Olive Oil Cake
An Italian-style cake with olive oil and orange zest, with a soft, fragrant crumb and a crackled, sugared top, baked for 40 minutes.
Photograph credit: Lemon olive oil cake - 3300260329 by stu_spivack · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Make Ahead and Storage
Keeps in an airtight container for 5 days.
Olive Oil Cake: The Method
Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.
-
Heat the oven to 170°C / 340°F. Grease and line a 23 cm springform tin.
-
Whisk the eggs and caster sugar for 3 minutes until pale and thick. Stream in the olive oil while whisking.
-
Whisk in the milk, orange zest and juice. Fold in the flour, baking powder and salt until just combined.
-
Pour into the tin and sprinkle with the coarse sugar.
-
Bake for 40 minutes until deep gold and a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes.
Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Pan and tin size.
Something wrong or unclear in this recipe? Report a problem with this recipe.
A Few Pointers
- Use a mild, fruity olive oil.
- Stream the oil in slowly.
- Sprinkle coarse sugar on top for the crust.
Behind the Recipe
What does an olive oil cake taste like? Not of olives, if the oil is a good, mild extra virgin: the flavour is fruity and faintly peppery in the background, and mostly shows up as a deep, moist, tender crumb. Olive oil does a better job of keeping a cake soft than butter, since it stays liquid at room temperature.
The cake is among the simplest in the Italian repertoire, made with a single bowl and a whisk. Beat the eggs and sugar until pale and thick, about 3 minutes, then stream in the oil as though you were making mayonnaise. This emulsifies the oil into the egg mixture and gives a fine, even crumb. Add the orange zest and juice, then fold in the dry ingredients.
Choose the oil with care. A harsh, grassy oil can taste bitter in a cake. Pick a mild, fruity one, and use the same you would for a salad. Taste a drop before you use it; if you would not eat it on bread, do not bake with it.
Sprinkle the top with coarse sugar before baking so that it forms a thin, crackly crust. The cake is done when a skewer comes out clean and the top is deep gold. It keeps beautifully, and is better the next day. Serve with berries, whipped cream or a spoonful of mascarpone.
Serving Ideas
Fresh berries · Mascarpone · Espresso · Dessert wine
Questions About Olive Oil Cake
How long does Olive Oil Cake take to make?
15 minutes of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking, plus 15 minutes of cooling, so allow 1 hour 10 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 10.
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
You Might Also Like
More Italian cooking and baking ideas from Weekly Delight.
Italian Lemon Cake
A moist olive oil and yoghurt cake with lemon zest, soaked in a light lemon syrup while still warm.
Hazelnut Chocolate Cake
A rich, almost flourless Italian-style cake of dark chocolate, butter and ground hazelnuts.
Amaretti Morbidi
Soft almond biscuits, cracked across the top and chewy in the middle. Four ingredients, no flour, and better after a…
Ladyfingers
Light, dry, crisp sponge fingers piped from a whisked egg batter and dusted with icing sugar. The savoiardi for…
Pizzelle
Thin anise waffle wafers pressed in a patterned iron, crisp enough to snap. Abruzzo has made them since the eighth…
Torta al Limone
A moist Italian lemon cake made with olive oil and yoghurt, baked for 45 minutes and finished with a sharp lemon…