I taught this cake last year in a Mediterranean-inspired class and it quickly became a favorite.  If you are skeptical about olive oil in a cake, try it!!  It’s a delicious, fruity fat and cakes last longer with oil instead of butter.  Olive oil is the perfect match with citrus, other fruits like apples, chocolate, and herbs in desserts (I have a crazy good recipe for a chocolate chunk cake with rosemary.) You can dust it with powdered sugar or make this glaze with whatever citrus you have.  Blood oranges and pink grapefruit are particularly pretty!

Why you’ll love this recipe

• super adaptable cake; 
• uses simple ingredients; 
• lovely presentation; 
• great for special occasions, including Valentines day!

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour – I use regular all-purpose flour for this recipe. To make it gluten-free, you can use an equal amount of your favorite GF flour blend. Or do half oat flour and half GF flour blend. I have the most success with King Arthur multi-purpose GF flour. I do like to add a little xanthin gum too. Add 1 teaspoon in this recipe if using a GF flour blend. 
• Baking powder – I prefer using an aluminum-free baking powder. 
• Sugar – cane sugar works well in this recipe because it dissolves well and is lighter in color since this is a light colored cake. 
• Eggs – I use 4 large eggs in this recipe and they must be at room temperature for best results.
• Olive oil – use an unrefined olive oil for best flavor. It doesn’t have to be a fancy bottle either. Some of the brands I like include: Thrive Market private label, Kirkland, O Olive Oil, and Lucini. 
• Yogurt – use a plain, unsweetened whole milk yogurt. You can use a DF yogurt to make this dairy-free. Opt for one that is the same consistency of a traditional full-fat dairy yogurt and a similar fat profile. I tend to use mostly cashew yogurt. I think oat milk yogurt would be great too. 
• Citrus juice and zest – you can use the zest of an orange, lemon, or grapefruit. I don’t recommend using Meyer lemon zest because it’s not that flavorful. The juice will be used for the glaze. I recommend using blood orange juice if you want a pink glaze. Otherwise, any citrus juice will be fine. 
• Powdered sugar – is also known as confectioner’s sugar. I prefer ones that have tapioca starch instead of cornstarch. Be sure to sift if it looks clumpy for a smooth glaze. You can also make your own powdered sugar at home by blending 1 cup cane sugar + 1 Tablespoon tapioca flour in a blender until pulverized.  

How to make it? 

1. Position oven rack so that the bundt pan will be in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a Bundt pan with olive oil. I like to use a pastry brush to get into all the crevices.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl or with a mixer on medium speed, stir together the sugar and the citrus zest until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the eggs and beat on medium until lighter in color, about 3 minutes. Slowly add the oil, and then the yogurt, and mix until combined. Stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined and there is no visible flour.
3. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake until cake is golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes.
4. Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a thin knife around all the edges, including the inner tube. Carefully invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Meanwhile, make the glaze by whisking the citrus juice (I like to start with 2 Tablespoons), yogurt, and powdered sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. You can add more citrus juice gradually, if needed. The glaze should be thick, but still pourable. You can test the consistency by scooping some of the glaze with the whisk and drizzling it over the bowl. When the cake is completely cool, transfer cake to a serving dish and drizzle all of the glaze over the cake. I like to pour the glaze along the top of the cake and it will naturally drip down the sides of the cake. The glaze will firm up as it sits. This cake can be stored loosely covered at room temperature for up to a week.

Tips 

• The olive oil flavor is not very pronounced unless you use a poor quality oil. Use one that has a pleasing flavor to you, but no need to splurge on a fancy bottle. 
• Room temperature ingredients (e.g. eggs and yogurt) make a big difference.
• Make sure your baking powder is still fresh and has not expired.
• You can use any citrus zest in the cake, but I would discourage using Meyer lemon zest – it’s just not flavorful enough. 
• When making the glaze, use less juice than you think you need and then add as little as possible to loosen up the glaze. It takes very little liquid to make the glaze more runny.
• This cake gets better as it sits, as long as it is well covered. I have had it on the counter for up to a week! 

Substitutions

• Gluten-free – use an equal amount of your favorite GF flour blend. I have the most success with King Arthur Multi-purpose GF Flour. I do like to add a little xanthan gum too. Add 1 teaspoon in this recipe.
• Dairy-free –  There are so many DF yogurts out there and most of them will work fine here. Opt for one that is the same consistency of a traditional full-fat dairy yogurt and a similar fat profile. I tend to use mostly cashew yogurt. I think oat milk yogurt would be great too. Sheep’s milk yogurt, although dairy, would be another wonderful option.
• Egg-free – (I have not tried this yet.) You can try whipping 9 Tablespoons aquafaba + 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar until it’s a stiff foam like shaving cream. Fold it into the batter in the last step.

Other recipes you may like

*Olive Oil Apple Spice Cake 

*Whole Grain Olive Oil Cake with Chocolate Chunks and Rosemary

*Upside Down Grain-free Cherry Cake

*Key Lime Pie

If you give this recipe a try, snap a pic and tag @pamelasalzman so I can see your beautiful creations. I also really appreciate readers taking the time to leave a rating and review! Subscribe for free to my site for the latest recipes,  updates and things I’m loving lately.  If you enjoy this recipe, I taught it last year in my online class!  Two options for online monthly classes – buy a single class or buy a subscription and have access to ALL previous classes. Give me an hour a month, and I’ll make you a better, healthier cook! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Pamela Salzman (@pamelasalzman)

Olive Oil Yogurt Cake with Citrus Glaze

Pamela

5 from 4 votes

Print Recipe

Servings 12

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• CAKE
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1¼ cups cane sugar or maple sugar
• 1 Tablespoon citrus zest orange, lemon, grapefruit
• 4 large eggs at room temperature
• 1¼ cups unrefined cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil + more for greasing pan
• 1 cup plain unsweetened whole-milk yogurt, at room temperature
• <br>
• CITRUS GLAZE
• 2 –3 Tablespoons strained citrus juice blood orange juice looks pretty!
• 1 Tablespoons plain unsweetened whole-milk yogurt
• 2 cups powdered confectioners’ sugar, sifted if clumpy

Instructions

 

• Position oven rack so that the bundt pan will be in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a Bundt pan with olive oil. I like to use a pastry brush to get into all the crevices. You can turn the pan upside down in the sink to prevent the oil from pooling at the bottom. If you prefer to use butter to grease, butter and flour the pan and tap out the excess flour.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl or with a mixer on medium speed, stir together the sugar and the citrus zest until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the eggs and beat on medium until lighter in color, about 3 minutes. Slowly add the oil, and then the yogurt, and mix until combined. Stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined and there is no visible flour.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake until cake is golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. 47 minutes is perfect in my oven.
• Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a thin knife around all the edges, including the inner tube. Carefully invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Make the glaze by whisking the citrus juice (I like to start with 2 Tablespoons), yogurt, and powdered sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. You can add more citrus juice gradually (like 1/2 teaspoon at a time), if needed. The glaze should be thick, but still pourable. I prefer it thicker than thinner. You can test the consistency by scooping some of the glaze with the whisk and drizzling it over the bowl. When the cake is completely cool, transfer cake to a serving dish and drizzle all of the glaze over the cake. I like to pour the glaze along the top of the cake and it will naturally drip down the sides of the cake. The glaze will firm up as it sits. This cake can be stored loosely covered at room temperature for up to a week.

Notes

SUBSTITUTION SUGGESTIONS
Gluten-free: use an equal amount of your favorite GF flour blend. I have the most success with King Arthur Multi-purpose GF Flour. I do like to add a little xanthan gum too. Add 1 teaspoon in this recipe.

Dairy-free: There are so many DF yogurts out there and most of them will work fine here. Opt for one that is the same consistency of a traditional full-fat dairy yogurt and a similar fat profile. I tend to use mostly cashew yogurt. I think oat milk yogurt would be great too. Sheep's milk yogurt, although dairy, would be another wonderful option.

Egg-free: (I have not tried this yet) You can try whipping 9 Tablespoons aquafaba + 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar until it’s a stiff foam like shaving cream. Fold it into the batter in the last step.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!