This olive oil cake is lush, moist and flavorful thanks to extra virgin olive oil and almond extract. Paired with a pistachio buttercream and homemade jam, this is a perfect layer cake for anyone who loves salty sweet pairings!
Earlier this year, I went to DC to attend a friend’s wedding and had one of the best cakes of my life. I cat sit for my old roommate over the weekend and she left a slice of cake in the fridge for me from Capitol Jill.
I’d never seen an olive oil cake like it–thick, lush layers with an open yet dense crumb with a salty kick. Jill tipped me off that her recipe was based on Natasha Pickowizc’s olive oil cake. So using Natasha’s brilliant cake as the base, here’s my attempt to bring my interpretation of that cake to you!
Why you’ll love this cake
- Simple ingredients: This cake uses just 6 basic ingredients (not counting leaveners and salt). It’s a breeze to mix and bake in under an hour!
- Extraordinarily plush crumb: The high ratio of oil and sugar guarantees an incredibly tender cake.
- Soft yet structured crumb: This cake is both delicate for a melt-in-your-mouth texture but also sturdy enough (once frozen) to be stacked as a layer cake. You could happily enjoy this tender cake standalone just dusted with some powdered sugar!
Ingredients
- Olive oil: Since this is the main ingredient in this cake, it’s best to use a high-quality extra virgin olive oil that you love the taste of. I tend to prefer more mild-flavored olive oils (I love Partanna but also have often used Kirkland’s EVOO). I would not recommend substituting another oil like vegetable or canola oil as you really want the rich flavor of olive oil.
- Milk: I use whole milk for the best results. Coconut milk would change the flavor to a more tropical vibe, but the full-fat milk should work well here. You can also try almond, oat or soymilk, but the texture might be slightly less moist and tender as these all have a lower fat content than whole milk.
- Almond extract: Feel free to sub vanilla extract if you prefer (but I love the flavor of almond extract).
- Salt: It may seem like a lot of salt, but I promise the full 1.5 teaspoons will really bring out a lovely salt-sweet contrast.
How to make olive oil cake
- Whisk the eggs and sugar together until lightened and voluminous.
- Stream in olive oil, milk and almond extract.
- Fold in the leaveners and salt, then finally the flour to bring the batter together.
- Pour into prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden and fragrant.
Once the cake is done, I recommend pairing it with a pistachio buttercream (recipe below) and jam of your choice. I used a homemade blackberry jam, but storebought is great.
To make the pistachio buttercream, I use my easy pistachio paste from scratch with just 3 ingredients. If you’d like to make the paste ahead of time, it’ll keep for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. Once the paste is ready, simply beat it into a vanilla buttercream for the perfect salty-sweet frosting.
FAQ
While I prefer a mild extra virgin olive oil, you can use whatever type of olive oil you prefer. While you can use regular (not extra virgin) olive oil, typically EVOO is better quality and will have a better flavor.
Some recommend avoiding Spanish or Tuscan olive oils as they have a more peppery flavor that won’t be as desirable in a cake. Make sure to taste it before you use it!
The flavor will definitely depend on the type of olive oil you use. This cake has undertones of almond (thanks to the extract) with a strong salt balance. In general, you can imagine a butter cake but with light herbal olive oil notes instead of butter.
The salty sweetness of this cake would pair well with almost any fruit jam and nut paste! Think any berry jams, stone fruit jams (like peach, plums, apricots) or even marmalade. If you don’t like pistachios, you can try another nut paste using the same technique as in this DIY pistachio paste–try almonds or hazelnuts.
I actually prefer baking off the layers a day or two before I need them! Since the cake is so delicate, it’s much easier to handle once the layers are fully frozen. You can bake the cake layers, wrap well in plastic wrap and freeze for up to a week. You can frost the layers straight from the freezer (though if you need to trim/level the layers, it’s best to defrost them in the fridge for an hour or so beforehand to soften).
Tips and tricks
- An electric mixer makes this cake much easier: This cake is a breeze to make with an electric mixer or stand mixer. If you want to make it by hand, be sure to whip the eggs and sugar together very aggressively until they are light, foamy, and pale yellow in color (at least tripled in volume). Although this cake uses chemical leaveners, it’s also important to incorporate lots of air via the eggs to help lift the cake.
- Baking in 2 or 3 8-inch pans: If you bake this cake in 2 8-inch pans, you’ll use about ~681g of batter in each pan. If you’d like 3 slightly thicker layers vs. 4 thinner layers, you can bake the batter in 3 8-inch pans with ~454g of batter in each.
- 9×13 cake: I’ve also made this as a square cake baked in a 9×13 pan. After baking in a 9×13, I then cut the cake in half width-wise and height-wise to create 4 square-ish layers. However, given how unevenly cakes bake up in a 9×13 pan, this shape was much more difficult to level and frost so I don’t really recommend it!
Olive Oil Pistachio Blackberry Cake
Tender, plush olive oil cake layers with a salty-sweet pistachio buttercream and blackberry jam.
Servings 12 people
Ingredients
For the olive oil cake
- 3 large eggs 150g
- 1.5 cups sugar 300g
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp olive oil 225g
- 1.25 cups milk 284g
- 3/4 tsp almond extract
- 5 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1.5 tsp kosher salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour 360g
For the pistachio buttercream
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, slightly softened 226g
- 4 cups powdered sugar 454g
- 2/3 cup pistachio paste 175g
- 2-3 tbsp heavy cream or milk, if needed
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, optional
- salt, to taste
For assembly
- 1-1.5 cups blackberry jam + more for garnish
- additional pistachios, for garnish
- fresh blackberries, for garnish
Instructions
For the olive oil cake
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Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and line 2 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the eggs briefly on high speed until combined and foamy. Slowly stream in the sugar and whip on high until eggs are lightened and voluminous, 5-6 minutes.
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Stream in the olive oil, milk and almond extract and beat on medium speed until just combined.
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Evenly sprinkle the baking powder, baking soda and salt over the surface of the batter and beat to combine. Finally, add the flour and mix on medium low until flour is just incorporated (a few streaks of flour are okay). Use a rubber spatula to finish incorporating the last few streaks of flour until the batter is smooth (a few lumps are okay).
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Divide batter evenly into the two cake pans (~681g). Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the cake is fragrant, tops are golden, and the cake springs back under your finger. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then turn out to cool on a wire cooling rack.
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I highly recommend wrapping the cakes in plastic wrap and freezing for at least one hour up to a week at this point. This will help minimize crumbs and mess while frosting the cake as this is a very delicate cake. You can wrap the cakes and freeze while still warm (some believe this helps the cake retain more moisture) or wait until they’re fully cooled.
For the pistachio buttercream
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Just before you’re ready to frost the cake, make the buttercream. In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the softened butter and beat until smooth.
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Gradually add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Once all the sugar is incorporated, beat on high speed for 3 minutes until the frosting is super fluffy and stark white.
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Add the pistachio paste and beat for another 2-3 minutes on high, or until the paste is smoothly incorporated. If the frosting looks too thick, add the cream or milk to loosen the texture. Taste and add vanilla and/or salt if desired (depending on how salty your pistachio paste is, you may need to add up to 1/4 tsp salt. I didn’t add any salt to mine since I had used salted pistachios in my pistachio paste). Use right away!
To assemble
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Torte each layer (I.e. cut in half height-wise to form two thinner layers of cake). Place a layer of cake on a cutting board or cake stand, spread with pistachio buttercream, then 1/4-1/2 cup of blackberry jam. Repeat with the remaining layers. Garnish cake with remaining jam, pistachios, fresh blackberries, etc. Enjoy!
Notes
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