Lemon Olive Oil Cake

My lemon olive oil cake is super moist, light, and full of tangy, sweet lemon flavor! It needs just 7 ingredients and needs little prep time.

Love simple cake recipes? Try my almond flour cake, orange cake, lemon blueberry cake, and coconut cake next.

Have you ever used olive oil to bake cakes? It’s one of my favorite ways to swap out butter and gives cakes a light and moist texture. My lemon olive oil cake recipe is one I make throughout the year or when I have an abundance of lemons to use up!

Table of Contents

1. Why I love this recipe
2. Ingredients Needed
3. How to make lemon olive oil cake
4. Arman’s recipe tips
5. Storage instructions
6. Frequently asked questions
7. More lemon desserts to try
8. Lemon Olive Oil Cake (Recipe Card)

Why I love this recipe

• Super easy. All you need to do is beat eggs with sugar, add the remaining ingredients, combine, and bake. Easy peasy!
• Perfect texture. While the cake itself is moist and soft in the middle, it has a light crumb which makes it that much moreish.
• No olive oil flavor. I promise you, this does not taste anything like olives or the oil.
• Perfect for any occasion. This cake fits just right in a fancy dinner party, a family gathering, or a brunch.

Ingredients Needed

• Eggs. Please use room temperature eggs as it makes all the difference when combining the ingredients. Unlike other lemon cakes, you won’t need to separate the egg whites from the egg yolks.
• Baking powder. Helps to make the cake fluffy and gives it some rice.
• Confectioners’s sugar. If your sugar has clumps, I suggest sifting it first.
• All-purpose flour. I tested this cake with gluten-free flour and wholewheat flour and didn’t love the texture.
• Milk. Whole milk, non-fat milk, or plant based alternatives.
• Olive oil. The signature ingredient! Either light or standard olive oil works, but please do me a favor- use the BEST quality olive oil you can find!
• Lemons. Fresh lemons, please!
• Salt. Just a pinch to balance out the other ingredients.
• Vanilla extract. Optional, but if you like cakes with a subtle vanilla note. I typically omit it for this specific cake.

How to make lemon olive oil cake

I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Arman’s recipe tips

• Avoid overmixing cake batter. Too much mixing after adding flour will result in a chewy and dense cake. Once combined, pour it into the cake tin and bake it immediately.  
• Let the cake cook down. Don’t cut into the cake right after it is out of the oven; wait for 10-15 minutes. Remove the cake from the tin, transfer it to a cooling rack, and allow it to cool down. Only then cut into it. Remember that it is too fragile to handle when hot.
• Avoid opening the oven during baking. Let your cake bake undisturbed for a full 35 minutes. Trust me, you don’t want a sunken cake.
• Use other citrus. Swap out the lemon for orange, limes, or grapefruit.
• Add flavor boosters like almond extract, or add a lemon glaze using a mix of lemon juice and maple syrup.

Storage instructions

To store. Leftovers will keep well at room temperature for 3 days or in the fridge for up to one week.

To freeze. Place slices of the cake in a shallow container and store in the freezer for up to two months.

Frequently asked questions

More lemon desserts to try

• No bake lemon cheesecake
• Healthy lemon bars
• Lemon loaf
• Lemon mousse
• Lemon poppy seed cake

Originally published June 2023, updated and republished July 2024