Soft, moist and tender Lemon olive oil cake with bright lemon flavor. finished off with sweet lemon icing, it is perfect for breakfast, dessert or snacking any time of the day!
If you love lemons as much as I do, you need to try this lemon Coconut Cake Recipe. These readers' fave Lemon Poppy Muffins need a place on your breakfast table too! Find all Summer Desserts at one place.
Ingredients and Substitutions:
Check out the full ingredients list and recipe instructions in the recipe card below. Here are ingredients and their substitutes if you wish to swap one with other.
Lemons: Use fresh lemons and not the ones from bottle. Pick lemons by weight, the heavier the juicier. Zest your lemons before juicing. Try rubbing zest into granulated sugar and then add them to your batter.
Olive Oil: Extra virgin olive oil tastes best here. Replace half the quantity with avocado oil or even canola oil if you wish!
Greek Yogurt: Both full fat and low fat Greek yogurt work perfectly well here. Non-dairy Greek yogurt can also be used here if trying to take dairy free baking route.
Flour: All purpose flour is the base of this recipe. However if you wish to employ gluten free flour sub in 1:1 ratio. I like to use Bob's gluten free flour when making this cake gluten free.
How to make a good Lemon Yogurt Loaf:
There is no denying that adding yogurt to a lemon baked treat will make it super moist and soft. Don't simply take my word for it. Check these Lemon Berry Muffins out.
We are using the same starting point for this loaf as well. Except we are using Greek yogurt in this batter. To thin the batter out a bit we are also using some milk.
Then there is olive oil. Before you start thinking I am crazy to be adding olive oil to a cake recipe, just hear me out.
Olive oil when mixed with citrus flavored bakes produces a moist, soft and a complex profiled cake. To sum up, olive oil + lemon in a cake equals to the best cake of your life. Give it a try.
Also you don't even need a mixture to make the batter. Just a hand whisk works good enough. Quickly whisk oil, sugar, yogurt, flavorings and leaveners together. Allow them to combine well with each other.
Next add the flour in and fold the batter using a spatula. That way you will not end up over whisking the batter.
Making the batter is literally so simple. I like to bake my loaves in 8x4 inches pans. You could easily use a 9x5 inch pan. But your baked loaf will appear wider in this case rather than being tall.
Pour a quick lemon syrup over warm cake if you want the lemon flavor to shine through in this cake, even though this step is optional.
Next we will ice the loaf once it cools down. I haven't made a super thick icing here as we don't want thick chunks of sugar in mouth with every bite of cake. Pour this icing on and here you have it!
Tips for recipe success:
- Wish to amp the lemon flavor up? That's easy. Quickly make some lemon syrup. I do that in microwave. Then poke a few holes in your cake and pour this simple syrup in the cake slowly. You will love this addition if you love lots of lemon punch packed into baked goods.
- To Ice or not to Ice the cake: I don't suggest skipping the lemon icing even when adding syrup. Syrup doesn't contain much sugar. Just enough to balance the lemon in syrup. Also the cake itself contains very less sugar as compared to other loaves out there. So you won't get a sugar rush after having a slice, I promise!
- Always make use of a kitchen scale: Kitchen scale is such a great tool to make sure you don't end up over-measuring ingredients, especially flour, sugar and Greek yogurt.
- Use Fresh Lemons: Nothing beats the flavor of fresh lemons. Especially not that bottled stuff. So always use fresh lemons while baking. Even meyer lemons will give a fantastic lemony-floral flavor to this loaf if you can get your hands on them.
- Don't over mix the batter: Over mixing can lead to tough baked goods. When we go on mixing the batter after adding flour, it develops gluten in the batter leading to not-so-soft bakes. Never make that mistake. Fold only till flour disappears into the batter.
- A note on Greek Yogurt: In place of Greek yogurt, even sour cream can be used. If required whipping cream can also be added here. I skip milk added in the recipe when adding whipping cream, since it is a little thin in consistency
- To make cupcakes out of this batter. Simply divide the batter among 11-12 cupcake liners and bake them at 350 deg F for about 19-22 minutes.
- Cool the loaf completely before Glazing: If we ice the loaf while its warm, the icing will melt into the cake. Which isn't what we desire. So pour icing only when the loaf is completely cooled.
- Can the loaf be made in advance: Yes, absolutely! In fact it tastes even better the next day. Crumb softens and the flavor profile develops on day two.
Recipe Variations:
Swap the Citrus: Other than lemons, meyer lemons, oranges, mandarins, limes even grapefruit work well here.
Add poppyseeds: Add about two tablespoons of poppyseeds to the batter and there you have it. A beautiful Lemon Poppyseeds Loaf!
Add berries: About a cup of fresh or frozen blueberries, raspberries, chopped strawberries or even a medley of berries work wonderfully well here.
Storing Instructions:
Leftovers will stay fresh at room temperature for up to 24 hours kept covered tightly at all times. I suggest to slice loaf when it is ready to consume. If you pre-slice it and keep it for a few hours, the slices tend to dry out.
If you liked this recipe give it a star review. Also, tell me in the comments below, how did this turn out for you! And don’t forget to share your creations with me on Instagram at #greedyeatsblog Also follow me on Pinterest and Facebook!
Recipe
Lemon Olive Oil Cake
Equipment
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Liquid Measuring Cup
- 1 Kitchen Scale
- 1 Microplane zester
- 1 8 x 4 inch Loaf Pan
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ½ Cup Greek Yogurt
- 2 large Eggs (at room temperature)
- ¾ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest
- ¼ Cup Milk
- 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
- 1 and ¾ Cup Flour
- Baking Powder
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
Lemon Syrup:
- ¼ Cup Lemon Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
Lemon Icing:
- 1 Cup Confectioners Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- ½ teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease or line your loaf pan with parchment paper. Set it aside.
- Add and rub lemon zest in granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl using your fingers or with a fork. Rub till the mix gets fragrant. Now add in the oil, yogurt and eggs in the bowl. Whisk all the ingredients till they get well combined. You can make use of a hand mixer here if you wish, but it's not a requirement.½ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil, ½ Cup Greek Yogurt, 2 large Eggs, 2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest, ¾ Cup Granulated Sugar
- Sift flour, baking powder and salt over the wet ingredients. Stir using a spatula to combine.1 and ¾ Cup Flour, Baking Powder, ⅛ teaspoon Salt
- Add in the milk and vanilla too. Make sure not to overmix the batter, fold just until the streaks of flour disappear into the batter. Pour this batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 45-50 minutes. Or until the loaf passes toothpick test. If you touch the center of loaf with your finger gently at this point, the loaf will spring back. Take the cake out of oven and quickly pour in the lemon syrup if adding.¼ Cup Milk, 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
Lemon Syrup:
- Microwave lemon juice and granulated sugar in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the mix in 15 second increments until the syrup bubbles and sugar melts. This should take about a minute. Give it a quick Whisk after it comes out of microwave and set aside to let cool.You can also make this syrup over stovetop if you prefer it that way.¼ Cup Lemon Juice, 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- Pouring the Syrup on cake: Poke holes in your cake as soon as it comes out of oven using a toothpick or fork. Evenly pour the syrup over cake while in pan slowly. We want the syrup to get into the cake and soak it completely not just run over along the sides. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 15 minutes and then take out on a wire rack to cool completely.
Lemon Icing:
- Whisk confectioners' sugar with vanilla and lemon juice until smooth and of pourable consistency. If you'd like your icing to be on the thicker side, add 1-2 tablespoons of additional confectioners sugar. Pour on cake when its completely cooled.1 Cup Confectioners Sugar, ½ teaspoon Pure vanilla extract, 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
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