
Perfectly moist, subtly sweet, lemony olive oil cake. The absolute best gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free treat!
This is seriously one of my new favorite recipes! I honestly could not get enough- I made a second batch as soon as we finished the first LOL.
It’s so perfect with your morning coffee or tea, or as an after dinner treat.
The texture and flavor are spot on. The olive oil adds the perfect moistness- you really can’t taste the olive oil flavor! If you’ve never tried olive oil in baked goods- just trust me! I use it in these epic chocolate chip cookies, one of the top recipes on the site.

I swear I could eat this every day. I mean look at that texture?! This reminds me of something my Italian Grandma or aunts would make. It’s simple and delicious; I absolutely love anything lemon!

It’s a nice change of pace from chocolatey desserts. It’s light and fresh, and just the right amount of sweet.
For the powdered sugar topping, I like to use a monk fruit powdered sugar. But you can of course use regular if that’s what you have!
As for the flour, I have only tested this with gluten free all purpose flour. I can’t say what results you’ll get with substitutions, but you can always experiment!
Depending on what milk variety you use, this cake can also be completely nut free. I feel like most gluten free desserts these days have nuts in them, so I love making some that are completely allergy friendly. Such a win for parties or family gatherings where there is a nut allergy!

I can’t wait for you all to dive into this deliciously moist lemon olive oil cake. I know you will fall in love with it like I did!
Be sure to let me know below what you think 🙂 Enjoy!
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Lemon Olive Oil Cake (gluten free, dairy free)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 servings
- Category: Dessert
Description
Gluten free and dairy free super moist lemon olive oil cake. Refined sugar free, nut free, and simple, too!Â
Ingredients
- 2 large eggsâ €
- 2/3 cup pure maple syrupâ €
- 1/2 cup milk of choiceâ €
- 1/2 cup olive oil â €
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juiceâ €
- 2 tsp vanilla extractâ €
- 1 + 1/2 tbsp lemon zest*â €
- 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
- 1 tsp xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend contains it)â €
- 1 tsp baking powderâ €
- 1/2 tsp sea saltâ €
- Powdered sugar for topping (monkfruit or regular)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8 or 9” pie dish with parchment paper (or grease it, but will be easier to remove later to cool with parchment). ⠀
- Whisk the eggs, maple syrup, almond milk, olive oil, lemon juice, zest, and vanilla until smooth. â €
- Whisk in the dry ingredients until almost no lumps remain (try not to over mix it). â €
- Pour batter into pie dish and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top domes and a toothpick comes out clean (a few moist crumbs are ok!)â €
- Allow to cool for 15 minutes before carefully removing to cool completely on a cooling rack. â €
- Once cooled, sprinkle the top with powdered sugar and serve!
Notes
*Be sure not to skip the zest! It adds most of the lemony flavor.Â
Amy Kolavo
The texture is perfect! I used oat milk and added a little more fresh lemon juice because I love lemon! Turned out so amazing!
★★★★★
Claudia
This cake is so amazing! My family loved it. Super dense and moist. I could eat the whole thing in one day it’s so good!
★★★★★
Shelby
Never made something like this before! Really dense and still moist after a few days, loved it.
★★★★★
Nancy
Loved this recipe and how easy it was to make! I didn’t have powdered sugar so I added some sea salt flakes and it was delish – thank you for this recipe!
★★★★★
Mia Zarlengo
Thank you so much Nancy! xo
Anonymous
Nice taste, but after a whole hour in the oven, it was still undercooked in the middle. Besides that, it was decent.
★★★
Mia Zarlengo
Hi! That’s so strange- I’m sorry to hear that! We’re any substitutes made?
Allie
Love this cake! Very moist and delicious! Almond milk used and it was perfect
★★★★★