Lemon Olive Oil Cake

My friend Domenica once served a beautiful orange cake for my birthday. It was beautifully moist, with an orange syrup drizzle over the top. “The best thing about this cake,” she said, “is that you can make it a day ahead.” Now, that’s my kind of cake. The type of cake that gives you time to make other things without stressing you out.

I use a lot of lemons, and I keep them in the fridge, once they’ve been juiced and zested, to make cordial. This week, I boiled and blended them to make a puree for this cake. The lemon olive oil cake tastes delicious, just as it is, or dusted with icing sugar. But it you want to make it look bit special, you can decorate it with thin slices of lemons cooked in a sugar syrup. I’d recommend popping out the pips before  cooking the lemon as they’re tricky to push out afterwards.

If you have leftover lemon puree, you might like to make lemon labneh https://atamandastable.com.au/lemon-labneh/, or mix it with with garlic and olive to smear over chicken thighs.

Best wishes,

Amanda

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Print Recipe

Lemon Olive Oil Cake

a moist and tangy cake with a lemon syrup glaze which can be made a day ahead

Servings: 8 people

Author: Amanda Lawson

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 250 g raw sugar
• 200 g plain flour
• 100 g almond meal blitz raw almonds in the blender to make your own
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 100 g olive oil
• 100 g Greek yoghurt
• 300 g pureed lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Lemon Puree

• 2 lemons
• 4 cups water

Lemon Syrup Glaze

• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 175°C.
• Brush the base and sides of a 20 cm springform pan with olive oil and line the base with baking paper.
• Sift the flour and baking powder into a small bowl and mix in the almond meal. Set aside.
• Mix the eggs, sugar and vanilla in an electric mixer until pale and creamy.
• Mix in the yoghurt and olive oil, then the flour mixture.
• Fold in the pureed lemon.
• Pour the mixture into the tin and cook for 55-60 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Lemon Puree

• Boil the lemons on water over a medium heat for about 30 minutes until soft.
• Once cool enough to handle, cut the lemons into rough chunks, then puree in a blender. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Lemon Syrup Glaze

• Thinly slice the lemon and push out the pips.
• Bring the water to the boil and stir in the sugar until it dissolves.
• Add the lemon slices and cook on a high heat until the liquid is reduced by about half. It should syrupy.
• Arrange the lemon slices on the top of the cake and pour the syrup just before serving. if you're not using it right away, store it in the fridge. Bring the syrup to room temperature before using.

Notes

Both the lemon puree and the lemon syrup can be made up to three days before you need them. The cake can also be made a day in advance. You can also make the cake in a loaf tin.