My friend introduced me to this lemon olive oil cake recipe. The one tweak I make from the original: halve the sugar — the original is sweeter than I like. The result is moist, fragrant with citrus and good olive oil, and not too sweet — perfect with coffee or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Equipment: 9” springform pan

Ingredients

• Olive oil — 1 cup
• Eggs — 3 large
• Granulated sugar — 3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling the top (this is half the sugar of the original recipe)
• Vanilla extract — 2 teaspoons
• Lemon juice — 1/2 cup
• Lemon zest — from 3 lemons
• Salt — 1 teaspoon
• Baking powder — 1/2 teaspoon
• Baking soda — 1/2 teaspoon
• All-purpose flour — 1 cup
• Almond flour — 1 cup
• Whole milk — 1 cup
• Powdered sugar — for dusting (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9” springform pan by greasing the bottom and sides well. Wrap the outside with foil to prevent leaks.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1 cup olive oil, 3 eggs, and 3/4 cup granulated sugar.
3. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla, the zest from 3 lemons, and 1/2 cup lemon juice. Whisk briefly to combine.
4. Sift together 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 cup all-purpose flour, and 1 cup almond flour. Alternating with 1 cup whole milk, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in a couple of batches. Try not to over-mix — just combine until no streaks of dry flour remain.
5. Pour the batter into the springform pan. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons granulated sugar evenly over the top.
6. Bake for 50-55 minutes. The cake should be risen and starting to turn a bit golden brown on top. (Ovens vary; if yours seems to be browning very quickly toward the end, lay a loose piece of foil over the top.)
7. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes in the pan. Then gently remove the cake from the springform pan and let it cool completely on a baking rack.
8. When cool, dust the top with powdered sugar if desired.

Enjoy!

Notes

A note on baking time: home ovens aren’t very precise — many can be off by 25°F or more from the set temperature. Insert a toothpick to check for doneness — it should come out clean or with a few crumbs. If there’s obvious wet batter clinging to it, bake a little longer.