This Citrus Olive Oil Cake Recipe is a must-try. It's soft, light, fragrant, and full of flavor. It also goes by Mediterranean Olive Oil Cake or Orange and Lemon Zest Cake. Something is refreshing about this cake, that it isn't too sweet but still delicious. With with hints of lemon and orange citrus, rosemary, and a touch of olive oil, it hits a perfect balance that makes each bite feel a bit special.
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Why do you love this cake?
- The cake has a wonderfully light citrus flavor and a delicate, refreshing aroma. Even if you're not usually a fan of strong citrus, this one is a great choice as it's subtle and not at all overpowering.
- It has the right balance of citrus from the zest, spice of the rosemary, and just the right amount of sweetness.
- A great combination with your coffee or tea.
- It is very easy to make and needs just a handful of ingredients.
- Dusting with confectioner's sugar gives it the inviting bakery look.
- Like they say, "As long as you know how to bake, life is sweet," and "Happiness is having a self-baked cake.", had saved this recipe from a friend, and I have already made it many times thereafter. It comes out just perfect every time, and therefore, a fail-proof recipe.
Ingredients of the Citrus Olive Oil Cake Recipe
- All-purpose Flour, baking powder, and Salt
- Olive oil and vegetable oil can also be used
- Kitchen Staples: Milk, Eggs, Sugar
- Orange, Lemon (Zest used), and Rosemary
How to make Citrus Olive oil cake?
To make this cake, keep the zest of orange and lemon, and finely chopped rosemary, ready. Gently rub them with sugar, using your fingers. This brings out the fragrance and moisture in it.
Next, beat the fragrant sugar with three eggs till it turns pale yellow. Later, incorporate the milk and oil. Lastly, add the all-purpose flour whisked with baking powder and salt with a spatula.
You can dust with icing sugar after cooling or serve as is.
- Step 1: Gently rub the sugar with lemon and orange zest, along with the rosemary leaves, with your fingers
- Step 2: The sugar is well mixed and homogenous with a nice fragrance.
- Step 3: Beat the eggs and fragrant sugar from the previous step
- Step 4: When it turns pale yellow, add milk and oil and continue beating
- Step 5: Add the flour, whisked with baking powder and salt, to the batter and incorporate well. Transfer to a baking pan.
- Step 6: Bake at 350 deg for 35 minutes.
- Step 5: Cool the cake
- Step 6: Dust the confectioner's sugar and cut into slices, and enjoy!
Here's a similar recipe for Citrus Olive oil cake that I was inspired by, do check it out as well. If you love simple cakes like this, you may also enjoy the Vanilla Sponge Cake . Some other cakes to try: Tres Leches Cake, Strawberry Shortcake with whipped cream frosting, and White Layered Cake with whipped cream frosting.
Useful Tips
- Using oil instead of butter makes it a light cake. The original recipe uses olive oil. I substituted it with vegetable oil and did not find any significant difference.
- This can be had as a tea or coffee cake, or just by itself. It can also be served with strawberry compote and a drizzle of olive oil to taste even better.
- Use Eggs at room temperature so it is easier to beat and incorporate.
- You can get creative and dust it with molds on the cake, to get various shapes and make it look pretty.
Recipe FAQs
Do not overmix the batter; just mix until well incorporated. Overmixing can cause the batter to have more air, which rises rapidly and then falls. Ensure to have the right temperature while baking.
Oil is preferred in this cake for the light and soft texture but you can go with melted butter that is cooled instead of oil as well.
Related Recipes
If you tried this Citrus Olive Oil Cake Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and a 📝 comment below. I love hearing from you!
Citrus Olive Oil Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all purpose Flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 orange zest
- 1 lemon zest
- 7-8 rosemary leaves chopped finely
- ¼ cup milk
- ¾ cup olive oil or vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp confectioners sugar for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 deg .Line up the cake pan with parchment paper and spray it with oil.
- In a bowl ,combine all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt , whisk and keep it aside.
- Add sugar to a bowl. Add the zest of orange and lemon along with rosemary to the sugar.
- Slowly rub the contents with your fingers , until the sugar gets moist and fragrant.
- In a stand mixer, add three eggs and the sugar with the zest and beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes or until it turns pale yellow.
- Next add milk as it is beating and then add in the oil and mix well.
- Lastly , add all purpose flour that was set aside .Mix using a spatula until it is just about incorporated. Do not over mix.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake it at 350 deg F for 35 minutes. A wooden skewer should come out clean , when inserted in the cake.
- Cool on the cooling rack and cut into big slices. Dust with confectioners sugar if you like. Enjoy.
Notes
- Using oil instead of butter makes it a light cake. The original recipe uses olive oil. I substituted it with vegetable oil and did not find any significant difference.
- This can be had as a tea or coffee cake, or just by itself. It can also be served with strawberry compote and a drizzle of olive oil to taste even better.
- Use Eggs at room temperature so it is easier to beat and incorporate.
- You can get creative and dust it with molds on the cake to get various shapes and make it look pretty.
Cooking from scratch is always the best tasting food. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!
Very interesting cake combination, Nisha! citrus and olive oil cake is new to me and I would love to try the recipe. Cake looks so soft and spongy, cannot resist until the cake cools down. As always excellent click!
I would highly recommend baking this cake Aarthi , very simple, light and delicious . You are right , it's very difficult to wait until it cools down and tastes good warm as well. Thank you for the comments and glad you liked the pictures!
Nisha, we just made this for my husband's birthday and it is amazing! So moist, light, and full of citrus goodness. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
P.S. I noticed you have the baking soda and salt in the ingredients list, but in your instructions, those ingredients aren't mentioned in the steps. Just thought you might want to know. 🙂
Thank you, sweet friend, for all you do to bring happiness into all of our lives. Keep blogging. You're amazing! 🤗
That's so wonderful to know Holly , happy to hear you enjoyed it! You made my day , this is the best compliment one can ask for. Many Thanks for spotting the missing step of mixing the flour with baking powder and salt .I have corrected and updated the steps. Appreciate you letting me know about it . It's my absolute pleasure to share with my readers .Thanks again for your constant support and encouragement. Belated birthday wishes to your husband .Take care and gave a great week ahead!
You are so incredibly kind, Nisha. Thank you! 💚 Sending lots of love your way in hopes you and your family are well!
This looks amazing, Nisha! I can imagine the scent in the home as it is baking! Yum!
Thank you so much Sandhya, the citrus fragrance while baking is really out of the world, and a bakers delight 🙂
A cake for summer. Looks beautiful and I bet tastes like a lemony dream. xx
I agree it's a lovely summer cake and a little strawberry compote on the side would accentuate the flavors .It tastes heavenly indeed. Thank you so much for stopping by Dippy !
Your cake looks so yummy.😍 Happened to go through your blogs, and I don't regret. 🤗❤
Thank you for stopping by and comments .Happy to hear you enjoyed it .Please do visit again!
Sure!😊
Love olive oil cakes, they are so soft and light. Your cake looks perfect and yummy.
Thank you Neetha, they are very soft and light indeed !
You really are a master at being able to create delicious treats, as well as with great looks ! 🙂
Awww, you are too kind Anita ! Thank you so much for the appreciation and encouragement.
"A fail-proof recipe," ahhhh.... I really like the sounds of where this is going, Nisha! 😁 Seeing as how my skills are largely untested in the baking world, I just might need some of your fail-proof magic coming my way, because this cake looks absolutely delicious!! Citrus is a weakness of mine, especially when it marries the sweet and tangy together so nicely.
This line here filled me with more joy than you can imagine! : "The aroma of the cake while baking is awesome. It fills up your home with a nice citrus fragrance." -- Baking this cake would be worth that heavenly aroma alone! I can almost smell it right through this screen. 😉
I love your ideas of the different ways to 'jazz up' the recipe too. So thankful you shared this, my friend. I've shared with others in hopes they will come, enjoy and learn baking, all because of you! ♥
Thank you so much for your kind words Holly, always a pleasure reading your comments! It is just a matter of that first baking attempt and there is no looking back there after 🙂 Since this is a simple one and especially since you love citrus, it is definitely worth trying. Yes the aroma is out of the world. I would definitely love to hear how it turned out if you try. Thanks again for sharing this, truly appreciate it! .Have a wonderful weekend !
Nisha
Loved how you combined citrus with olive oil to bake this fabulous cake. It's awesome when people think out of the box and experiment with flavours. Awesome clicks again. Happy summer.
Glad you liked this Citrus cake Hasin. It has great flavors indeed. Thank you for the appreciation , I used my prime lens for the shots .You have a good one too!
That cake looks absolutely gorgeous, love the texture
Thank you so much Nisha! Glad you loved this cake .
Yum! I love the texture of olive oil cakes!
I agree Jennifer the texture of the Olive oil cake is simply awesome .Thank you so much !
Wow! The cake looks and sounds super tempting 😋😋
Wish I could grab a slice off the screen Nisha!
Thank you so much Smitha for the kind comments! It always vanishes in no time when I bake this , indeed very tempting. Sure more than happy do help yourself, sending it you virtually 🙂
Love such cakes. Citrus and olive oil pair so wonderfully together.
Citrus and olive oil is a great combination indeed.Great to hear that you love such cakes. Your posts on different variety of cakes are a great inspiration .Thank you so much for the comments!
Nisha, nothing is more satisfying than baking cake from the scratch. Citrus flavor is my weakness. That big slice looks so delicious 😋 😋
Yes totally agree baking can be a great therapy and creating something from scratch is very satisfying! Citrus flavor is my favorite these days as well.Thank you so much for the kind comments Deeksha!