We love to find new and unexpected ways to use olive oil and one of our favorite ways is to use olive oil in baking! You'll want to be careful when baking with olive oil as it packs a lot of flavor and can overwhelm many dishes that call for other types of oils. So you'll want to avoid simply subbing in olive oil for say, canola oil, in a recipe. However, we like to really lean in to the flavor of the olive oil and bake dishes that showcase and center around our favorite fragrant and flavorful oil.
Lemony Olive Oil Cake
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Bellemille olive oil (plus additional for greasing the pan)
- 2 large lemons
- 1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
- 5 large eggs (separate the yolks and egg whites and reserve 1 of the egg whites for the end)
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
Equipment
- 9-inch springform pan
- Parchment paper
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease springform pan with oil and then line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper. Oil the parchment paper.
Finely grate enough lemon zest to measure 2 teaspoons and whisk together with flour. Halve lemons, then squeeze and reserve 2 tablespoons of the fresh lemon juice.
Beat together the yolks and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed. Mixture should be thick and pale, around 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and slowly add olive oil (3/4 cup) and reserved lemon juice, beating until just combined (mixture may appear separated). Using a wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture by hand (do not beat) until just combined.
Beat egg whites (from 4 eggs) with 1/2 teaspoon salt in another large bowl at medium-high speed until foamy. Then add 1/4 cup sugar, a little at a time, beating, and continue to beat until egg whites just hold soft peaks, about 3 minutes.
Gently fold one third of whites into yolk mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly.
Transfer batter to springform pan and gently tap against work surface once or twice to release any air bubbles. Sprinkle the top of the cake evenly with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until puffed and golden and a wooden pick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Once cooled, run a thin knife around edge of pan and remove side of pan. Cool the cake to room temperature, about 1 1/4 hours. Remove bottom of pan and peel off parchment, then transfer cake to a serving plate, cut yourself a slice, and enjoy!
