Strawberry Olive Oil Cake

The moment I noticed everyone making or eating Olive Oil Cakes due to one of the Kardashian’s eating and loving it, I knew it was time to share my recipe. I’ve been making a version of this cake for many years, as Italian people (especially our Nonni – Grandparents) do not like desserts that are too sweet, and bonus points if you can say “there’s no butter in this recipe”! This cake can be made with different fruits, zests, flours, extracts, etc… but this strawberry version is easily my favourite, so that is the recipe I will be sharing with you. With Women’s Day, Easter, and Spring in general just right around the corner, this is the perfect dessert to make and share with your loved ones. This recipe could not be easier, and you likely already have all the ingredients required. This cake calls for Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and not too much sugar, which produces a moist (sorry if you hate that word – but it’s true), soft, light and fluffy, perfectly sweetened cake! This cake is seriously addictive, topped with icing sugar, and even whipped cream – you’ll dream about this! I have also filmed this recipe, so if you would like a step by step baking video tutorial you can watch that HERE. So let’s get started:

Cake Ingredients:

– 1 small pack of Strawberries (about 150 to 200g)
– 3/4 Cup Milk (165g) *I used Oat Milk, but use whatever you prefer
– Juice of 1 Lemon (25 to 30g)
– 3 Large Eggs *Room Temperature
– 3/4 Cup of Sugar (160g)
– 3/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (150G) *EVOO
– 1 Tsp Almond Extract*
– 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract*
– 1 + 3/4 Cups All Purpose Flour (275g)
– 2 Tsp Baking Powder
– 1/2 Tsp Salt

– Powdered / Icing Sugar for decorating later
– Whipped Cream for serving later *optional

*You can use only vanilla extract if you don’t have almond extract or whatever extract you prefer, but that will change the flavour of this cake. In this case, the 1 tsp of almond extract isn’t enough to overly flavour this cake, but it gives it a subtle Italian flavour.

Cake Instructions:

The first thing I do is wash, dry and slice the strawberries. Cut the smaller ones into quarters, and the larger ones into sixths. Set them aside until we need them.

At this stage we can pre-heat our oven to 350F or 177C

Next, I love to first sour the milk, in this case I am using oat milk, but you can use regular milk or any milk of your liking. To a large enough glass or small bowl add the milk, and then the juice of 1 lemon. This will sour after a few minutes. Your milk might curdle slightly but do not worry, this is what we are looking for. We are essentially making our own butter milk here. Set this aside at room temperature while we work on the cake batter.

In the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a large bowl if you will be whisking by hand, or using an electric whisk), add the eggs, extracts, and sugar, and beat on a medium speed for about 1 to 2 minutes until combined.

Next, add the EVOO slowly and beat again for another 2 to 3 minutes on a medium speed. Your eggs should look more pale, and frothy.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, and give this a mix to combine.

Then add 1/2 the flour to the mixer, and beat until just incorporated. Next add the soured milk and beat to combine, then add the last half of the flour mix and beat until just incorporated. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula during this stage. Do NOT over mix your batter. A few lumps are to be expected.

Your cake batter is complete – how easy?!

Now we can line our 9 inch cake pan with parchment paper, and pour in the cake batter. Next top with the cut and dried strawberry slices. I like to decorate in a circular pattern with the skin side up, but you can even roughly toss the berries on top, there is no wrong way to do this. You can watch me do this HERE.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean.

After the 45 minutes, or when your cake is baked, remove from the oven and let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then run a knife around the edges of the pan, and carefully remove the cake, and the parchment paper on the bottom, and cool for a further 10 to 15 minutes on a wire rack. This cake is sturdy so I flip it onto my hand and carefully remove the parchment paper – you can watch me do this HERE.

Once your cake has cooled we can decorate it with powdered/ icing sugar. This is necessary as it not only looks better, but it tastes better too, as the cake batter itself isn’t overly sweet. I love this step, so a generous dusting of icing sugar right on top of the entire cake. As the cake cools, the sugar will slightly melt on the strawberries making it look so pretty! I use a few tbsp of icing sugar.

Slice your cake, and serve it with whipped cream. This is optional but tastes so delicious and is a perfect compliment to the cake.

How beautiful and easy is this dessert? This cake is so lovely and is a true crowd pleaser. The strawberries are a delicious fresh burst of flavour that compliment the richness of the Olive Oil so well in this soft, spongy and light cake. It’s SOOO fluffy!! I absolutely love this Strawberry Olive Oil Cake and I hope you love it too!