Can you make a cake with olive oil?

In this article, we will answer the question “Can you make a cake with olive oil?”, and how to make a cake with olive oil? 

Can you make a cake with olive oil?

Yes, you can make a cake with olive oil. This article features 2 different recipes to make cakes with olive oils. Olive oil cakes such as Garden Olive Oil Cake, Olive Oil Lemon Drizzle Cake, Almond, Pear, and Olive oil cake, Blueberry, Chia and Olive Oil Cake, Basil and Lemon Olive Oil Cake, Olive Oil Cake with Glace Fruit, Plum, Lemon, and Olive Oil Cake are some of the top olive oil cake ideas. 

The olive oil imparts moisture, flavor, and texture to the cake crumb. Its dentist flavor pairs well with the cake ingredients such as sugar, vanilla, and toasted almonds. Contrary to other vegetable oils, extra virgin olive oil, produced by mechanical processes only, can be directly consumed without any further treatment. The absence of refining processes helps extra virgin olive oil to preserve its delicate aroma and nutritional properties that distinguish it from other edible oils (1).

Fat plays an important role in the texture of the cake, thus it helps the incorporation and maintaining of air bubbles in the batch. Different types of fats (shortening, butter, oil) result in the cake´s structure changes in its springiness, cohesiveness, resilience and gumminess. Therefore, it is expected that by substituting margarine or butter with olive oil, the cake will taste different. In an experiment of baking cakes with margarine or olive oil, in texture and taste sensory evaluation the cakes prepared only with extra virgin olive oil got the lowest scores between the cakes evaluated (1). 

How to make a cake with olive oil?

Recipe 1: Serves 1 (8-inch cake)

Ingredients

  • 3 large eggs (150 grams)
  • ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (112 grams) extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup (120 grams) whole milk
  • ½ teaspoon (2 grams) vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon (1 gram) almond extract
  • 1½ cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1½ teaspoons (7.5 grams) baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon (1.5 grams) kosher salt

Instructions 

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease an 8-inch round cake pan with baking spray and dust it with flour. Line the bottom of the pan with a round disc of parchment paper.
  2. Beat eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. This should take about 30 seconds if you whip at full speed. 

Slowly pour the oil into the egg and sugar mixture. Beat until well-.combined. Then mix in the milk. Last but not the least, beat in the almond and vanilla extract.

Brownies Without Eggs are still De…

  1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly mix the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl in-between mixing. Then tip the bowl into the prepared pan. 
  2. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-33 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
  3. Remove the cake pan from the pan and let it sit undisturbed for about 5 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack. Let the cake cool completely. 
  4. Brush the surface of the cake with some olive oil right before serving. Loosely wrap the cake with foil or plastic and store it at room temperature for optimal freshness.

Recipe 2: Serves 1 (9-inch) cake 

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup/240 milliliters of good-quality extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan
  • 2 cups/255 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 ½ cups/300 grams granulated sugar, plus about 2 tablespoons for sprinkling
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 ¼ cups/295 milliliters whole milk, at room temperature

Instructions 

  1. Preheat the oven to 375℉. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with some extra-virgin olive oil and dust it with flour. Then line the bottom of the cake pan with a disc of parchment paper. 
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
  3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the sugar, eggs, and lemon zest on high speed until thick and fluffy. This should take about 5 minutes. Slowly mix in the oil, beating for another 2 minutes.
  4. Then mix in the milk and lemon juice at low speed. Add the flour mixture into the egg mixture and mix until just combined. Tip the bowl into the prepared cake pan and level the surface of the batter using a spatula. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar on top of the batter.
  5. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for about 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. 
  6. When the time is up, remove the cake from the oven and let it sit on the counter undisturbed for about 5 minutes before unmolding it onto a wire rack. To ease the unmolding process, slide a knife around the inner edges of the pan.
  7. Cover loosely with foil or plastic and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Other FAQs about Oils that you may be interested in.

Does Oil Of Oregano Kill Good Bacteria

Does Neem Oil Go Bad

Can olive oil go bad?

Does Olive Oil Help You Tan?

Conclusion 

In this article, we answered the question “Can you make a cake with olive oil?”, and how to make a cake with olive oil? 

References 

  1. Matsakidou, Anthia, Georgios Blekas, and Adamantini Paraskevopoulou. Aroma and physical characteristics of cakes prepared by replacing margarine with extra virgin olive oil. LWT-Food Sci Technol, 2010, 43, 949-957.