Healthy Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Take your baking skills up a notch with this Healthy Lemon Olive Oil Cake recipe. It’s simple and easy to make with an absolutely gourmet flavor!

The most delicious lemon olive oil cake recipe

Olive oil isn’t typically used in baking. Its flavor can be a bit strong, and it won’t be found in your average cookie or brownie recipe! But when it comes to lemon cake… olive oil is a must. Canola or vegetable simply won’t do!

This healthy lemon olive oil cake is one lemon dream of a dessert. It’s fluffy and perfectly flavorful and it’s filled with all of the best ingredients: honey, lemon zest, and a powdered sugar glaze.

It makes the perfect fancy-feeling dessert, but I won’t tell if you’re tempted to sneak a piece for breakfast! It’s just that good.

Ingredients in healthy lemon olive oil cake

This cake is made in two parts. The cake itself comes together with a flour base, and then we’ll finish off the recipe with a 2 or 3 (your choice) ingredient glaze.

Cake

• Almond flour: Start your cake with 2 1/4 cups of almond flour.
• Tapioca flour: Follow that with 1/2 cup of tapioca flour (a type of South American flour that works wonders in this cake). Alternatively, you can use equal parts arrowroot starch.
• Baking soda: To help the cake rise properly, include 1/2 tsp of baking soda.
• Salt: 1/4 tsp of salt will create the perfect flavor.
• Eggs: To help all of the dry ingredients bind together well, use 3 eggs.
• Honey: 1/2 cup of honey makes a delicious, subtly sweet addition.
• Olive oil: 1/3 cup of olive oil will create the correct cake texture.
• Lemon juice: Now, for the lemon! Include 1/4 cup of lemon juice.
• Lemon zest: Pair the juice with 2 tbsp of zest for extra flavor! You can use the same lemon for this.
• Vanilla: Last but not least, rout the cake with 1 tsp of vanilla.

Glaze

• Powdered sugar: First up for the lemon cake glaze is 1 cup of powdered sugar.
• Lemon juice: Pair the sugar with 2 tbsp of lemon juice!
• Optional: Finally, add additional lemon zest to the glaze for extra tangy flavor.

Tools needed to make this recipe

To make a healthy lemon cake, you will need 7 kitchen tools. I recommend grabbing them before you get started for the smoothest cooking process!

• 9-inch cake pan
• Parchment paper
• Medium mixing bowl
• Stirring utensil
• Large mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Small mixing bowl

For measuring out ingredients, gather the following sized cups: 1/4 tsp, 1/2 tsp, 1 tsp, 1 tbsp, 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup, and 1 cup.

How to make healthy lemon olive oil cake

This lemon cake is made just like any other! We’ll start by preparing the batter with the dry and then wet ingredients, and then we’ll combine those and bake. Finish it all off with a simple 2 or 3 ingredient glaze!

To begin, preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9-inch cake pan. I like to add a layer of parchment paper to the bottom.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, and salt.

Then, use a large mixing bowl to whisk together the eggs, honey, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla until well combined.

Add the flour mixture into the wet mixture in small increments, and stir until everything is well combined. Once fully mixed, pour the batter into the greased cake pan.

Bake for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Let cool.

Finally, make the glaze by whisking together the glaze ingredients. Let the cake cool, and then add the glaze!

Throughout this recipe, there are a few ingredients that can be substituted with other options.

Baking soda
If you find that you’re out of baking soda, baking powder could save the day. Simply replace the soda with 3 times the amount of powder. For this recipe, that will equal 1 and 1/2 tsp of powder.

Honey
Honey makes a fabulous all-natural sweetener, but not everyone loves it! If preferred, swap with maple syrup or molasses. Start with less than 1/2 cup and add to taste as needed.

Powdered sugar
If you don’t have powdered sugar, you can use regular sugar! Simply grind it up in a blender to turn the sugar crystals into powder. When you reach 1 cup of powder, you’ll be good to go!

If you want to save half (or even all) of your lemon cake for future enjoyment, feel free to freeze it! Simply wrap in foil or plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to eat, let thaw for a few hours and enjoy!

Alternatively, save leftovers for later this week by placing them in an airtight container or wrapping them in foil and storing them in the refrigerator. Enjoy within 5 days.

If you liked this recipe, you’ll want to try these!

Lemon can take any baked good up a notch. Here are some more ideas to try!

• Healthy Lemon Cookies (Gluten-Free)
• Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
• Lemon Poppy Seed Bread (Gluten-Free)
• Healthy Lemon Bars (Gluten-Free)

Recipe by Erin Morrissey and Photos by The Mindful Hapa