Citrus Olive Oil Cake

Dessert

5 from 1 vote

If you've been searching for the perfect Citrus Olive Oil Cake, this is the one to make! After testing this recipe again and again, I finally landed on a cake with a soft, tender crumb that's wonderfully moist without feeling heavy or tasting too strongly of olive oil.

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Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 1 10

Total Time: 1 40

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

Olive Oil Cake

1 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled (260 g)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons orange zest
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
1/3 cup full fat sour cream, room temperature
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Sour Cream Whipped Cream

1/3 cup sour cream, room temperature
2 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Citrus Curd

2 eggs
3 egg yolks
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 tablespoons unsalted butter cold

Instructions

Make the curd. Add the sugar to a medium saucepan or saucier and massage the orange and lemon zest in. Whisk in the orange juice, lemon juice, eggs, and egg yolks until smooth. Cook over medium-low heat whisking constantly until the curd has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter. Pour the curd through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap on the surface and chill in the fridge until set. This can be made several days in advance and stored in the fridge.
Preheat an oven to 325 F. Grease and line a 9x3 cake pan or springform pan with parchment paper.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Mix the citrus sugar. In a separate bowl, massage the lemon and orange zest into the sugar until it’s well mixed. Set aside.
Mix the wet ingredients. In a measuring cup, whisk together the sour cream and milk until smooth and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on medium speed to whisk the olive oil, vanilla bean paste, and eggs together until creamy and emulsified, about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk/sour cream mixture and the citrus sugar until smooth.
Fold in the dry ingredients. Whisk in the flour on low speed until combined, then finally mix in the lemon juice. Switch to a rubber spatula and make sure the batter is well-mixed and no streaks of flour remain.
Bake the cake. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and tap the pan on your counter to settle the batter. Bake for 65-75 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan and then invert onto a serving plate once cool. NOTE: The cake may bake up a little darker in the center. This is totally fine! You'll invert the cake for topping it anyway.
Make the whipped cream. Whisk the sour cream, heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla bean paste using a hand mixer until medium-soft peaks form.
Assemble the cake. Using an offset spatula, spread the whipped cream onto the top of the cake and drizzle the curd over the top in an artful layer. Serve right away.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 sliceCalories: 537kcalCarbohydrates: 48gProtein: 6gFat: 37gSaturated Fat: 14gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0.004gCholesterol: 96mgSodium: 111mgPotassium: 125mgFiber: 1gSugar: 31gVitamin A: 757IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 90mgIron: 1mg