Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Crème Fraiche
Citrus is a winter crop, so why does it taste so summery? Maybe because of its sunshine color and crisp scent. This lemon olive oil cake is a recipe I tweaked a while back when I was searching for a citrus dessert for a Central Market cooking class. The texture is light and airy, the flavor is bright and not too sweet. An instant favorite.
I’ve tested this cake with all-purpose flour, gluten-free flour, cake flour and pastry flour. I like it best with cake flour, but any of the above will do. The version in the photo was made with all-purpose flour and you can tell it sunk in a little (but I can tell you from experience it was delicious.) It can be made one or two days ahead, completely cooled and wrapped well in plastic wrap. That makes for a super easy ending to your next dinner party.
When my partners Courtney Paddock, from Little Coterie, and Kelley Sullivan Low, from Sullivan Spread, were looking for a dessert to satisfy 80 at our last Farm Girls Supper Club we opted for this treat. We wanted to dress up the cakes with a rustic finish, so the lemon crème fraiche was added on top, along with a heaping helping of blueberries. Perfection on a plate.
Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Crème Fraiche
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 10-12 slices
I prefer to use organic extra virgin olive oil, but regular or “light” olive oil works. If you don’t have pastry flour, regular all-purpose flour works fine, just sift it twice. It does make for a slightly denser finished product. If you’d like to make this cake gluten-free, I recommend using Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour or Cup4Cup.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for greasing pan
- 1 large lemon
- 1 cup pastry flour
- 5 large eggs, separated
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Turbinado or Demerara sugar (or white sugar)
For Garnish:
- 1 cup crème fraiche
- 1/2 cup lemon curd
- Blueberries, blackberries or raspberries
Instructions
- Place oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Grease springform pan with olive oil
- Finely zest 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon and whisk together with the flour. Halve the lemon, then squeeze and reserve 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice.
- Using the paddle attachment, in a large bowl beat together yolks and 1/2 cup sugar at high speed until thick and very pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and add olive oil (3/4 cup) and reserved lemon juice, beating until just combined (mixture may appear separated). Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir in flour mixture (do not beat) until just combined.
- Using the whisk attachment, in a clean large bowl beat egg whites with 1/2 teaspoon salt at medium-high speed until foamy, then add 1/4 cup sugar in a slow pour, beating, and continue to beat until egg whites just hold soft peaks, about 3 minutes. Gently fold one third of whites into yolk mixture to lighten the base, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly.
- Transfer batter to springform pan. Sprinkle top evenly with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar.
- Bake until puffed and golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a thin knife around edge of pan and remove side of pan. Cool cake to room temperature, about 1 hour. Can be made 1-2 days ahead, completely cooled, and wrapped well in plastic wrap.
- To make the garnish, in a medium bowl stir together the crème fraiche and lemon curd. Place a dollop on top of each slice of cake when serving and top with fresh berries. For dinner parties, you can serve the whole cake on a slightly rimmed cake stand or cake plate.
Note: Adapted from a 2006 Gourmet magazine recipe.
Courses Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Lovely cake, just made it. For the lemon curd, did you buy this or make it? Thanks!
So glad you made the cake! In the past, I’ve made the lemon curd and also used store bought.
Marcia
I make berry and fruit pies so often because this is my favorite kind of pastry. I’ve never tried to cook this lemon creme fraiche (the name is French, right?) before. I find this combination very interesting and appetizing. Be sure to bring this recipe to life in the nearest future. Thank you for your blog, here I can always find something creative and it will certainly turn out to be a delicious thing!