Italian Lemon Cake Recipe

4.97 from 65 votes

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This Italian Lemon Cake is the perfect balance of tangy but sweet. With lemon juice and lemon zest, there's no denying the flavor. Plus it has the extra flavor and moisture of extra virgin olive oil!

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Total Time1

Servings: people

Author: Marcellina

Equipment

1 8 inch (20cm) round cake pan or similar sized springform pan

Ingredients

3 eggs (at room temperature)
1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil (180 mls plus extra for the cake pan. See Note 1)
⅔ cup whole milk (See Note 2)
finely grated zest of one lemon (See Note 3)
¼ cup lemon juice (60 mls )
2 cups all purpose flour (250 grams See Note 4)
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC.
Use a little olive oil to coat the inside of an 8 inch (20cm) round cake pan with high sides. Line the base with paper.
Whisk or sieve together flour, baking powder and salt. Have you checked the notes below about measuring the flour?
Using a hand held (or stand mixer) beat eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl for 4 minutes on high speed until thick, light and creamy.
Reduce the speed to medium and slowly drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil. Followed by milk, lemon juice and lemon zest.
With the electric mixer on low speed, spoon in the flour mixture. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until the mixture is smooth and lump free. Don't over beat!
Scrape in prepared baking pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until well risen, browned on top and the cake is coming away from the sides of the pan a little. You can insert a skewer into the cake, if it comes out free of batter, it’s ready. If the cake is becoming to too dark, cover lightly with a sheet of foil.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before carefully turning out onto a wire rack to completely cool.
Dust with powdered sugar to serve.

Notes

Extra virgin olive oil - use regular or light flavored olive oil if you prefer.
Whole milk - substitute any milk you prefer eg low fat or plant based.
Lemon zest - for extra lemony flavor, increase the lemon zest or add a few drops of pure lemon oil or extract.
Be sure to measure the flour correctly. If you have scales, weigh the flour for accuracy. Alternatively, stir the flour to lighten and then spoon into the measuring cup and level off with a knife taking extra care not to pack the flour.
Please be aware that the US customary cup (used in this recipe) is equal to 240ml. Other parts of the world use the international 'metric' cup equal to 250ml. This doesn't usually make too much of a difference, except is the flour is packed into the cup and/or slightly heaped.

Tips for Success

Have all the ingredients ready and at room temperature.
Preheat the oven.
Beat the eggs and sugar until light and thickened.

For more tips and information read the full post above.

This updated and improved recipe was first posted June 11, 2012.

Nutrition