This citrus olive oil cake is my favorite cake in the whole wide world! Inspired by Maialino’s Olive Oil Cake, it’s insanely moist and tender, keeps well for a few days (if it lasts that long in your home!), and will turn any olive oil cake skeptic into a true believer.
When I say I love this olive oil cake, I’m not exaggerating. In fact, I used this exact recipe for my own wedding cake. So, it’s with complete confidence that I promise this cake will be a true crowd-pleaser!
Whether you make it for your next dinner party, family gathering, or just to have around the house, you really can’t go wrong.
What You’ll Need:
Go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then, gather your ingredients! You can find exact amounts in the recipe card below, but for this deliciously moist citrus olive oil cake, you’ll need:
High-quality extra virgin olive oil is an essential part of this cake’s flavor, so be sure to choose an oil you enjoy on its own.
Whole milk
Large eggs: these should be room temperature
The zest of an orange and a lemon
Fresh orange juice (you can substitute Grand Marnier, limoncello, or Orangecello if you prefer)
All-purpose flour
Sugar
Kosher salt
Baking soda and baking powder
How to Make this Citrus Olive Oil Cake:
This really is such an easy cake recipe. All you need is your ingredients, a couple of bowls, and a whisk to bring this batter together.
- First, I like to start by cracking all three of my large, room-temperature eggs into a medium mixing bowl and giving them a light whisk to break them up. Then, I whisk in the sugar.
- Now it’s time for this citrus olive oil cake’s magic ingredient: extra virgin olive oil! Slowly pour your olive oil into the mixing bowl, whisking as you go. Then, add your milk and orange juice (or citrus-flavored liqueur) and whisk some more. You might notice that the oil doesn’t quickly combine with your other wet ingredients, but don’t worry. Just keep whisking, and it will all come together beautifully.
- Finally, zest your orange and lemon into the wet ingredient mixture, whisk, and set that bowl aside for a moment. Let’s move on to those dry ingredients! In another large mixing bowl, combine your flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- After you’ve whisked your dry ingredients together, you’ll begin combining your wet ingredients with your dry ones. Slowly pour some of your wet mixture into your flour bowl, whisking as you go. Pause when you’ve added about half of the wet mixture and whisk thoroughly to break up any remaining clumps of flour. This will help give you that smooth, silky batter we’re looking for.
- Then, slowly pour in the remainder of your wet ingredients and whisk until combined.
- That’s it! Your citrus olive oil cake batter is ready to pour into a pre-greased cake pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes until the top of your cake is golden and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- After it has cooled for half an hour, run a knife around the edge of your cake pan, turn out the cake, and allow it to cool completely. Finally, top with a dusting of powdered sugar or a light glaze, and serve!
This moist, flavorful olive oil cake truly can’t be beaten! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. If you love this recipe, you can find more delicious, Italian-inspired recipes here. You can also visit my YouTube channel to see the full video tutorial for this recipe and more.
Until then, Buon Appetito!
This citrus olive oil cake is my favorite cake in the whole wide world! Inspired by Maialino’s Olive Oil Cake, it’s insanely moist and tender, keeps well for a few days (if it lasts that long in your home!), and will turn any olive oil cake skeptic into a true believer.
Citrus Olive Oil Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/4 cup good quality extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice limoncello or Grand Marnier
- Zest of one lemon or orange
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350° F. Generously spray a 9 inch round cake pan and set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and powder. In another bowl, whisk the olive oil, milk, eggs, zest and juice/liquor. Add the dry ingredients; whisk until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, until the top is golden and a cake tester comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and let cool for 30 minutes.
- Run a knife around the edge of the pan, invert the cake onto the rack and let cool completely, 2 hours.
Recipe Video
Tried this recipe?
Leave a comment below & tag @jessicarosetti on social!
It’s a very easy cake to whip in no time , it’s incredibly delicious, flavorful and supper moist . I used less sugar (1 cup) and cooked it in 40-45 min . I made two of this cake in one night. Thank you .
this cake is absolutely delicious!! I made a vanilla honey whipped cream and some candied orange peels to go on top, it was amazing. recipe is super easy to follow and makes a very fluffy yet dense cake. mine took closer to an hour and ten minutes to bake, and came out absolutely perfect. just go make it!!!