This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This One Bowl Lemon Olive Oil Pound Cake is perfection! The crumb is tender and moist, and the flavor is just incredible.
Did I just say olive oil pound cake?
Oh yes, I did. Olive oil.
This stuff isn’t just for making savory dishes.
It pairs so beautifully with lemons and a few select spices. And we use just enough olive oil to make the pound cake incredibly moist and tender. And honestly, I’m just transported back to the Amalfi Coast all over again.
My intentions for this lemon olive oil pound cake was for it to be sweet, but not too sweet. Easily swappable if you wanted to use orange zest instead of lemon. And also, something a little different than my whole orange cake.
So this recipe starts the way most do, you’ll need flour, baking powder, and granulated sugar. But instead of using butter in the batter, if using olive oil. And I’ll tell you this: I’ve even swapped the olive oil for extra virgin Meyer lemon olive and this pound cake comes out perfect every single time.
First time a cake I’ve made has come out super moist. Great recipe. Easy to follow and great results.
How to make olive oil pound cake:
Ingredients for olive oil pound cake
- olive oil (of course)
- all-purpose flour
- sugar
- large eggs
- whole milk
- baking powder
- lemon juice and lemon zest
- vanilla extract
- a pinch of each: nutmeg + cinnamon
The spices are entirely optional for today’s lemon pound cake recipe, but I promise you, I’ll never make this without them because they make the whole house smell DIVINE.
Making Olive Oil Pound Cake
- Preheat the oven and prep your pan. Start by placing a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
- Combine the ingredients. in a large mixing bowl, whisk the olive oil sugar eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and milk. You could also do this on low speed in a stand mixer, but honestly, I use a whisk and a bowl and keep it simple. Since we aren’t using butter, we don’t need to cream anything. Simply combine the wet ingredients. Then fold in the fry ingredients into the mixture.
- Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.Bake until the center is tested with a cake tester and comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan on the counter for several minute before attempting to remove. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.
Why I think you should make this recipe
- ONE BOWL. I repeat: one bowl.
- Tender and moist on the inside
- Sweet, but not too sweet
- Makes your house smell like a little corner bakery
Other dessert recipes to try:
One Bowl Lemon Olive Oil Pound Cake
Ingredients
- ¾ cup olive oil
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup milk I used 2%
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg optional but sooo good
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon optional but sooo good
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- PREP: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray (you can also line it with a piece of parchment paper and leave an overhang to act as a handle to help remove the cake from the pan if you’re worried about the cake sticking.)
- STIR: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the olive oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and milk. When combined, stir in the lemon zest, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Fold in the flour until *just* combined. If you overmix, the pound cake will come out tough.
- BAKE: Pour the prepared batter into your loaf pan and bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Cool the pound cake for roughly 30 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from the pan, and let cool to room temperature (about another 30 minutes.) Sometimes, I like to serve this dusted with a light coating of powdered sugar before slicing and serving!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
I had grandparents coming over for Sunday lunch at short notice today, and needed something speedy and delicious to make for dessert. I only had oil in the house, no butter, and a bowl of lemons, so this was my first choice recipe and it DID NOT disappoint! Gorgeous crunchy top, moist middle. Really lovely!
I topped mine with lemon curd icing which was great with it (lemon curd, icing sugar and water).
I will be making again for sure! Clean plates all round.
I was looking for a simple lemon cake recipe. I came across your site. I just made it. Topped it with a cream cheese frosting with a touch of lemon juice. Just Divine! Thanks!
Ive tried this recipe many times and it was absolutely delicious. because i dont like my cakes too sweet, i only put about 3/4 cup of sugar. also replaced it with almond milk and used sunflower oil. Works fine for me!
Easy and delicious. I used only 1/3 of the sugar recommended – just over 1/2 cup – and it was to my liking. I did add both nutmeg and cinnamon.
I thought the cake was done baking very early but left it in after seeing the nice golden-brown crust in your photos – and I was rewarded with the delicious, crunchy crust! Will definitely make this again.
Just made this to take to mom’s today!! So easy! So good!! Follow the recipe! I should’ve made 2!!!
This is delicious. I modified it by:
-switching out the flour for a gluten free flour blend that already has xanthan gum in it (the package specifically stated it is a 1:1 with wheat flour)
-adding an additional 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum with the flour
-using unsweetened almond milk
-cutting down the sugar to 1 cup
I baked it for 57 minutes and I think I would 55 min next time, as the edges came out a touch dry. Otherwise, this cake is excellent. I would even put in a touch less sugar next time!
Made this a couple of times and love it. Was wondering if I could swap honey for sugar and if yes, how much?
Thank you!
Fabulous cake! Definitely has a longer prep time than “5 MINS”–but completely worth the time! Try it with lemon curd topping…heavenly
Wow, thanks for this recipe! It was so easy to make and such a great turnout. I made 2/3 the recipe, for a smaller loaf, and instead of cinnamon/nutmeg/lemon zest I added cardamom and a touch of almond extract. The point is, the recipe scaled well and the recipe is a versatile base for other flavours beyond pure lemon, and the texture was wonderful. I also added a glaze of icing sugar and milk. The cake tasted rich and delicious despite that there was no butter, only olive oil. It had a great crumb and was moist and satisfying. Thank you!
It is soooo good! I reduced sugar to 1/2 cup, but still sweet. Thank you!
I just finished eating a slice of this lovely cake and it’s so satisfying. I love finding recipes that use olive oil instead of butter and this didn’t disappoint. It was easy to make and I’m guessing it will disappear very quickly. I will be making it again!
I love this recipe! So much more delicious than a traditional pound cake and letting it sit makes a HUGE difference! I’ve made it a few times with some tweaks, I used the juice of a full lemon and adjusted the amount of milk to the total volume of liquid was the same and it worked just fine. The only thing was I used an 8inch loaf pan so I adjusted the oven temp and time a little. Thanks for the fantastic recipe
Made this recipe for the first time last evening, using one of the two Meyer Lemons produced by our little tree! My hubs and I both love it. It’s super moist and lemony inside, complimented beautifully by the warm savoriness (is that a word?) and depth of the olive oil. And that caramelized crust!! Today I’ll use our second and last Meyer lemon in another loaf.
I’d like to try and make it for my family, however a few members really won’t try desserts I make because of sugar. Can I use less sugar?
I’ve made this once and loved it. I’m going to make it a second time and I’d like to add rosemary to this recipe. Will that work and wonder about quantity?
Hi Nancy! It should work just fine, I’d fold it when you’re adding flour. I’m not sure about the quantity as this isn’t something I’ve tested before. Enjoy!
Made this once and absolutely loved it! I wanna make it today but wanted to know if adding chocolate chip will ruin the taste
Hi there! I suggest trying this recipe if you’d like to add chocolate chips, it’s pretty similar and made in one bowl 🙂
Hi! How much yogurt did you use when you swapped it in for milk? Thanks!
Hi Lily! The recipe with yogurt was not successful. I suggest using milk and not yogurt for this recipe!
Super moist. Very easy. Not too sweet. Definitely one I’ll be making again.
Hi there! So glad to hear that! Appreciate you taking the time to leave a review 🙂
I am interested to make this in gluten free flour as my partner is gluten intolerant. I am interested to try this recipe with sorghum flour rather than almond flour. Sorghum flour contains more protein than all purpose flour. Any suggestion if I should add more of certain liquid or reduce amount of flour? I understand that this is a tricky question.
Hi Miranda! I’m not very familiar with sorghum flour and not sure what I would change in this recipe to achieve the best results. I feel this type of change would definitely require additional rounds of recipe testing. My suggestion would be to maybe search for a pound cake recipe made with sorghum and compare the ratio of liquids/leavening agents they use to this recipe. Then perhaps playing around with the wet ingredients in this recipe to see if you can achieve similar results. Hope that helps!
Delicious and super easy!! This was a big hit with my family. Especially loved how the exterior developed a hard, almost crystallized crust. A very nice contrast to the moist lemony interior. Definitely going to make it again soon!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it; that’s my favorite part too 🙂