When I posted on Facebook that I was baking a lemon rosemary olive oil cake someone commented and said “yuk”. Ha ha! Sounds a little odd I suppose, but I’ve learned that herbs are very versatile. While the thought of using pungent rosemary in a delicate cake might seem a bit unusual to you, olive oil probably sounds even stranger. Think about it though. Olive oil is one of the healthiest oils you can use, but you don’t want to use one that is cold pressed or with a stronger flavor. Use a lighter olive oil when using it in baking and substitute equally for other oils.
When I found this recipe on My Recipes I was curious as to why the rating was only 3 out of 5. Turns out after reading many of the comments that a lot of people were producing dry cakes. The instructions say to use 13.5 ounces of flour, then in parenthesis it says “about 3 cups”. Here’s where Baking 101 really comes in to play. If you aerate your flour by either stirring it first or “fluffing” it up then weigh out 13.5 ounces, after scooping that into your measuring cups and leveling them off, you will end up with a bit less than 3 cups. That’s just for discussion purposes though. I recommend for this recipe that you simply weigh the flour. That’s what I did and it was perfect. If you don’t have a scale, start with 2 1/2 cups, but don’t go more than 2 3/4 cups.
I took some of this lovely cake over to a friend of mine and she loved it. I did too. It had a delicious lemon flavor with only a subtle hint of rosemary. If you didn’t tell someone the rosemary was in there, they probably wouldn’t be able to detect it. Definitely delicious and worth giving a try!
Lemon-Rosemary Olive Oil Cake
More Lemon Recipes
- Lemon Bars
- Lemon Lush
- Lemon Icebox Cake
- Lemon Streusel Squares
- Lemon Meringue Pie Bars
- Instant Pot Lemon Curd Cheesecake
- Lemon Cake
- Instant Pot Lemon Cake
- Lemon Baked Donuts
Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil Cake
IMPORTANT - There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- Baker's Joy cooking spray
- 13.5 ounces all-purpose flour roughly 2.5 - 2.75 cups
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh rosemary finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup low fat milk
- 2 teaspoons lemon rind grated
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon lemon extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Rosemary sprig for garnish optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Coat a 10-inch tube pan with Baker's Joy cooking spray; or regular cooking spray then dust with 2 tablespoons flour. Weigh or lightly spoon 13.5 ounces flour (about 2.5 - 2.75 cups) into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl.
- Place granulated sugar and next 7 ingredients (through eggs) in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at low speed 2 minutes or until smooth. Add to flour mixture; beat until blended.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack, and remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. Combine powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice, stirring until smooth. Drizzle sugar mixture over cake. Garnish with rosemary sprig, if desired.
Nutrition
More from em you might like:
Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Blueberry Sauce
Lemon & Blackberry Cream Cheese Swirl Cake
Almond Butter Cake
Double Glazed Almond Orange Bundt Cake
More from other great blogs:
Key Lime Cream Cheese Pie from Barbara Bakes
Lemon Meringue and Fresh Raspberry Cheesecake from She’s Becoming DoughMessTic
Cornmeal, Rosemary & Lemon Cake with Rhubarb & Strawberry Sauce from Cookin’ Canuck
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Amanda Davis
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Megan says
I think this sounds really good! I have been wanting to make an olive oil cake and I know I would love the rosemary in it. I bet lavender would be good to. Wonderful recipe Amanda. One I would like to someday try.
BTW- I still haven't gotten to those darn watermelon cookies. Had every intention. In fact, I bought Watermelon flavoring. Then the oven broke. :(
MaryBeth says
WOW…the flavor that this cake must have, it sounds so very interesting and I would love to try it.
buttersweetmelody says
I've been wanting to try this combo cause it sounds really delicious and interesting but I'm afraid nobody will like it and think I'm a weirdo…Then I'll have a whole lot of cake to myself (sometimes that's good) (: Thanks for the recipe]!
-Amalia
http://buttersweetmelody.wordpress.com/
Amanda says
I agree Avanika. Most recipes call for a measurement in cups, so in that case I use that, but whenever a recipe calls for weighing I pull out the scale :)
Avanika [YumsiliciousBakes] says
I always weigh. Takes all the guesswork away!
Amanda says
Good idea keeping the plant in the kitchen Cory. This was a wonderful cake!
Culinary Cory says
This sounds unique and lovely. I always buy a small rosemary plant this time of the year to have in my kitchen during the winter months. It adds a nice natural aroma when I'm not cooking.
Amanda says
Thank you! i agree about weighing, anytime a recipe states a weight, I always weigh it.
Cookin' Canuck says
Very good point about weighing your ingredients. It really can make a difference to a recipe. I think your cake and glaze look wonderful!
Amanda says
Thanks ladies! Definitely a keeper :)
Nutmeg Nanny says
This looks great! I would never turn my nose up to this delicious cake…:)
My Kitchen in the Rockies says
That looks like a keeper recipe for me. I love olive oil cakes since they stay very moist.
Amanda says
Thanks Barbara!
Barbara @ Modern Comfort Food says
I was already sold on this cake when I saw the title. You're so right that herbs can add such an intriguing, delicious note to desserts. And with lemons? Perfect!
Amanda says
Thanks Katrina! I really was good, very nice lemon flavor :)
Mo – thank you! :)
Rena – hop you try it, nothing savory about it, it's very good
Troy – I bet that was good. The jelly sounds great!
Jose – Gracias! :)
jose manuel says
Fantastico bizcocho, se ve muy esponjoso, me lo copio.
Saludos
Troy says
We ate dinner in a fancy Italian place one night and there was a cake similar to this on the menu. Of course, since we had never heard of it, we had to try it. It was one of the best desserts we have ever had.
Incidentally, I just finished another batch of Lemon Verbena and Rosemary Jelly… Yum!
Rena says
My husband loves lemon cake. I'm going to give this one a try and see if he likes it. Thanks for all the special tips, too!
Mo 'Betta says
Gorgeous cake and I bet it's delicious too! I love lemon…
Katrina says
Yum, Amanda. I think it looks and sounds good. I swear I saw it in a magazine a few months ago (Food Network or Rachael Ray?), at least something similar. Love the glaze, I don't recall the one I saw having a glaze.
You make me want to try everything you do. ;)