LEMON & THYME OLIVE OIL CAKE
Olive oil based cakes are absolutely brilliant because they bring a richness and depth of flavour that butter just can’t match. Unlike butter, olive oil adds a fruity, slightly peppery note that enhances the cake’s natural ingredients without overpowering them. Plus, olive oil keeps the crumb tender and moist, creating a soft texture that practically melts in your mouth.
Now, onto the magic of Greek style syrup drenching, this technique takes moistness to a whole new level. The cakes get soaked in a syrup often infused with citrus, honey, or aromatic spices like cinnamon and cloves. This syrup sinks deep into the crumb, not just sitting on top, which means every bite bursts with luscious, sticky sweetness. The syrup also seals in moisture, ensuring your cake stays fresh and succulent long after baking.
So, when you combine olive oil’s luscious moistness with a good Greek syrup drench, you get a cake that’s irresistibly moist, flavoursome, and utterly addictive. The combination of lemon and thyme is a no brainer, but it’s impressive how much it soaks into the cake and combos perfectly with extra virgin olive oil, in a way that’s just not possible with butter.
LEMON & THYME OLIVE OIL CAKE
〰️
LEMON & THYME OLIVE OIL CAKE 〰️
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Serves: 1 cake (12-16 slices)
Lemon & Thyme Syrup
200gm caster sugar
200gm water
1 lemon (juice and peels)
10gm fresh lemon thyme
3 bay leaves
Place all ingredients except for lemon juice into a saucepan on medium heat. Bring it to a high simmer and then let it simmer for one minute. Take off heat and stir through lemon juice to cool it down. Leave to the side to infuse.
Olive Oil Cake
4 eggs
200gm caster sugar
1 cup Red Island extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1/2 cup milk
Pinch of salt
270gm self raising flour
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
In a stand mixer with whisk attachment, place eggs and sugar and beat them for at least 5 minutes on high so they’re light and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium low and slowly drizzle in the EVOO, milk, vanilla and salt. Reduce speed to its lowest setting and in three batches add in the self raising flour. Remove bowl from stand mixer and fold mixture to make sure everything is well combined.
Line a 22cm cake, by lining the bottom with baking paper and butter and flour the sides.
Pour batter in, and it should reach 3/4 of the way up, you don’t want to go any further. Bake in the oven for 50 minutes to an hour. This will depend on the strength of your oven, but poke a toothpick in and when it comes out dry and clean you’re ready to go.
When cake is nearly done, place syrup back on super low heat and warm up. You wan the syrup quite loose, so if its become a bit too thick to enter toothpick sized holes, water it down with a dash of water.
Remove cake from oven, with toothpick skewer poke many holes into the cake all over the top, before labelling the warm syrup over the top and allowing it to fall into the cake. Let it sit for 10 minutes before removing from cake tin and serving. I enjoy it with greek yoghurt but anything tangy cream is great.