This week I came across a picture of a beautifully simple cake— Lemon Olive Oil cake— that sounded intriguing and looked just wonderful. I set myself off to find a recipe for it because I have never had a cake with olive oil in it. There are tons of recipes online. But as I read, some recipes seemed to be missing something while others had too much (hello, a whole stick of butter! Yikes!), so I decided to improvise and take a bit of what I liked from the top three, and take a leap of faith. If you are like me and are a stickler for following recipes by the book, this can be nerve racking. But still, I went for it… and so happy I did!

I immediately thought of this cake for Easter brunch with a dusting of sugar powder and maybe some berries as decoration. The flavors just sound like a wonderful celebration of spring and summer. And I have to tell you, this 🍋 Lemon Olive Oil cake 🍋 is amazing! It is simple and light, yet tastes decadent. There is a richness to it that is not overpowering, so it gives it more heft than a regular crumbly yellow cake. I also think this is a cake that can be tailored to various flavors— lemon and raspberry, lemon and rosemary, or completely change the flavor profile by substituting lemon juice and zest with oranges or kumquats.

Regardless, eating a slice of this cake was pure heaven and imagined myself eating it somewhere else. Does that ever happened to you? Ever since I watched Under the Tuscan Sun, I associate lemons with that movie. I taste lemons and it immediately makes me think of Positano and the scene where Francesca is tasting homemade limoncello with Marcello. Isn’t it amazing the things we associate with different flavors? :) Have a wonderful week, friends!

You will need:

• 1 1/2 cups cake flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 1/2 tbsp lemon zest. I used Meyer lemons because they are in season and just adore them.

• 3 large eggs room at temperature

• 1/2 cup lemon olive oil (I used Trader Joe’s Lemon infused olive oil) or a fruity olive oil like those made with Arbequina olives.

• 2 tbs melted butter

• 1/3 cup lemon juice

• 1 cup buttermilk

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF. Prepare a 9-in round cake pan. I put parchment paper on the bottom for even back and so it does not stick since you will flip the cake upside down.

• In one bowl add all the dry ingredients except sugar. A mix to combine.

• In a separate bowl combined the sugar and lemon zest. Use your fingers to work the zest into the sugar to release the oils. Then add the eggs and whisk until combined. Slowly whisk in the oil, butter, lemon juice and buttermilk.

• Add wet mix to dry mix. Whisk until combined and the batter is smooth.

• Add batter to prepared pan and bake for 40mins or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool and flip over. Then serve with a dusting of sugar or a big dollop of whipped cream. Enjoy!

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