As I look to put my foot down on the foods I chose to make I can’t help but give tribute to the ones who came before us and have done it so well, and thank goodness to whomever created the Olive Oil Cake Recipe. Why on earth anyone ever thought about putting olive oil in a cake recipe is beyond me, but man did they know what’s up! There’s a reason the classic recipes are called the classics, it’s because they are ALWAYS delicious. While I am absolutely obsessed with a lot of these more traditional recipes, whether it be osso bucco or a homemade baguette, I always like to put my little stamp on things. I do this because I want my cooking techniques and everything I’ve learned over the last 23 years of cooking to slightly influence the dish.
When searching on how to make an olive oil cake, I went straight to BillyParisi.com and saw that I had done some cupcakes a few years back that were olive oil cornmeal based. Well using similar techniques while swapping out a few ingredients I figured I could at least get close to where I was wanting to go. I knew in this Ricotta Olive Oil Cake Recipe with Lemon and Almonds I was wanting to use almond meal, lemon zest and ricotta cheese into the base as opposed to the mascarpone cheese I used in the other recipe. You must know that this is not a vegan or gluten-free cake, I use eggs, ricotta cheese and Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Flour to help stabilize the cake. However, with that being said you can absolutely take appropriate measures to use things like Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.
I’ve been using Bob’s Almond Meal since forever, seriously. I feel like back 5-7 years ago when I started using it, that it was the only one on the shelf. Bob’s Red Mill is a company that we use almost every day. They have tons of different flours, grains, legumes, etc. that are all based around the highest quality and health. All of their flours, including their almond meal, is super well-made and always renders amazing results when I use them in my cooking. The same goes for this Ricotta Olive Oil Cake Recipe with Lemon and Almonds, it turned out perfectly!
Making an olive oil cake is actually incredibly simple, in fact if I didn’t have to worry about moving a camera around for all the different shots I would have been able to assemble this recipe in under 15 minutes. From there it’s as simple as transferring it to a spring form pan, or grease cake pan, and baking it. This olive oil cake recipe definitely is a little bigger than most but it’s because I like a thicker cake. Sorry, I’ve got a serious sweet tooth so no point in trying to hide it. I’m just telling you this, so you don’t put the batter into a shallow 9” cake pan and it ends up spilling over the sides.
The most difficult part about this Ricotta Olive Oil Cake Recipe with Lemon and Almonds is having the patience not to eat it while it cools to room temperature. This part of baking cakes is often looked over but so very crucial to the success of your cake. When you pull a cake out of the oven it doesn’t magically just stop cooking. No, in fact it’s called carry over-cooking and this is the time and temperature you have to account for when cooking just about anything. I believe that if you cut open the cake as soon as you take it out of the oven, that it would be a little bit on the wet side because things have not yet completely come together. The resting part of the cake is so important, so be sure to give yourself enough time when making this.
There are a few ways that you can finish off this cake. You can do it by simply sprinkling on some powdered sugar, or you can get fancy and decorate it up with some whipped cream, lemon slices and fresh mint. When it comes to plating up any dish, you are only limited by your own creativity so be sure to have fun with this part, because before we eat with our mouth we eat with our eyes. Happy Baking everyone!
Video
Ricotta Olive Oil Cake Recipe with Lemon and Almonds
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups of ricotta
- 2/3 cup of olive oil
- 1 ½ cups of sugar
- zest of 1 lemon
- 3 eggs
- 1 ½ cups ap flour
- 3/4 cup of almond meal
- 1 tbl baking powder
- 1/3 tsp soda
- ¾ salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk the ricotta, olive oil, sugar, and zest until completely combined.
- Next, add in one egg at a time and they are completely mixed in.
- In a separate large bowl whisk together the flour, almond meal baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined. Whisk well to ensure and clumps are removed.
- Transfer the dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and whisk together just until everything is combined.
- Pour the batter into a 9" spring form pan and bake for 60-70 minutes or until browned on top and firm in the center.
- Place the cake onto a cooling rack and let it cool to room temperature before decorating and serving.
Nutrition
Wendy Siri says
If I don’t have enough ricotta (10 oz instead of 12) can I substitute plain yogurt something else or just make it with a little less ricotta?
Chef Billy Parisi says
I think you could and it would be ok.
Joanne Faysal says
Can I leave out the almond flour if I do not have it and use all ap flour?
Chef Billy Parisi says
no
Christine Master says
I served this for Easter dessert. What a hit! It’s easy to make & delicious! This recipe is a keeper! I did however, grease the springform pan (mine isn’t non-stick). I also found 1/3 t. of soda curious…all my teaspoons go from 1/4 to 1/2.
Shawnee Seese says
I made this cake this evening for Easter dinner dessert. I seriously have never eaten or made a dessert as decadent as this. This recipe is a masterpiece and I don’t say that lightly. My tongue did flips. It was so flavorful and yet subtle, so light and airy. The moistness made it melt in my mouth. This should win awards! I will always use this recipe as a new family heirloom. What a showstopper! My guests raved about it. Thank you for continuing to bless us with your God given gifts!
Judy Frates says
I made this cake and it was beyond delicious! Moist tasty easy to make a definite home run!
Lois says
Do you have to grease the pan before adding the cake mixture?
Chef Billy Parisi says
no, because you use a springform pan which is already non-stick.
Diane Snow says
Can I use a 10″ springform?
Chef Billy Parisi says
yes, but you cooking time will likely need to decrease.
Ellmellow says
What a cake – I started out wanting to make cookies but I love baked goods with olive oil – amazing! I accidentally used 15 oz of ricotta – I guess the recipe technically calls for 12 oz. I also suggest adding in the juice of a lemon. Will make this again and again
NancyS says
So this is week 4 of me as a baker. I’ve been on a steep learning curve to fine tune my results. I couldn’t wait to try this recipe so this week I did. I swapped in cake flour for the all purpose flour but otherwise I followed the directions exactly. I’ve made some pretty fancy cakes before today but this one got RAVE reviews from my family. Best cake yet they tell me. I’m so thrilled. It is delicious and so easy. Will definitely make this again and again
Jessica says
Hi,
Do you think it would work out well if I substituted the ap flour for almond flour then the almond meal for coconut flour? I did a zucchini bread with a mix of both; it was incredible! and similarly I did less on the coconut flour only about 2 tbsp actually and it came out super moist and delicious and more fluffy than dense in regards to that type of bread…but I’m not sure if it might work here.
Chef Billy Parisi says
I’m sure you could, but the hydration amount would obviously change a bit.
Jean says
I have both almond meal and almond flour (and, of course ap flour) in my pantry. Which of the almond (meal or flour) would you use to create the best texture for this cake? Thank you!
Chef Billy Parisi says
Both the meal and flour will work fine.
Jean says
Thank you!
Noreen Gibbons says
I cannot wait to make this….heading to the store soon! I am happy to see you using Bob’s Red Mill! I live in Portland, OR – lucky me!!
Have you visited his facility and store? Going there is like a school field trip for me!
Thanks for your easy to follow ways!
Chef Billy Parisi says
Yes, was there a few summer’s ago.
Marisa says
Can l use extra virgin olive oil or does it have to be olive oil?
Chef Billy Parisi says
you can use extra virgin if you’d like.
Mary says
I am so glad you didn’t use metrics in your recipe♥️I had a recipe for ciambella but all the ones I had were incomplete by at least 2 or more ingredients. I love tjis one and made it in a ring pan which was perfect!🤗
Julie says
Hi Billy,
I’ve made this cake several times and it is so delicious but it always seems a little sunken in the middle. I did test it before I took it out if the oven and it was done.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes!
Chef Billy Parisi says
Interesting. Sunken middle can mean over mixed or just needs a few extra minutes in the oven, or even something completely different. Glad you all like it!!
R says
Can this cake be made in a square pan instead of a round pan!
Chef Billy Parisi says
I don’t see why not?!
Sybil says
I made your cake today, I halved the quantities as it’s just for my husband and I.
Half the quantities brought the ricotta cheese to 190 g and the olive oil to 68 g, I used 84 g of soft white flour (freshly milled) and 68 g of sugar, but I would reduce the sugar even more next time. I ground the almonds myself, skins and all, and used 2 eggs. Baked at 350F, ready after 37 minutes (checked with instant thermometer).
It’s really, really good, though a little oily… it rose beautifully in the oven, but settled back once cool (even thought I left it in the turned off oven to cool).
Overall, a good cake. I wonder what I can do to avoid the cake falling back. I like the texture although mine is a lot denser than the slice shown in your photo. This was my first time ever using olive oil in a cake.
Shelly says
Can this be made using only almond flour? Thank you
Chef Billy Parisi says
You probably could, just will most likely turn out a bit different as far as texture is concerned. Also may not rise as much.
Karen says
I made this cake today and it was amazing. I used only ap flour (no almond since I’m not a fan of that flavor). My only downside comment is that the cake took well over an hour to bake. At 50 minutes it was still completely wet in the center. In fact it was an hour and 15 minuets before a cake tester came out clean. By then the top was overly brown. But no matter…it was still delicious and everyone loved it.
I thought it should’ gone into a larger pan but then later read your “thick cake “ comment and I agree with that. I have a good oven that’s fairly new, but now I’m wondering if it’s thermostat is off.
Chef Billy Parisi says
I adjusted the time a bit, but my oven runs kind of hot so that may have been a difference. In order to offset the browning try covering it with foil. Thanks for trying and I’m glad you enjoyed it!