Lemon Olive Oil Bundt Cake

If you like pound cake and lemon, nothing better than this cake. Easy to make and the olive oil adds a nice flavor and density to the cake.

I originally found this recipe in a book called Grandbaby cakes by Jocelyn Delk Adams, which my dear friend Sarah had given me. I have also adored the red velvet cake recipe in the book. If you are into making cakes, this book would be a good one to add to your collection.

I use a bundt pan to make this cake, but you can use the same recipe to make a layer cake or cupcakes.

Key Tips for this recipe:

• Baking the cake at a lower temperature keeps the cake moist. 
• Cool the cake completely before you drizzle on the glaze. If the cake is still hot, the glaze will soak into the cake. We want the glaze to stay on the top of the cake and elegantly run down the sides.
• Use fresh lemons! This recipe takes a good 6 -7 lemons. You’ll need about 2-3 tablespoons of zest and 3/4 cup of lemon juice.
• Stick with using a Greek yogurt, non fat is perfectly fine. But Greek strained yogurt is the key.
• Do not over mix the cake, once the dry is incorporated into the wet, stop and pour into the bundt.

How do you make the Lemon Cake?

A lot of Eggs, Greek yogurt and Olive oil are the secret to this cake.

Here are the ingredients for the cake:

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 ¾ cup Greek Yogurt
• 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¾ cup fresh lemon juice
• 2-3 tablespoons of lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Here are the steps to make the cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Spray a 10 cup Bundt pan with olive oil or vegetable oil so that the cake will come out easy once done. 
2. In a large bowl of a mixer, mix the 2 cups of granulated sugar, eggs, oil, yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. 
3. Sift the flour together with the baking powder and salt in another bowl. 
4. Add 1 cup of the flour mixture at a time to the liquid and mix until just incorporated. Do not over mix, it is okay if there are some clumps in it.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan, and put it in the oven in the middle rack if using conventional oven. Bake for 70-80 mins until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. 
6. Let the cake cook for 10-15 mins then you can invert the bundt into the serving plate. The cake should come out clean. After the cake cools down, wrap it loosely with a plastic wrap, this will prevent the cake from drying out. 

Glazing the cake

This is completely optional. The cake at this time is going to taste delicious with or without this glaze. This simple glaze will add a little more lemony sweetness and can dress up your cake! 

Glaze Ingredients:

• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Here are the steps to make the Glaze:

1. Whisk together the confectioner’s sugar and the fresh lemon juice until smooth.
2. Drizzle it on top of the cake. It is important that the cake is completely cooled at this point, before drizzling the dressing on it. If the cake is warm the dressing will soak into the cake and won’t run down the sides!

The cake is ready to eat! Enjoy a slice with a cup of cappuccino..