Lemon Olive Oil Cake with a Soft Crumb

Set out olive oil, eggs, and lemons zested before you start Lemon Olive Oil Cake with a Soft Crumb. The batch is written for 12 Servings.

Count on 5 minutes of prep, 45 minutes of cooking, about 50 minutes from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

• ¾ cup olive oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 lemons zested
• 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• ¼ cup lemon juice ~2 lemons
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

How the cooking goes

1. Warm the oven to 350°F convection (with the fan) or 375°F conventional. You do find it bakes best using the convection setting, but if your oven doesn’t have that, don’t despair. Spray with non-stick cooking spray and line a 9-inch round cake pan with a baking paper circle. You trace an outline of the cake pan on the baking paper and then cut out a circle inside the sharpie marks.
2. Zest the lemon into sugar, rub it in gently to begin releasing the oils, and allow to sit while scaling remaining ingredients. You can do this up to a week in advance and store it in the refrigerator.
3. In a medium bowl whisk together baking powder, baking soda, salt and all-purpose flour; keep it to one side.
4. In a mixing bowl whisk together the olive oil, eggs, sugar with the zest, lemon juice and milk.
5. Beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until very few lumps remain. The batter is loose, so you find a whisk to be the best tool.
6. Tip into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven, 30-45 minutes or until the surface is deep gold and the center springs back when pressed lightly. It is essential that it is fully baked or it will fall in the center. This cake is so moist that it is a bit delicate before the crumb sets while baking, so you do not open the oven door for the first 30 minutes. A cake tester, bamboo skewer or metal cake tester should come out clean.
7. Allow to cool 10 minutes before turning out of the pan to cool until it is no longer warm on a wire rack. You just cool mine upside down but you can flip it using a second wire cooling rack. You do not recommend trying to move the cake while hot.
8. Serve warm or ambient temperature.

After it comes off the heat

Let the pan settle before you slice, so the crumb stays together. Cover leftovers once they are cool.

If you want another plate from Cakes, open Carrot Cake with a Soft Crumb and Lemon Pound Cake Baked Until the Center Springs Back.