I’ve always loved baking with olive oil. The taste it lends is like nothing else! I’ve made versions of this cake before but adore how this honey and olive oil almond cake with candied citrus turned out. It’s a fabulous blend of all the flavors of the Mediterranean that I love — olive oil, almonds, honey, and citrus. I highly recommend it with a cup of tea for an afternoon snack or to serve at any spring gatherings!
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Equipment:
Having a stand mixer makes baking so much easier. We use our Kitchen Aid mixer for every baking project, so it was absolutely worth the investment. It also makes things easier for kids to help out when baking. Mila loves to crack the eggs and add them into the mixer for me. Outside of the mixer, there are a few other kitchen tools that making cake baking a breeze.
Cake wraps are amazing for allowing for even baking. Have you ever baked a cake and had a giant lump in the center? That’s because of uneven baking. These wraps are soaked in water and then wrapped around the cake pan to give you a perfectly flat cake.
A set of kitchen tweezers are great for decorating with delicate toppings or ingredients. We absolutely love this set off Amazon and use them for other cooking projects as well.
And lastly, a fine mesh mini strainer is helpful for creating a light layer of powdered sugar on top for decoration.
Ingredients:
Olive Oil:
Let’s talk about olive oil. Growing up in a Middle Eastern family meant ALWAYS have olive oil around. And I don’t mean a cute tiny bottle by the stovetop. I mean a GIANT multi-gallon jug that we kept in our pantry. My father’s family grew up in Palestine. They had so many olive trees and would make olive oil from their trees every year. It’s something they are very prideful in. When they had to flee in the 90s, they left behind their land and tree to resettle in Kuwait, and then finally in Jordan. Now, they have more olive trees again and still continue to make their own olive oil.
We recently planted our first olive tree last year and hoping to continue the tradition, BUT in the meantime we search high and low for the best olive oils around. I’m partial to the Palestinian olive oils when I can find them, but Spanish and Greek olive oils are also pretty outstanding. We recently purchased a Thrive Market membership and I’ve been very impressed with their own olive oil brand, particularly for the price. (Link here if you want $40 off a new membership for yourself). I love the taste of how this honey and olive oil almond cake turned out, so I wanted to include information on the exact oil we used.
When you are baking with olive oil, you really want to use an extra virgin olive oil. The second tip when choosing an olive oil is to look for single origin or single estate bottles. Meaning that the olives are all from the same place. Sometimes olive oils are made with a blend or mixture of different olives and this can affect the flavor.
My other favorite places to shop for olive oil in DFW:
- Sara Market and Bakery
- Trader Joes
- Central Market
Honey:
There is something special about the flavor of honey in baking as well. I love trying to replace refined sugars when possible, so I bake often with honey or maple syrup. If you don’t have honey around or don’t care for the flavor, you can replace the honey 1:1 with sugar for this recipe.
I always look for a local honey when purchasing. There’s some research on local honey improving seasonal allergies — at least per the man at the farmer’s market selling local honey anyways! If you live in Texas, you know you’ll do anything to help combat the awful springtime allergies.
Almond Flour:
I recommend using a “superfine” almond flour for the recipe, as I prefer the texture, but regular almond flour will work just as well for the recipe.
We tried to make our own almond flour in our Vitamix before — spoiler alert, did not go well. So this is one place where I recommend just buying your own. Fortunately, almond flour is pretty easily found at most supermarkets nowadays. If you have leftover, highly recommend making some macarons!
Toppings:
The honey and olive oil almond cake is extremely versatile. It can be eaten on its own with a simple dusting of powder sugar and slivered almonds on top. You could add cocoa powder instead of lemon zest and top with chocolate shavings. You can replace the lemon with other citrus options, etc. I love the pairing of citrus with olive oil. It’s a match made in heaven. So we opted to top our cake with candied citrus.
Marcelo’s grandmother loved candying citrus — the part of Argentina she grew up in specialized in that and it’s a cooking skill she picked up and honed over many years. She always had a jar of candied orange peels or lemons in her pantry. Marcelo learned from her over the years and started doing the same over the last few years.
Anytime we start to see citrus popping up at our local grocery store, we purchase extra and make a few jars to store for later. Our favorite citrus to candy are meyer lemons — they have the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness. But we have candied all types – oranges, limes, lemons, grapefruits, etc.
If the lengthier process of candying the citrus is too much for you — you can always make a basic lemon simple syrup to drizzle on top to keep things easier. But if you have the time for candying — it’s so worth it.
PS — save the extra candied citrus to put on your next cheese board!
Other Dessert Ideas:
If you are looking for more dessert inspiration, check out:
Mascarpone Fig Tart with Pistachios and Honey
Dulce de Leche Shortbread Cookies (Alfajores)
Tres Leches Cinnamon Roll Cake
Honey and Olive Oil Almond Cake with Candied Citrus
Ingredients
Almond Cake
- 4 Large Eggs
- ½ Cup Honey
- ½ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Zest
- ½ Tsp Almond Extract
- 2 Cups Almond Flour
- 1 Tsp Baking Powder
- ¼ Tsp Kosher Salt
- 2 Tbsp Sliced almonds for decorating (optional)
- 2 Tbsp Powdered Sugar for decorating (optional)
Candied Citrus
- 2-3 Meyer Lemons Thinly sliced and seeds removed
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
- Water
Instructions
Almond Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 F
- Whisk together the eggs, olive oil and honey in a stand mixer until pale yellow and thickened.
- While the egg mixture is whisking, combine the almond flour, salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl and whisk to combine well.
- Next, add the extract and lemon zest to the egg mixture.
- Gently fold in the almond flour mixture into the egg mixture and fold just to combine. Avoid over mixing.
- Grease a 8 inch round baking pan with olive oil or butter.
- Pour the batter in and bake at 325 for about 35-40 minutes.
- Let cool completely. Top with candied citrus, sliced almonds, and powdered sugar.
Candied Citrus
- In a saucepan, bring 1 cup of water to boil.
- Place lemons into the boiling water and blanch for 1 minute. Then, remove and place them immediately into a bowl filled with cold water.
- Next, combine 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water into a clean saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Add the blanched lemons into the syrup and cook until translucent in color, about 10-15 minutes.
- Place the lemons and the syrup into a clean jar and store in the fridge until ready to use.