Olive Oil Cake with Chocolate Frosting
A Tale of Two Birthday Cakes
This olive oil cake with chocolate frosting will become your favorite celebration cake! Not only it’s ridiculously easy to make and only requires a few basic baking ingredients, but it also is very soft, tender and super pretty! The olive oil adds so much suppleness to every bite of this cake and the chocolate ganache frosting has a smooth, rich and voluptuous texture that is pure bliss!
I had to make this cake two times in a week, that’s how I knew it was blog worthy! I made it for my mom’s surprise birthday lunch, that’s why it’s full of sprinkles. We did it a few days before her actual birthday, and everyone, especially her, loved it. But when her actual birthday came, I asked if she wanted to use the Lemon Blueberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting I was planning on shooting that day as her birthday cake or (as a courtesy because it was her birthday after all) if she wanted to repeat this olive oil cake with chocolate frosting. Well, she took it very literal and picked the second one without hesitation. She had no problem with her daughter baking two different cakes the same day!! But that’s how good this cake is! She didn’t even consider the other one (which she then regretted after tasting that super moist Lemon Blueberry cake the next day).
But I didn’t mind baking two different cakes at all, not just because it was her birthday and I wanted to make her happy, but because this cake has to be the easiest cake to make in the world! It is done in less than 40 minutes, and that’s including prep time. And if you start making the frosting right after putting the cake in the oven, given that you need to wait until both the ganache and the baked cakes cool down before frosting, you can be assembling the cakes within two hours after baked. A pretty celebration cake in less than 3 hours!
That’s why I’m so excited to share this olive oil cake with chocolate ganache frosting recipe with you. It’ll be a must in your baking book. Read below and you’ll see why it’s so easy to make, basically all the work is done by the mixer:
How I made this Olive Oil Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting:
I started by mixing the milk with the freshly squeezed lemon juice to make homemade buttermilk with lemon juice. Technically you can use regular buttermilk but the lemon adds some lightness and a bit of a floral note to this cake that contrasts beautifully with the texture and flavor of olive oil. But the cake won’t taste lemony at all. Use coconut milk for a vegan option. I wouldn't recommend nut milks because they are too watery.
Then I preheated my oven to 350° so it was super hot when the cakes entered, which is key in helping the cake rise evenly. I also sifted over a large bowl the flour, baking powder and salt.
Now I started the cake batter by whisking in high speed the eggs with the sugar for 5 minutes. This is called the ribbon method because when you lift up the whisk the batter should drop as if you were dropping a ribbon instead of going down in a stream. This method is the base for sponge cakes, that’s why this cake is super light and chewier. You can use your favorite vegan egg substitute here to make it a vegan cake.
While the eggs and sugar were in the mixer I prepared my two 8” cake pan by sprinkling some baking spray. You can grease them with butter or vegan butter as well.
I then added the olive oil in a stream and let it get mixed up for 2 minutes. I also added the vanilla.
I added my room temperature eggs, as always waiting util one was incorporated before adding the other. To have quick room temperature eggs, just submerge them in hot tap water for 3 to 5 minutes.
The last step was intercalating the flour mixture and milk mixture in very slow speed, transferring the batter to the pans and baking.
While the cakes were in the oven I made the ganache by heating some heavy cream with butter and pouring it over chocolate chips, then mixing after a few minutes to melt the chocolate chips. You need to let this cool down completely before whipping, about two hours, depending on the temperature of your home. But since I’m always rush and looking for ways to speed up things in the kitchen, I placed the bowl in the fridge after the liquid lost the steam for about 30 minutes to speed up the cooling, then let finish coming down to room temperature over the counter. You don’t want the ganache too chilled because it will get too stiff when you whip it up later. You’ll need to give it a stir every 20 minutes or so.
When the cakes were done and cooled down just enough to handle, I made the simple syrup (this takes literally 3 minutes to make) and trimmed the tops of the cakes. I then patted the warm syrup through the surface and let them rest. If making ahead, just wrap the cakes tightly in cling wrap at this stage and store them in the fridge.
When the ganache came down completely to room temperature I just added the sifted powdered sugar and whipped it for 1 to 2 minutes, until it became lighter and fluffier. Be careful to not over mix because it will keep getting stiffer with handling. That’s all for the frosting!
Lastly, I assembled the cakes by placing one cake on top of the other with some frosting in between them and then smoothing out more frosting through the top and the sides. I decorated with sprinkles and it was then a party!!
For this color combination, I used 1 tablespoon of pink sprinkles, 1 ½ tablespoons of yellow sprinkles and 2 tablespoons of white sprinkles. Make your own color combination and have fun!
I know you are already planning on making this cake. Cue the sprinkles for that! Get ready for all the compliments and for probably having to repeat it in a short period of time. More sprinkles for that!!! Until the next one!
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Olive Oil Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
Olive oil cake
◯ Pure coconut milk or whole milk – 1 ¼ cup
◯ Freshly squeezed lemon juice – 2 TBSP
◯ Unbleached all-purpose flour – 2 cup
◯ Baking powder – 1 Tsp
◯ Fine sea salt – 1 Tsp
◯ Large eggs, at room temperature – 3
◯ Raw sugar – 1 ½ cup
◯ Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 1 cup
◯ Vanilla – 1 Tsp
Simple soaking syrup
◯ Raw sugar - ½ cup
◯ Water - ½ cup
◯ Vanilla – a few drops
Chocolate ganache frosting
◯ Semi-sweet chocolate chips (do not use milk chocolate) - 1 ⅓ cup
◯ Heavy or whipping cream (do not use half and half) - 1 cup
◯ Unsalted butter (if using salted butter omit the salt) - 1 TBSP
◯ Fine sea salt - a pinch
◯ Confectioner’s sugar - 2 tablespoons, sifted (you may sift it while adding it to the mixing bowl)
Details
Total time:
3 hours, including baking and cooling down times
Prep time:
20 minutes for the cake, divided, and 10 minutes for the frosting
Baking time:
30 minutes
Equipment:
8” cake pans, stand mixer or electric hand mixer
Steps
To make the olive oil cake:
Combine your 1 ¼ cup of milk with the two tablespoons of lemon juice.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Sift over a large bowl the 2 cups of flour, the teaspoon of baking powder and the teaspoon of salt in a bowl.
Place eggs and sugar in the mixing bowl. Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or an electric handheld mixer with the whisk accessory in place whisk in high speed (level #8 in the Kitchen Aid) for 5 minutes.
In the meantime grease and prepare your cake pans.
With the mixer running, start drizzling slowly the olive oil in a thin stream. Mix for 2 minutes. Decrease speed to low (level #1 in the Kitchen Aid) and add the teaspoon of vanilla. Add about ⅓ of the flour mixture, then about half of the milk mixture. Repeat with more flour mixture and the remaining milk. As soon as you add the last flour addition and it’s barely incorporated stop the mixer and finish mixing gently any large streaks of flour by hand.
Pour batter evenly into your two cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean after you inserted it through the center. After a few minutes, invert each cake into a plate and invert it again on another plate. Transfer them to a rack to cool down. While the cake is still warm, make the syrup and cut out their tops.
To make the soaking syrup:
In a small saucepan combine the ½ of sugar with the ½ cup of water. Gently boil until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add a few drops of vanilla. Using a pastry brush pat the warm syrup evenly through the top and sides of the cake. Let them cool down completely.
To make the ganache frosting:
Place 1 ¼ cup of chocolate chips on a medium bowl.
In a small sauce pan bring to a gentle boil the heavy cream with the butter. Do not let heavy bubbles appear. Pour over the chocolate chips and let this rest for about three minutes, then mix until chocolate chips are completely melted and mixture looks homogeneous. If there are still large pieces of chocolate, place bowl in the microwave just for 10 seconds and keep mixing until everything is melted. Add the pinch of salt at this point.
Let this cool down completely, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. To speed up the process you can let the mixture cool down until it looses the steam and place in the fridge for about 20 to 30 minutes, then take it out to let it come down to room temperature. Either way, you need to stir it a bit every now and then to keep it smooth. It should end up with the consistency of a thin pudding.
Start whipping the ganache and add the 2 tablespoons of sifted powdered sugar. Whip for about 1 to 2 minutes in medium speed, until the color gets lighter and the texture fluffier. Do not over mix because it will keep getting stiffer with all the handling that comes next.
Assembling the cake:
Spread some frosting on top of one of the cakes. Top it with the second cake. Smooth more frosting through the top and the sides. After it is well covered smooth more frosting and make some swoops with the back of a spoon. If desired, toss some sprinkles on the top and sides as well!
Let it set for a few minutes before cutting or place the assembled cake in the fridge for 15 minutes for a stiffer and stronger frosting.
