Lemon olive oil cake

This is the cake I bake more than any other: a golden, tender olive oil cake, full of lemon and soaked with a sharp lemon syrup while it is still warm. It needs only one bowl, no mixer and ingredients most people already have. It keeps for days, and it gets better every one of them.

Why olive oil?

Cakes made with oil instead of butter stay moist for longer, because oil stays liquid at room temperature while butter firms up. Olive oil also adds its own flavour, fruity and slightly peppery, which is lovely with lemon. Use a good, mild extra virgin olive oil, but not your most expensive one: a strong, bitter oil can overpower the cake.

The best cakes are the ones you can make on a Tuesday without planning.

Mei Lin

Rubbing the zest

Before you add anything else, rub the lemon zest into the sugar with your fingertips for a minute or two. The sugar becomes damp, pale yellow and wonderfully fragrant, because the rubbing releases the oils in the zest. It is a small step, but it makes the whole cake taste more strongly of lemon.

A cake for ordinary days

Some cakes are for birthdays and celebrations. This one is for ordinary days: a Tuesday afternoon, a friend dropping round, a rainy weekend. It is the cake I bake when I want something sweet but do not want to plan, shop or wash up a lot of bowls.

I first tasted a cake like this in a small café by the sea, served in thick slices with a cup of strong coffee. I spent the next year trying to recreate it. This recipe is the result, and although it is probably not quite the same, it has become our family's everyday cake, baked at least twice a month.

Before you start

• Line the tin well. Olive oil cakes are tender and can stick.
• Use eggs and yogurt at room temperature for a smoother batter.
• Zest the lemons before juicing them. It is much easier that way round.
• Make the syrup while the cake bakes so it is ready the moment the cake comes out.

Ingredients

Serves 10 · Prep 15 min · Bake 45 min · Level Easy

• 200 g caster sugar
• 2 lemons, zested and juiced
• 3 eggs
• 180 ml mild extra virgin olive oil
• 150 ml plain yogurt
• 220 g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 60 g icing sugar, for the syrup
• 1 tbsp flaked almonds

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Oil and line a 23 cm round cake tin.
2. In a large bowl, rub the lemon zest into the caster sugar with your fingertips until fragrant.
3. Whisk in the eggs until pale, then slowly whisk in the olive oil and the yogurt.
4. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and fold in gently until just combined.
5. Pour into the tin, scatter with the almonds and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
6. While it bakes, warm the lemon juice and icing sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves.
7. When the cake comes out, poke it all over with a skewer and spoon over the warm syrup. Cool in the tin.

Serving

Serve it on its own with coffee, or dress it up with a spoonful of thick yogurt and some fresh berries. It keeps well, wrapped, for four or five days at room temperature, and it freezes well in slices, ready for unexpected guests.

Common questions