together. Chill.
- Remove cakes from pan. Spread frosting on top of one cooled cake layer. Place other cooled cake layer on top and spread frosting all over. Garnish with lemon zest and fresh blackberries.
- Optional: Spread lemon curd on first cake layer and then top with frosting.
- Let chill for 20-30 minutes to let the frosting set up.
I can’t wait to hear what you think of this Italian Lemon Olive Oil Cake. Find me on Instagram at @modern_honey.
Dear Mellissa,
This is the best lemon cake I’ve ever tasted! I had a piece at a fundraiser and found out who donated it. They very graciously gave me the recipe, although, with a cake this good, I thought they might not share it. The thing I loved most about the cake was the crispy top of the layers. She made three layers, so there was ample opportunity to experience that unexpected crunch. Is that caused from the oil sort of caramelizing as it bakes or do you think she added something? I read about half the comments and didn’t see any mention of a crunch.
Not the author of the recipe, but I wonder if the baker buttered her pans and then dusted with sugar rather than flour-gives a nice crunch like you describe-just have to unmold cake within 10-15 minutes so sugar doesn’t have a chance to stick to the pan!
ETA also possible they sprinkled top of layers with sugar before baking, since you describe crunch as being on top.
Has anyone tried making this in a 9×13 pan. I don’t have much luck frosting a two layered cake.
Can this be made in a 9X13?
Has anyone tried using lemon curd as filling?
yes…delicious.
I did and it was delightful. I’m not a big icing fan and prefer it in smaller quantities. The curd added a really nice softness to the flavour if that makes sense.
Made this as a rainbow swirl cake because I wanted something besides vanilla for my daughter’s birthday. It worked beautifully. It’s so moist even after being frozen and thawed! (I just put the cakes into gallon ziplocks to freeze/thaw)
My husband doesn’t like cream cheese in desserts (no, I’m not sure what’s wrong with him) so I did the cake with an Italian Merangue. A normal buttercream with some lemon made it taste like fruit loops (especially with the rainbow swirl, that’s all I could think about). The Italian Merangue was really good on it though.
Your beautiful cake was the highlight of my friend’s birthday brunch. Thank you so much. I am wondering if anyone has tried it making it with gluten-free flour and if so which one. Thanks again!
I will try with a gluten free flour. I used the best chocolate cake recipe on here with one and turned out absolutely amazing so I am hopeful this one as well! I used Orly’s Sydney blend in that one and will on this one too.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe! Made it last year for my son’s birthday and am about to make again for this year’s birthday. He requested lemon cake again. We all enjoyed eating the cupcakes, and I’m definitely looking forward to some more very soon! Thanks again
Hi:
My family loves “lemon poppy seed” cakes and muffins. How much poppy seed should I add? I am very excited to try this recipe😀😀😀
Please advise. Thank you very much,
Bunny
I can’t wait to make it. The picture looks so yummy. Can I make it in a 9 X 13 pan?
Hi, Do u use cake flour or all purpose flour?
I used cake flour and it was really good
How much cake flour did you use?
I plan on making this cake for Easter and want to make it on Saturday. Does this cake need to be refrigerated?
P.S. I made your Chocolate Cake and it was so delicious and received rave reviews and a recipe request!
Thank you for your awesome recipes!
This cake is absolutely yummy, and fun to make. Before I tried olive oil cake, I thought it sounded crazy, but gosh it’s delicious! I either got the wrong kind of lemons, or I need a better zester, because it was hard for me to get enough zest, but I managed it without too many grated knuckles. 😉 Thank you for this wonderful recipe, my family loved it for Easter dinner.
Hi. I dont have a big oven that can fit in 2 pans. Can I put all the batter into a 9’inch pan and bake, then only slice it into 2 before assembling it? Would that be possible?
I just made this cake, gluten free, and it came out Fabulous! I’m surprised I even though it was too sweet. Next time I’ll cut the cake sugar down to 1 cup. I made two 8″ cakes and cooked for 42 minutes in my convection oven. Since I didn’t notice it called for 3 8″ pans, I decided to cut my cakes in half so I had four layers. On the first layer I put just the lemon curd, the next layer frosting, the next layer curd and topped it off with frosting on the top and sides. Next time I won’t chill the frosting, it was too hard to work with so I had to bring it back to room temperature. Tis is a great recipe! I also used a jar of lemon juice from whole foods – organic fresh squeezed. The taste of the cake, frosting and curd cannot be beat.
My daughter requested a lemon cake for her birthday. I can only speak to the cake at this point and not the filling for frosting but the cake was great. I halved the recipe to try it before the party. It was an easy recipe to follow and it took around 40-45 min in the oven. A lot longer then I thought it would. But the cake is light and the lemon flavor really comes through. Highly recommend.
My friend asked for an olive oil cake for her 70th birthday party. I had never made an olive oil cake but found your recipe, read the many favorable reviews, and made it. So easy and so delicious! Everyone loved it! The birthday girl said it was the best cake she had ever had. A complete winner. People were fighting for the last piece. Thank you!
Can this cake be made in 6” tins 3 layers?
I made this cake on a whim and didn’t even ice it. It was eaten within 12 hours by the four of us in the house. So good! Will make again!
I made this cake for a work party recently. It was a HUGE hit. People were raving about it. It’s really a great recipe. The only thing I changed was that I did a lemon glaze over the cake instead of a frosting. One of my three stepsons also says this is his favorite cake that I make. And I make a lot of cakes. This is a keeper and I will be making it again.
Wow!! Just made this cake for my eldest daughter’s birthday. It was amazing!! Everyone loved it. I used lemon olive oil and it was truly one of the best cakes ever. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful recipes.
I prefer things less sweet so I only put in 1 1/3 cup of sugar and twice as much lemon juice and zest in the cake. Everyone loved it. I got four requests for the recipe and I included my variations. Th reports back were also positive. I am making it again today for m mother’s birthday.
Thank you so much! I think this was the best lemon cake I’ve ever had! I got so many compliments! But mine wasn’t as yellow as yours! Did I miss something? How do you get yours so yellow?
I made this today with a small square pan & 6 cupcake tin. Came out PERFECT & lemony. Used a light vanilla glaze instead of heavier icing. Will definitely use this recipe again.
I’ve made cupcakes from this recipe four times now. Always delicious. However, life in the times of coronavirus, I could not get flour from the grocery store, so my SHIPT shopper found a Duncan Hines white cake mix. Lo and behold it worked! I used a little less oil as I knew there was some oil solids in the mix. Anyway, we were able to have lemon-y Easter cupcakes.
I made this cake yesterday and had high hopes based on the reviews. The cake is so oily and tastes like oil because there is not enough lemon flavor that goes into it. I followed the recipe exactly and do not live in high humidity or altitude for the cake not to rise. The top is pretty gummy and the cake is very fragile. I’m glad other people have had success with it but I’m so disappointed.
Made this for Mother’s Day and it was absolutely perfect. I didn’t use any icing for the filing, rather just a thick layer of homemade lemon curd – it was divine. I used 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar and found it plenty sweet! I definitely will make this again! Thanks so much for this!
What a delightful cake. Made this for Mother’s Day. I used homemade lemon curd for the filling. I subbed cake flour for the AP flour and used one cup of organic cane sugar and one cup regular granulated sugar. It was amazing. I made everything a day in advance and it was fine. My only issue is I wish the frosting recipe made a little more frosting. It was so good! I’m glad I used the curd as filling otherwise I don’t think it would have been enough. I made two 9” cakes. So good. Thank you for a great recipe!
I followed the recipe exactly except I made a blueberry compote instead of lemon curd to put between the layers. Very good! The crumb on the cake was a bit dense but very moist. Even my kids,5 and 7, loved it and they usually shy away from anything that doesn’t look like birthday cake. The frosting recipe is to die for: I could eat it with a spoon.
Can’t wait to try this! Can I use a 9×13 pan?
I made this cake over the weekend and my family loved it, even my picky son. The cake was a refreshing change for us. I poked holes in the bottom layer and added lemon curd. Thank you for your amazing recipes.
This is my new favorite cake! It’s absolutely delicious.
We just made this cake using gluten-free flour and Rocky Mountain Olive Oil EVOO – super heavy polyphenol stuff – and it turned out awesome!
Love it! Sounds amazing. I haven’t tried this recipe with gluten-free flour yet so I love to hear that it turned out well. Thank you for taking the time to write a review — I appreciate it.
This cake was seriously good and I sure hope it won the olive oil contest! I did it with a layer of lemon curd in the middle and icing on the top and sides. I found an olive oil lemon curd recipe that worked well. Also the recipe doesn’t indicate what type of flour to use – I used all purpose. I don’t love icing sugar in icing so I used just 3 cups instead of 4. It was a softer icing but I didn’t mind as it makes it easier to control (I really just don’t love a lot of icing). Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I couldn’t sit down after serving it because people were already asking for seconds.
Thank you for sharing this recipe, I used 1.5 cups sugar, still it was quite sweet for us, next time planning to use 1.25 cups. Other than that, this cake was awesome.
Hey- wanted to make this cake while at a camp and have limited supplies. I forgot baking soda and all that is hear is bakers ammonia and baking powder. Any suggestions on how to still complete this cake with success?
Can I make this cake a 3 layer 6” round tins?
Hi been making your cake every week just because my family and I absolutely love this cake! If I’m making a big batch of this, do I just simply x2 everything? How would you approach it? Thanks!!
I was asked to use this recipe to make a wedding cake for my brother in law’s wedding. I have practiced making it a couple of times before the big day and it is amazing! I added lemon curd in between the layers and everyone that has tried this cake so far has loved it. The first time I made it, the cakes stuck to the pans, but the second time I used butter and flour and parchment paper and the cakes came out so easily and didn’t stick to the pan.
I love this cake! What adjustments should be made to make it in a bundt cake pan? One problem I have with your website, is that it jumps around a lot, and it is hard to stay on one recipe. I enjoy your recipes- but not the difficulty with using it. I am giving this feedback so that hopefully your website manager, or you, if that is the case, can look at this. Thanks so much!
This cake was really good,I made this cake over the weekend and my family loved it.Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Beautiful cake and very light. I did decreased the sugar to 1 1/2 cups and only used 1/2 the frosting. I will be making it again.
I made this in a 9×13 pan and baked for 40 minutes. I used only 1 cup of sugar based on some of the reviews. It was PERFECT! No filling or icing (trying to cut down sugar)… still perfect!
Thank you for this recipe- quick question
Do you use Meyer lemons?
My family and friends lovooove this cake. The first time I made it was last March for my daughters wedding in our home. We were 20 people and everyone raved about it. Since then it’s been requested for every occasion including our granddaughter’s first birthday this weekend. I use the lemon curd every time. The only modification I’ve made is when icing the cake I do a small ring of icing before adding the curd otherwise it can bleed through the icing on side of cake. My gf is making it using mini Bundt pans with curd in center hole topped with whipped cream, amd I’m using three 6 inch pans to make a tall version for my granddaughter. Always turns out delicious. Thank you for inventing this yummy recipe.