I love baking, especially when I have fresh citrus in my backyard! One thing I absolutely love about SoCal (and there are many) is the fresh fruit. The citrus here is darn good. Since my house actually has a lemon tree, I love getting to find new lemon recipes to try each spring. That’s why I decided to try making an almond and lemon olive oil cake. I’ve done a polenta olive oil cake in the past, but I wanted a softer texture. So this time, I ditched the polenta and used flour instead.
I decided to be pretty aggressive with the lemon in this recipe. I wanted to ensure there was a strong enough lemon flavor to cut through the almonds. Although I mostly used this recipe, I also used aspects of this recipe to come up with my unique take on lemon olive oil cake.
I’m so glad I experimented with this recipe. It turned out so well and my entire family loved it! My kids can be so picky when it comes to my recipes, so I was so glad they loved this one as much as I did. If you like almond and lemons, this is the recipe for you. It is such a nice dessert because it is not that sweet or heavy so it’s a great way to end an Italian (or any spring-time) meal.
Almond And Lemon Olive Oil Cake
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
Zest of 2 lemons
3 tablespoons milk (I only had almond on hand and it worked fine)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup sliced almonds (for topping, do not toast in advance, optional)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8-inch-diameter cake pan.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, eggs, and zests in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in the milk.
Gradually beat in the oil. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in the 2/3 cup chopped almonds.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and top with remaining 1/2 cup sliced almonds.
Place cake pan on baking pan to collect any possible spills. Bake until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool for 15 minutes. Remove cake and place on a serving platter, top side up. Serve at room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar or serve with a fruit compote if desired.
Looking for other Italian recipes? Click here for my panettone recipe and Italian Easter cookies recipe. Want more lemon recipes? Click here.