Lemon Olive Oil Cake Recipe

This Lemon Olive Oil Cake recipe is another contribution from our friend Dawn Brockett.

This is an adaptation from a version in Gourmet magazine. I’ve made only minor changes. The real credit goes to the Gourmet kitchen’s food editors. Yet, it has become such a staple in my repertoire that it must be included in my canon.

With so few and such simple ingredients, this lemon olive oil cake recipe relies heavily on the quality and freshness of the ingredients. Bring out your farm-fresh eggs, your Meyer lemons (one of the great joys of fall/winter produce) and your best quality e.v. olive oil.

Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cake

Ingredients

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus a bit extra for greasing the pan
1 lemon Meyer, if you can find one
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
5 large eggs separated (You will use 5 yolks and 4 whites)
3/4 cup sugar plus a bit extra for the pan

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 and place oven rack in the center of the oven.
Cut a piece of parchment the size of the bottom of the springform pan. (Place the pan on a piece of parchment paper, draw a circle with pencil–pen won’t transfer. Cut the circle inside the line.)
Grease the pan and the paper with olive oil. Line the bottom of the pan with the parchment.
Zest the lemon.
Juice the lemon, reserving 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice.
Combine zest and flour.
Beat 5 egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar until pale yellow and thickened. The batter will lay back over itself in ‘ribbons’ at this point, if you pull the beaters out of the batter.
On a lower setting, add the olive oil and reserved lemon juice (1 1/2 Tbsp). Mixture may separate or not fully combine.With a wooden spoon, add flour/zest mixture to egg yolk/sugar/olive oil/lemon juice mixture.
Stir just until combined and let rest.
Clean the beaters thoroughly and beat 4 egg whites in a clean bowl until foamy.
Add the rest of the sugar (1/4 cup) slowly while beating the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks–about 3-4 minutes.
Gently fold in one-third (ish) of the egg whites into the yolk batter. Then gently fold in the rest of the whites. Think ‘lightening’ rather than ‘mixing’ the batter.
Carefully pour the batter into the springform pan. Gently tap the pan against the counter to release any air bubbles.
Shower top of batter with 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar.Bake until toothpick inserted into cake’s center comes out clean–about 45 minutes. Top will be golden brown.
Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes.
Run a thin knife between the cake and the pan before releasing the clasp.
Let cool another 90 minutes before removing the bottom of the pan and peeling back parchment paper.

Notes

Stiff peaks: When the beaters are removed from the batter, the peak stays upright.

Soft peaks: When the beaters are removed from the batter, the peak slowly folds over.

Tools

9-inch springform pan
Parchment paper
Electric mixer

Serving Suggestions

Don’t let the word ‘cake’ dissuade you from having a slice for breakfast. I know you’ll want to. And, I think you should.

Save the lone egg white to add to your breakfast omelette!

Serve plain or with vanilla whipped cream, with berries or macerated stone fruit. This baby cake is friendly with many toppings.

Dawn Brockett

Writer/Chef/Yogi

Dawn lives in the Pacific Northwest with her beautiful family. Her doggie, Coco, an Australian Shepherd-Border Collie mix, encourages her to spend all of her free time in the mountains and foothills–on foot, skis, bikes or snowshoes. Coco, for the record, is always on foot. Four, in fact.