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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 350ยฐF 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!
Substitution Tip
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!
Storing leftovers
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
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!
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour or arrowroot starch
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp vanilla
Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- optional: lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9 inch cake pan. I also parchment line the bottom.
- In a medium bowl, mix together almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, honey, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla until well combined.
- Add flour mixture into wet in increments, and stir until well combined. Once fully mixed, pour into greased cake pan.
- Bake for 28-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool.
- Make glaze by whisking together glaze ingredients. Let cool completely before glazing.
There may be affiliate links in this post!ย By purchasing a product I recommend, I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I absolutely love and use myself. Thank you for supporting Erin Lives Whole, it helps keep this blog afloat ๐
Lerin says
Does the cake taste well without the frosting ? I dont enjoy frosting for tea time cakes.
Erin says
Hi Lerin, yes of course!
Jodi G says
I made this for my momโs birthday and everyone went crazy for it, including my dad who usually wonโt even try the healthy desserts I bake. For him to love it speaks volumes!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Jodi, so happy everyone loved it! ๐
JANE says
I would love to make this cake after reading all the reviews, but non of your measurements are in ounces or grams but in cups.
Cups not being the most reliable way to bake as they can vary depending on country ( I live in Australia and our cups are different) but also some people pack a cup some lightly fill – this all affects the actual weight of the ingredients.
if you could give the ounces or better still the gram weights I would feel more confident in baking this cake
Erin says
Hi Jane, thanks for your comment! So sorry but I can’t convert the whole recipe, but hopefully you can convert them to ounces/grams. When you measure, nothing should be packed in. Just scooped into the cups. Hope this helps!
Bianca says
This was my first lemon olive oil cake and OMG this is the only recipe Iโll ever need!! I took it to a dinner party and there was no left overs! So delicious, moist, and just the perfect touch of sweetness and lemon flavor! Canโt wait to make it again!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Bianca, so glad you loved it so much! ๐
Diana says
This recipe was So easy! The flavors are AMAZING. I could not stop eating it. My gluten free friend is very excited to make this as i was SO Surprised she could have it as well!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Diana, so happy you both enjoyed it!
Erica says
I wonder if I’d be able to use regular flour?! My almond is expired. ๐คฃ
Erin says
Hi Erica, I haven’t tested with that flour and all flours have different absorption rates. You can definitely give it a try but you’d likely have to adjust the amount. Let us know if it works!
Lyzette says
Iโm an avid home baker and this was phenomenal! My husband said it was the BEST cake Iโve ever made.
★★★★★
Lyzette says
Also, I didnโt have the tapioca flourโonly arrowroot flour & the flavor or texture wasnโt affected at all.
Erin says
Hi! So happy you made it your own and enjoyed it!!
Erin says
Hi Lyzette, so happy you both loved it!! ๐
Madeline says
The lemon flavor in this was amazing! & the glaze was *chef kiss*
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Madeline, so glad you loved it!!
MaryKate says
Could you make this in a 8in square dish?
Thank you!!!
Erin says
Hi MaryKate, yep that would be fine and might just need to adjust the baking time slightly so just keep an eye on it!
MaryKate says
Thank you so much! It turned out DELICIOUS!
Erin says
Hi MaryKate, yay so glad you loved it!! ๐
Lauren says
Any substitutions to make it nut free but still keep it gluten free? Thank you so much in advance!
Erin says
Hi Lauren, I haven’t made those subs but feel free to sub what you need to and let me know how it comes out!
Gaby says
Absolutely delicious! Boyfriend literally started clapping when he tried it, claiming it to be the best dessert ever made in this house.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Gaby, so happy you both enjoyed the cake!! ๐
Colleen says
Loved this recipe! So lemony and perfect for summer
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Colleen, so happy you loved the cake!!
Darci says
We made this for my husbandโs birthday last week. Heโs a big lemon fan and he absolutely loved this cake! We all loved it and it was so simple to make. Delicious with great lemon flavor and weโll definitely be making it again.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Darci, so glad everyone loved it! Happy belated to him!!
Kamie says
Hi, just another 5 star review by me. If I could use only one word to describe this cake, I would use the word amazing. Iโm seriously obsessed. Itโs so good! Like the cake is so good that you donโt even have to put the glaze on it for it to be delicious, but the glaze is the cherry on top.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Kamie, so happy you loved it so much!! ๐
Maddie says
I made this for a graduation party full of non gluten free people and they all loved this. Super moist and easy to make!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Maddie, I am so glad everyone loved the cake! ๐
Katie says
This recipe is really good and so easy! My son was asking for a lemon dessert and this didn’t disappoint!! The cake is super moist and the glaze just made it perfect. I love every single one of your recipes that I’ve made!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Katie, I am so happy you all loved the cake so much! Thanks for sharing! ๐
Brittany says
Can you use all almond flour if you donโt have tapioca?
Erin says
Hi Brittany, yes! I’d add an additional cup instead of half cup. Let me know how it comes out!
casey says
Oh my goodness, this cake is so moist and perfectly sweet! The texture is just amazing, olive oil cake is my new favorite!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Casey, so happy you loved it!!
Heather says
Can I use Avocado Oil instead of olive oil?
Erin says
Hi Heather, that should be fine! The taste would be a little different but it should be okay baking wise.
Cassidy says
This is the perfect summer dessert! Light, fresh, and full of lemon flavor! 10/10 from me
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Cassidy, so happy you loved the cake!! ๐