Grammy's Recipe Book Desserts

Lemon Olive Oil Cake

350°F ovenone 9-inch springform cake

Prep
25 min
Cook
55 min
Rest
20 mincool, then glaze
Total
1 hr 40 minstart to eating

Times are our estimates for Grammy's recipe, with unhurried prep.

Grammy's handwritten page 1 of 2 for Lemon Olive Oil Cake
Page 32 · 1 of 2 · full size
Grammy's handwritten page 2 of 2 for Lemon Olive Oil Cake
Page 33 · 2 of 2 · full size

As written

Word for word from her pages, with her spelling and line breaks. [?] marks a word we couldn't read.

Lemon Olive Oil Cake

1 2/3 c flour
2 teasp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup gran. sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup EVOO
1/2 cup Yoplait orig. French van yogurt
1 TBSP grated lemon peel

Lemon Glaze
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 TBSP EVOO
1 cup powdered sugar
grated peel for garnish

Heat oven 350° grease + flour 9"[?]
spring form pan

In medium bowl mix flour, baking powder
+ salt

In large bowl mix sugar + eggs with mixer on low
Add evoo + yogurt + peel + mix to
well blended. Add flour mix till smooth
pour into pan

— next page —

Bake @ 350 50-55[?] min
test
cool cake 15 min on rack
Remove side of pan carefully
Use fork to poke holes every inch

In small bowl mix lemon juice
evoo + powdered sugar with whisk until
blended

Drizzle cake with glaze

Sprinkle with lemon peel

Grammy's recipe

Her recipe, typed out to cook from: her amounts and her words, with abbreviations spelled out and the steps numbered.

Ingredients

Cake

  • 1⅔ cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup Yoplait Original French vanilla yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

Lemon glaze

  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • Grated lemon peel, for garnish

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the sugar and eggs with a mixer on low. Add the olive oil, yogurt and lemon peel and mix until well blended.
  4. Add the flour mixture and mix until smooth. Pour into the pan.
  5. Bake at 350° for 50–55 minutes. Test for doneness.
  6. Cool 15 minutes on a rack, then carefully remove the side of the pan. Poke holes every inch with a fork.
  7. For the glaze, whisk the lemon juice, olive oil and powdered sugar in a small bowl until blended.
  8. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and sprinkle with lemon peel.

Modernized

A present-day cookbook version, with missing steps filled in. These are suggestions, not her words.

Ingredients

Cake

  • 1⅔ cups (210 g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
  • 3 large eggs
  • ½ cup good extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup whole-milk plain Greek yogurt plus 1 teaspoon vanilla (or ½ cup vanilla yogurt)

Lemon glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • Lemon zest, to garnish

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment.
  2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
  3. In a large bowl, rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers until fragrant. Beat in the eggs until pale, about 2 minutes.
  4. Beat in the olive oil and yogurt until smooth, then fold in the dry ingredients until just combined.
  5. Pour into the pan. Bake 35–45 minutes, until golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
  6. Cool 15 minutes, remove the ring, and poke holes all over with a fork.
  7. Whisk the glaze until smooth, spoon it over the warm cake so it sinks in, and finish with zest.

Ideas to play with

Twists and variations to try. Suggestions, not hers.

  • Blood orange

    Use blood orange zest and juice in the cake and glaze.

  • With berries

    Serve with macerated strawberries or blueberries and whipped cream.

  • Almond

    Swap ½ cup of the flour for almond flour and add ½ teaspoon almond extract.

  • Loaf pan

    Bake in a 9×5 loaf pan for 50–55 minutes.