Only Crumbs Remain

Lemon Drizzle Olive Oil Cake

by 26 Comments

This lemon drizzle cake, made with olive oil in place of the usual butter, is perfect for a mid-afternoon treat.  What it lacks in aesthetic qualities it makes up for with flavour and lightness.

 

How to make a Lemon Drizzle Olive Oil Cake

I have to admit that baking is hardly the healthiest of pastimes, with all of that butter, cream and sugar, and the calories associated with it it’s hardly diet food.   And of course being a food blogger, and one who predominantly bakes cupcakes, cakes and pastries, not to mention the occasional batch of fudge, it’d be easy to allow the pounds to pile on and the waistline increase!  Thankfully I have some great neighbours, not to mention family and friends, who are happy to try our bakes 😉.

Of course we often make smaller batches too and bake ‘just’ a couple of times a week, but recently I’ve found it fun to temper the ‘naughtiness’ by substituting the butter with olive oil.  Regulars to Only Crumbs Remain may recall the pastries of our Vegan Beetroot & Lentil Pie, Apple Rose Tart and Pear and Almond Tart were made with oil rather than butter with great success.

Vegan Beetroot and Lentil Pie recipe
How to make an apple rose tart.
A classic pear and almond tart recipe.

Having enjoyed a handful of pies and tarts made with oil, it seemed logical to try an olive oil cake as well.  Not only did lemon seem to be the appropriate addition to work alongside the characteristic flavour of olive oil, it’s most probably my favourite cake flavour too.  Even above chocolate cake!  So allow me to introduce you to our Lemon Drizzle Olive Oil Cake.

An olive oil cake recipe flavoured with lemon

Now, I think it’s pretty safe to say that this cake is no showstopper.  There’s no fancy buttercream piped in intricate ways.  Nor is there any secret filling to wow and captivate guests with.  But what it lacks in cake-catwalk qualities (try saying that fast!) it certainly makes up for in flavour and lightness.  It’s the sort of cake which is perfect for an afternoon treat with a cup of tea (or coffee if you prefer).  This Lemon Drizzle Olive Oil Cake is a doddle to make resulting in a cake which is wonderfully flavoursome with a moist light crumb.  Its predominant flavour is lemon, (as you would hope with it being a lemon drizzle cake!) but the subtle notes of olive oil can still be picked out.

A slightly healthier lemon drizzle cake recipe

Now, I’m sure you’re fully aware that there are many types of olive oil available in the supermarket these days, each having their own qualities and being suitable for different types of cooking and food preparation.  For me, this cake called for a light olive oil rather than one with a robust flavour which could easily have overpowered the lemon.  But if you’d prefer a more pronounced flavour why not try it with an extra virgin olive oil instead, and perhaps even consider using a little chopped rosemary in the mixture too – all flavours which work together brilliantly.

Of course, our lemon drizzle olive oil cake isn’t trying to recreate a Mediterranean diet which is packed full of fresh fruit and vegetables, white meat and fish as well as olive oil.  Far from it, after all most cakes are packed with sugar.  But as Tesco says, ‘every little helps’.  It’s all about moderation.

How to make a Lemon Drizzle Cake a little healthier with the use of olive oil

 

So, here’s how to make Lemon Drizzle Olive Oil Cake!

 

This recipe has been shared with:

Cook Once Eat Twice hosted by Corina at Searching for Spice

Bake of the Week co-hosted by Jenny at Mummy Mishaps and Helen at Casa Costello

Hijacked By Twins

 

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I adore lemon drizzle cake, it is so light and zesty. I love the idea of adding olive oil in place of butter or spread. Your sponge looks so moist and I would be happy to devour a few slices of it ! Thank you for joining in with #BakeoftheWeek x

    Reply

  3. We do love lemon drizzle in our household but would never think of replacing butter with olive oil (stuck in a rut of using traditional recipe I guess) 🙂 I can totally see how it would work now though so am going to try your recipe next time we need lemon drizzle fix :). Gorgeous photos! x

    Reply

    • Definitely give it a try Jo when you're next in the mood for something like a lemon drizzle cake. The cake ends up so fabulously light and the olive oil flavour is really mild (assuming you use a light version). It's definitely worth a try, do let me know how you get on with it if you do try it 🙂
      Angela x

      Reply

  5. It may not be a showstopper but it still looks like a beautiful cake and the photos make it look delicious too! I can imagine that olive oil and lemon go well together in a cake and it's always good to try slightly healthier alternatives to butter. Not all the time of course, but it's great to have alternatives! Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x

    Reply

    • Angela, I was just looking through last month's #CookOnceEatTwice and realised you added this cake. I had completely forgotten as I wrote the beginning of the round up before I went off on holiday and then of course came back and decided to make my own olive oil lemon drizzle cake. It must have been your cake at the back of my mind that inspired it so I've just added a link at the bottom of my latest post x

      Reply

    • Aw thankyou Corina, I love to hear that the idea of it had stuck in your mind and prompted you to try when you came back from your hols. And thankyou for including a link to my recipe at the end of your post 🙂
      Angela x

      Reply

  6. While your lemon cake may not be a show stopper as you call it I think it looks absolutely delicious and I know it will taste just as good. I really love this type of simple cake. I too like the idea of chopped rosemary it would go very nicely im sure. In addition to olive oil you could use a cold pressed rapeseed oil, it will give it a lovely rich yellow colour. Just as good as olive oil without the road miles (imho) . Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare

    Reply

    • Thankyou so much Jacqueline, Ooh I like the idea of using rapeseed oil for a fabulous rich yellow colour – I'll definitely give that a try. And the vastly reduced road miles is definitely a winner in my book too.
      You're welcome, CookBlogShare is such a great linky 🙂
      Angela x

      Reply

  9. I love desserts made with oil rather than butter, I personally feel less guilty about eating them (yes, desserts and feelings have a strong connection in my head:). This is a lovely recipe Angela! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare.

    Reply

    • Hahaha, I know what you mean Monika, but for me desserts usually feel like a great big hug in a bowl. Pure comfort 🙂 It's good to know that I don't just have to rely on butter for yummy results, and if it means it's a little bit 'healthier' then that's surely a win-win 😉
      Angela

      Reply

  10. It looks lovely. I never baked a cake with olive oil, but I used rapeseed and sunflower oil lots of times and it's great. I think olive oil and lemon are a perfect combination. Your family and friends are lucky. 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

shares