Clementine Olive Oil Cake is a flavorful, moist cake that tastes of sweet clementines and rich olive oil. This dessert is a sweet twist on a classic Italian olive oil cake and has a delicate tender crumb. It's a simple, delicious dessert for any occasion!
The Best Olive Oil Cake
Olive oil cake is a delicate snacking cake. It's the best dessert for a simple weeknight, birthday, or holiday. Clementine Olive Oil Cake is rich in olive oil and sweet clementine flavor and tastes similar to a fluffy pound cake. The dairy free olive oil makes the cake moist and adds a depth of decadent olive oil flavor. It's also a healthier option to traditional cakes, as it calls for olive oil instead of butter for moisture. Clementine season is October through January which makes it a perfect dish to enjoy during fall and winter.
Eat this olive oil cake on its own, with fresh fruit, or with Easy 2-Ingredient Whipped Cream. It's light and airy enough to have for dessert, brunch, or as a mid-day snack with an afternoon cup of tea or coffee.
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It's a simple, elegant cake that will instantly become a classic recipe you will love making over and over again.
Olive Oil Cake Ingredients
- Eggs - High-quality, room temperature eggs create a rich batter. Room temperature egg yolks break easily and mix evenly with the wet ingredients.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Extra virgin olive oil is an unrefined olive oil. It is the highest quality olive oil available and has the truest olive taste.
- Clementine Juice and Zest - Clementine juice and zest give the olive oil cake a delicate, sweet citrus flavor. The sugar in the juice adds to the cake's moisture, and the zest enhances the clementine flavor.
- All-purpose Flour - Flour provides the structure for the Lemon Cake and keeps everything together.
- Baking Powder - Baking powder allows the Cake to rise.
- Baking Soda - Baking soda also helps the Cake to rise and cuts the acidity.
- Salt - Accentuates the flavors of the Cake.
- Granulated Sugar - Granulated sugar adds sweetness and locks in moisture.
- Vanilla - Vanilla enhances the other flavors of the cake.
- Confectioners’ sugar - Powdered Sugar for dusting that adds a sweet final touch.
How to Make Olive Oil Cake
- Heat the oven - Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Mix dry ingredients - In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Mix sugar and wet ingredients - In the bowl of an electric mixer, add eggs and sugar. Whip the eggs and sugar on high until they turn light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Slowly add in the olive oil and whip for another 2 minutes. Turn the setting to low and slowly add in half the flour mixture, and whisk for about 30 seconds. Add the clementine juice, zest, and vanilla, then add the remaining flour mixture and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Prepare cake pan and bake - In a greased and floured round 9" cake pan, pour the batter. Bang the cake pan on the counter a couple times to remove the air bubbles. Place the oven and bake for 40 minutes, or until the top of golden and the cake test comes out clean.
- Let cake cool - Remove from the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Using a paring knife, run the knife around the edge of the cake to separate the cake from the edge of the pan. Cover the cake pan with a cooling rack or large plate and flip the surface and the cake pan over together. To flip the cake rightsize up, take another cooling rack and place it on the cake. Gently hold the two racks or rack and plate together without squeezing the cake, then flip the cake over so the top is up and the bottom of the cake is on the rack.
- Dust with powdered sugar - Let the cake completely cool on the wire rack. Once completely cooled, dust powdered sugar on top and serve.
Substitutions
There are endless types of olive oil cakes! Here are some delicious options:
- Orange - Make an Orange or Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake if you want a citrusy cake that is both sweet and tart. In order to make it, just replace clementine juice and zest with fresh orange juice and orange zest.
- Meyer lemons - Make our Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake if you are looking for a less sweet and lightly flavored cake.
- Grapefruit - Make a Grapefruit Olive Oil Cake if you prefer the taste of grapefruit to lemons.
- Chocolate - Make a Chocolate Olive Oil Cake cake if you enjoy chocolate more than citrus.
- Gluten Free - Check out this Gluten-Free Olive Oil Cake.
Variations
- Whipped Cream - Top the cake with whipped cream and lemon zest to for light and rich topping. Check out our Easy 2-Ingredient Whipped Cream.
- Cream Cheese Frosting - Add cream cheese frosting to the cake if you are feeling extra indulgent.
- Clementine Muffins - Instead of placing the clementine cake batter in a cake pan, place the batter in a greased muffin pan and fill each cup ⅔ full. Bake the muffins for approximately 20 minutes, or until the cake tester comes out clean.
Equipment
This clementine cake recipe requires common kitchen essentials. To make this dessert, you need a measuring cup, mixing bowl, 9" cake pan or springform pan, stand mixer or hand held mixer, paring knife, and wire rack. Serve it on a cake stand with a cake server.
Does Olive Oil Cake Need to be Refrigerated?
Olive oil cake does not need to be refrigerated and will stay fresh at room temperature when stored in an airtight container or under a cloche for up to 3 days. If you add a dairy topping, like mascarpone or whipped cream, the olive oil cake must be refrigerated and stored in an airtight container.
Can You Freeze Olive Oil Cake?
Olive oil cake can be frozen for up to 4 months, as long as it is wrapped and stored in an air-tight container. When ready to eat, transfer the cake from the freezer to the refrigerator at least 12 hours before serving. Then place the cake on the counter and allow the cake to reach room temperature before dusting with powdered sugar and serving.
Top Tip
Don’t over mix the batter or the cake will get dense and chewy, instead of light and fluffy.
Clementine Olive Oil Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1¼ cup olive oil extra virgin
- ½ cup clementine juice juice of 2 clementines
- 2 teaspoon grated clementine zest zest of 2 clementines
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 tablespoon Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, add eggs and sugar. Whip the eggs and sugar on high until they turn light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Slowly add in the olive oil and whip for another 2 minutes. Turn the setting to low and slowly add in half the flour mixture, and whisk for about 30 seconds. Add the clementine juice, zest, and vanilla, then add the remaining flour mixture and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute.
- In a greased and floured round 9" cake pan, pour the batter. Bang the cake pan on the counter a couple times to remove the air bubbles. Place the oven and bake for 40 minutes, or until the top of golden and the cake test comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Using a paring knife or butter knife, run the knife around the edge of the cake to separate the cake from the edge of the pan. Cover the cake pan with a cooling rack or large plate and flip the surface and the cake pan over together. To flip the cake rightsize up, take another cooling rack and place it on the cake. Gently hold the two racks or rack and plate together without squeezing the cake, then flip the cake over so the top is up and the bottom of the cake is on the rack.
- Let the cake completely cool on the wire rack. Once completely cooled, dust powdered sugar on top and serve.
Nutrition
Food Safety
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
Spillt User
Ok I sort of took this recipe off the deep end, but it turned out great. Didn't find clementines so used blood oranges 1:1. Had some cardamom pods, so used probably a dozen. Might try roasting the seeds next time. Had some cute little ramekin so made a mini cake for snacking! Then topped with a slice of orange and felt 10x fancier ??♀️
Kathleen Higashiyama
Thank you for making our recipe! The substitutes & additions you made sound amazing -- we'll have to try them out!
Kelly
Cake is so easy to make and yummy!