Olive Oil Cake (and a Chocolate Version)
Moist, keeps for days, and quietly sophisticated — olive oil cake is the cake that lets the oil itself be the flavour. Once you make one, the butter version starts to feel heavy. There is no creaming and no fuss: you whisk, you pour, you bake.
Using olive oil instead of butter does two things to a cake: it makes the crumb extraordinarily moist and keeps it that way for days, and it brings a subtle, grown-up, fruity flavour that butter simply cannot. It is also dairy-free (with juice in place of milk) and genuinely easy — no softening butter, no creaming, just a whisk and a bowl.
A simple olive oil cake
Whisk 3 eggs with 180 g sugar until pale. Whisk in 150 ml good extra virgin olive oil and 120 ml milk (or orange juice), with the zest of a lemon or orange. Fold in 200 g flour with 2 tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt. Pour into a lined tin and bake at 175 °C (350 °F) for about 40 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
The chocolate version
Replace 40 g of the flour with cocoa, drop the citrus, and add a splash more milk to keep the batter loose. Olive oil and dark chocolate are a famous pairing — deep, faintly savoury, and grown-up rather than sweet. A robust, peppery oil actually shines here, standing up to the cocoa instead of vanishing into it.
Choosing the oil
This is the rare baking job where the oil is a flavour, not just fat, so use a real, fresh, fruity extra virgin, not a tired one. Match the oil to the cake: a mild, buttery, Arbequina-style oil for a delicate citrus cake; a bolder, peppery oil when you want it to assert itself against chocolate. Never use ‘light’ olive oil — it is refined and flavourless, which defeats the entire point of the cake.
| Cake | Best oil style | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Delicate citrus | Mild, buttery (Arbequina style) | Lets the zest lead |
| Chocolate | Bold, peppery | Stands up to the cocoa |
| Plain / everyday | Balanced medium fruity | A safe all-rounder |
| Never | ‘Light’ / refined oil | No flavour to give |
Tips for a perfect crumb
- Do not overbake — the magic is how moist it stays; pull it the moment a skewer is clean.
- Use a fresh, fruity extra virgin; a stale oil makes a stale-tasting cake.
- Swap milk for orange juice to keep it dairy-free and lift the citrus.
- It keeps for days well wrapped — often better on day two.
Olive oil cake: common questions
Why use olive oil instead of butter?
It makes the crumb far moister and keeps it moist for days, adds a subtle fruity flavour, and makes the cake dairy-free with no creaming required.
What kind of olive oil should I use?
A real, fresh extra virgin — mild and buttery for delicate cakes, bold and peppery for chocolate. Never ‘light’ or refined oil, which has no flavour.
Can I make it dairy-free?
Yes — use orange juice instead of milk. The cake is otherwise already dairy-free, since olive oil replaces the butter.
Will the cake taste strongly of olive oil?
Pleasantly, not overwhelmingly. A mild oil gives a gentle fruity note; a bolder oil is more assertive, which suits the chocolate version.
How long does olive oil cake keep?
Several days, well wrapped at room temperature, and it often tastes even better on the second day as the crumb settles.
This is the one cake where the oil is the point, so it is worth raiding your good bottle rather than reaching for the cooking stuff. A fresh, fruity extra virgin gives the crumb a grown-up flavour no butter can; a tired oil gives you a tired cake. Match the oil to the cake — a soft Arbequina-style oil for a delicate citrus sponge, a peppery one to hold its own against dark chocolate — and never, ever use ‘light’ olive oil, which is refined to blandness and defeats the whole exercise. And do not overbake it; the moistness is the magic.
A house recipe for olive oil cake and its chocolate variation.