Spring Bundt Cake {Lemon, Thyme & Olive Oil Cake}

This gorgeously fragrant and fluffy Spring Bundt Cake made with fresh lemon, thyme and olive oil is the perfect treat to welcome spring into our midst.

Is it spring where you’re at? Or are you still buried under snow? I have been hearing about freak March snowstorms in different parts of the country. Even we had a rough winter this year, but this week has been nice and warm so far. We seem to be on our way to one of our trademark (read: hot) Texan summers.

One thing that I miss during winter is the gorgeous, bright Texan sky. Beautiful, vast expanses of blue sky with puffs of cotton-white clouds, I fell in love with it the very first time I ever saw it. In fact, I painted my favorite photo backdrop inspired by my favorite blue summer sky. I know it’s the same sky, but to me, the sky in each city or country just looks and feels a tad different!

It was afternoon by the time I realized that this Tuesday was the first day of spring. Spring equinox calls for a spring themed cake, don’t you think? I wanted to make a simple cake with bright floral and citrus flavors. I had a new bottle of extra virgin olive oil that I wanted to try baking with. I regularly bake with oil instead of butter and it is especially good in chocolate cakes, keeping the cake really soft and fluffy. I have only used vegetable, coconut or mild olive oils which really do not add any special flavor to baked goods. But EVOO adds a unique flavor to cakes. It is best to not make the cake too sweet or overpower it with complicated ingredients. This helps the flavor of the olive oil to come through subtly but beautifully. I also used thick yogurt in the batter which made an extra fluffy cake with a beautifully golden crumb.

I was a bit concerned when the batter didn’t taste as good as a cake with butter. But once the cake was baked, it filled my kitchen with this unique and irresistible fragrance. Since the cake itself is only mildly sweet, I decided to glaze it. And of course, I was going to carry through the lemon and thyme flavors that I used in the cake itself.

I think the lemon, fresh thyme and fruity olive oil makes it the perfect cake to welcome spring, what do you say? I could have made the glaze a bit thicker but I was too impatient to redo it. Here’s a better example of how thick the glaze should be.

This cake will make you sing with pure joy, I promise. It’s bright and perfectly sweet, the glaze adding a nice, subtle lemony tang. The cake actually gets better as it sits for a day or two. It is soft but firm, giving you clean slices. I am very much tempted to use this olive oil cake as a base for a frosted birthday cake. I’ll let you know the perfect frosting flavor if I do give it a try.

But I’ll probably end up eating warm slices of lemon, thyme & olive oil cake with my afternoon tea. It is simply that good. It is unassuming and deceptively simple, but all said and done, the individual elements come through beautifully to make a delightful spring cake.

Here’s the recipe for Lemon, Thyme & Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Glaze. I would suggest that you use a good-quality fruity EVOO and not just  a generic one, so that you can really enjoy the beauty of this cake.

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Spring Bundt Cake {Lemon, Thyme & Olive Oil Cake}

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

This gorgeously fragrant and fluffy Spring Bundt Cake made with fresh lemon, thyme and olive oil is the perfect treat to welcome spring into our midst.

Author: Anjana Devasahayam

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Serves: One large bundt cake

You will need:

For the cake,

• All-purpose flour - 3 cups
• Baking powder - 1 tbsp
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Lemon zest - 2 tsp
• Fresh thyme leaves - 2 tsp
• Sugar - 1½ cups
• Eggs - 4 large, at room temperature
• Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
• Yogurt - 1 cup
• Extra virgin olive oil - 1 cup

For the glaze,

• Powdered sugar - 1½ cups, sifted
• Lemon juice - 2-3 tbsp
• Lemon zest - a pinch
• Fresh thyme leaves - 1 pinch

How to:

1. Olive Oil Cake: Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg.F. Thoroughly grease a large bundt pan with softened butter. Set aside.
2. Take the flour, baking powder, salt, zest and thyme in a mixing bowl. Whisk thoroughly to combine. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add the sugar and eggs. Beat on medium-speed until light and fluffy.
4. Add the lemon juice, yogurt and olive oil. Beat on low-speed to thoroughly mix them together. Then increase the speed and beat until it looks slightly emulsified.
5. With the beater on lowest speed, add the flour mixture, a little at a time, and mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix until all the ingredients are incorporated. Do not over-mix the batter. Batter will be slightly thick.
6. Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan and smooth the top. Tap the pan on the countertop a couple of times to get rid of any air bubbles.
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes, rotating the pan midway through the baking time. A toothpick inserted in the cake should come out almost clean.
8. Remove cake pan from oven and rest on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
9. Gently invert cake on to a platter and back on to the wire rack so that it can cool completely. Glaze cake when completely cool.
10. Lemon Glaze: Whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice to make a thick glaze. Add a few drops of lemon juice if you are unable to incorporate all the lemon juice. Also, if you have accidentally thinned out the glaze too much, add some more sugar. Mix in the zest and thyme leaves, if desired.
11. Pour glaze over the cake and allow the excess to drip down the sides. The glaze will harden slightly in a while. Slice and enjoy your cake!
12. Leftover cake can be wrapped and stored on a countertop for 2-3 days.

Notes:

1. On a whim, I decided to sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar on top of the batter for a crackly crust. You ca see this in the picture of the cake in the pan above. This is simply optional and really not a part of the recipe. You can actually top the batter with sugar or chopped nuts to add texture, if desired.

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Have you tried baking with olive oil? Are you excited for spring? Do try this lemon olive oil cake for the perfect spring-time treat and let me know how you like it.

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I am sharing this over at Fiesta Friday.