Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake

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Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake is a simple, delicate cake with hints of sweet citrus and olive oil. The olive oil makes the whipped batter moist and fluffy. It takes less than an hour to make and calls for simple pantry ingredients and fresh Meyer lemons. A cloud-like slice of olive oil cake goes perfectly with a hot cup of coffee or tea for breakfast or dessert.

What are Meyer Lemons?

One thing I love about my home state of California is that citrus season is basically year round! Citrus brightens any dish and the aroma is sweet and delightful. While I love all citrus, one of my favorite citrus fruits is Meyer lemon. Meyer lemons are a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange, making for a sweeter version of a regular lemon.

Meyer lemons are perfect for salad dressings, lemon bars, Roasted Chicken with Meyer Lemon, and all types of desserts. I especially love Meyer lemons in my airy, citrusy Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake. It adds just the right amount of sweetness and tartness to this special dessert.

The Perfect “Anytime” Cake

Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake is a perfect light and airy treat for brunch, tea time, snack, or dessert! The hints of Meyer Lemon and powdered sugar are made for a cup of earl grey tea or an espresso. The Meyer lemon sweetens the cake, calling for less sugar compared to a traditional cake. The olive oil makes the cake perfectly moist and light, so you’ll definitely want more than one slice.

Your kitchen will smell like an absolute dream when you pop a Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake in the oven and your guests will love you for it. Although it’s such an easy dessert to make, the velvety consistency of the cake makes it a showstopper when entertaining. When the combination of the fresh lemony scent and sugar fills your house, you will fall in love with this cake!

The Importance of Quality Ingredients

Like every Italian household, I always have good olive oil on hand. I use it in everything that needs to be cooked or needs a healthy fat, including 5-Minute Kale Walnut Pesto, Healthy Penne alla Vodka, and Maple Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta. You will find olive oil in almost all of my recipes because it adds great flavor, just the right amount of fat, and is overall very good for you.

Higher quality olive oil makes all the difference in the taste of your food. Just like most ingredients, when olive oil is produced by mills with careful supply chains and small batches, you can truly taste the difference in quality. When I worked for Williams-Sonoma, I quickly learned that not all olive oil is the same and it pays to be selective with your olive oil since it’s an everyday ingredient. Some of my favorite olive oils include Colavita, Brightland, and Olio Santo.

Plus, you can store your olive oil in a cute cruet, like these: Tablecraft Olive Oil Cruet, 2-Piece Oil & Vinegar Cruet Set, Godinger Oil and Vinegar Cruet Set, Farmhouse Olive Oil Cruet on Food52.

How to Make Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients, including flour, baking sofa, baking powder, and salt. Set these ingredients to the side to be incorporated later.

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your electric mixer, add eggs and sugar. Whip the eggs and sugar on high until they turn light and fluffy. This is what will create a fluffy texture in your final product. Then, slowly add in the olive oil and whip the batter for another 2 minutes.

Once the wet ingredients are mixed, turn the setting down to low and slowly add in half the flour mixture, and whisk for about 30 seconds. Now it’s time to add the citrus! Add the lemon juice, zest, vanilla, and the remaining flour mixture and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute. Be careful to not over-mix the batter!

In a greased and floured round 9″ cake pan, carefully pour the batter. Bang the cake pan on the counter a couple times to remove the air bubbles. Then, place the oven and bake for 40 minutes, or until the top of golden and the cake test comes out clean.

Remove the cake pan from the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Then, remove the cake from the pan and let it completely cool on a wire rack. Once completely cooled, dust powdered sugar on top, and slice into wedges.

If you don’t have Meyer lemons, it’s not a problem! You can use regular lemons and add a couple more tablespoons of granulated sugar to sweeten them up a bit. If you have mandarin oranges available, use equal parts mandarin orange juice and lemon juice instead too.

How to Store Olive Oil Cake

Meyer Lemon olive oil cake is moist and can last up to 4 days covered at room temperature. Whenever I bake this cake, I store it in my favorite marble and glass cloche. The cake looks so pretty on the marble and stays fresh and delicious until the last crumb!

Did You Love This Recipe?

If you loved this recipe, please rate and comment below to tell me! For more recipes like Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake, check out these delicious tea time desserts:

• Fig Tart with Lemon and Honey Mascarpone
• White Peach & Rainier Cherry Galette
• Carrot Cake with Chai Spiced Frosting
• Temptation Coffee Cake

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