Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Olive Oil Cake

This Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Olive Oil Cake is fragrant, moist and perfectly lemony! Using olive oil creates a fruity flavour and moist texture, while the lemon syrup makes the cake extra sweet and tangy.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Keyword gluten-free lemon olive oil cake, gluten-free vegan olive oil cake, vegan lemon olive oil cake

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 345kcal

Author Rhian Williams

Ingredients

For the cake:

60 g (¼ cup) olive oil *
180 ml (¾ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
8 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons lemon zest (use unwaxed lemons)
12 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) **
150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
¼ teaspoon (¼ teaspoon) bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

For the syrup:

2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)

Instructions

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
Place the olive oil, almond milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, maple syrup, vanilla and ground almonds in a large mixing bowl.
Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry.
Transfer mixture into a greased baking tin lined with baking paper (I used a 7inch/18cm springform baking tin) - make sure that the baking paper is covering the bottom and the sides of the tin, to prevent the sides of the cake from getting burnt.
Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes until risen and golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean.

For the syrup:

Whilst the cake is baking, mix together the lemon juice and maple syrup.
Drizzle it over the cake as soon as you’ve taken it out of the oven – it will soak into the cake better when it’s hot.
Leave to cool and wait for the syrup to soak in completely before slicing.
Tastes best eaten on the day it’s made, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

Notes

*I recommend using a middle-of-the-range extra-virgin olive oil.

**You can alternatively use almond flour.

Make sure to pour the syrup over the cake as soon as you’ve taken it out of the oven. The heat will help the sponge soak up all the flavour and keeps it extra moist.
It may seem like too much liquid at the time, but it will all be absorbed into the sponge.
For optimum lemon flavour, I would recommend using fresh lemons (not ones that you've had sitting in your fruit bowl for weeks!) and organic ones if possible.
You have to be careful when baking with lemon juice as the acidity and lemon flavour can really vary depending on the lemons you use.
I would recommend tasting the lemon juice you're using and adjusting the amount of lemon juice you use accordingly.
For the lemon zest, make sure you use unwaxed lemons.

Nutrition