Have you ever heard of an olive oil cake? If not, let me introduce you… this pumpkin olive oil cake is easy to make, offers the best fall flavors and is a light and not overly sweet cake that will be a welcome (and unexpected) addition to the holiday table.
My first olive oil cake was a delicate, bright and citrusy version from Cooks Illustrated. Making it into a more robust and heary pumpkin cake was a little bit of a feat, but using techniques from America’s Test Kitchen and Serious Eats, I was able to produce a still moist crumb with subtle sweetness and pumpkin flavors.
Wy You’ll Love This Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake
A moist cake that’s full of fall flavors and easy to make- what’s not to love!
- Moist, dense texture – Because this cake is made with olive oil, not only do you get more moisture, but also a denser texture as well.
- Full of fall flavor – With real pumpkin as well as pumpkin pie spice mixed into the batter, you’re really encapsulating the flavors of fall with this cake.
- Made with pantry ingredients – You probably have most, if not all, of these ingredients already in your kitchen.
Ingredients
You can easily find all of these pumpkin olive oil cake ingredients at your local grocery store if you don’t already have them on hand.
Olive Oil Cake
- Flour – All purpose flour contains proteins that make up gluten and thus, structure and stability.
- Pumpkin pie spice – A combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger and cloves, this adds warmth and flavor to our cake.
- Baking powder and soda – Baking powder and baking soda act as leaveners and help make sure we get a great rise to the cake.
- Fine sea salt – Salt is essential in baking to bring out natural flavors and provide acidity. Keep in mind that different salt measure differently.
- Dark brown sugar – I like the strong molasses flavor that comes with using dark brown sugar, but you can use light brown instead.
- Extra virgin olive oil – This is an olive oil cake after all! This provides so much rick moisture to our pumpkin cake.
- Pumpkin puree – Make sure you are using actual pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. That would make the cake far too sweet.
- Eggs – When baking, it is always best to use room temperature eggs. Always assume a recipe is calling for large eggs.
- Vanilla extract – I like to use a good quality vanilla extract. It adds great warmth and flavor to the cake.
- Vegetable shortening – I like to grease my cake pan with shortening instead of cooking spray to ensure there is no chance of sticking.
Maple Glaze
- Unsalted butter – You want this to be fully melted. This thins out the powdered sugar mixture, but also helps it to harden onto the cake when cooled.
- Pure maple syrup – this is what provides that maple flavor we love. Make sure to use a good quality maple syrup here.
- Powdered sugar – Produced by milling granulated sugar, powdered sugar is extremely fine and dissolves well in liquid like the butter in this recipe.
- Coarse kosher salt – If using salted butter, you can omit this altogether. No one wants a salty glaze!
- Vanilla extract – You can make your own homemade vanilla extract or you can grab it at your local grocery store.
Variations
There are plenty of ways to make this pumpkin olive oil cake your own. Here are a few suggestions.
- Add ins – You can certainly mix things into this batter if you’d like. Cinnamon chips or nuts like pecans or walnuts would be great.
- Glaze – Instead of this maple glaze, you could top with a vanilla glaze, or just add some spices to the maple glaze like pumpkin spice, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves or ginger.
- Icing – Instead of a glaze, try topping this cake with something like cream cheese frosting instead.
- Toppings – After adding the glaze sprinkle some chopped nuts, ground cinnamon or even some fun fall sprinkles to jazz it up.
How to Make Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake
Grab your mixer and get ready to make the best fall cake of your life!
Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake
- Prepare oven and pan. Preheat the oven and grease a 9-inch springform pan with vegetable shortening and then line the bottom with parchment paper. Set it on a rimmed baking sheet in case of dripping. Set aside.
- Sift dry ingredients. Sift together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
- Cream sugar and olive oil. In a separate bowl, cream together the brown sugar and olive oil until the sugar dissolves.
- Add in pumpkin, eggs and vanilla. Blend in the pumpkin puree, eggs and vanilla until smooth.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until just mixed. Do not overmix.
- Bake. Pour the cake batter into the prepared springform pan. Bake the cake, turning the sheet pan halfway through baking. Bake until the cake passes a toothpick test.
- Cool. Remove and allow to cool for thirty minutes before releasing the spring form pan. Cool cake fully on wire rack before icing.
Maple Glaze
- Combine glaze ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, maple syrup, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth.
- Move cake to wire rack. Place the cake onto a wire cooling rack with parchment or aluminum foil underneath for easy clean-up.
- Spoon on glaze. Spoon or pour half of the glaze over the cake. Allow the glaze to set for a few minutes, then pour the rest of the glaze over top and allow it to set before cutting and serving.
Storage and Freezing
How to Store Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake
You can store this cake in an airtight container either at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to four days. If at room temperature and iced, the icing will likely start to fall off the cake. It will stay put in the fridge.
Can I Freeze Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake?
You sure can! Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe bag or airtight container. You can freeze for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature.
More Fall Dessert Recipes
Besides the cool weather and fun activities, my favorite part of fall is the food- more specifically, desserts!
Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake
This Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake is easy to make with the best fall flavors and is light and not overly sweet. A great addition to the holidays!
Servings:
Ingredients
Olive Oil Cake:
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup pumpkin puree , not pumpkin pie filling
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- vegetable shortening
Maple Glaze:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with vegetable shortening and then line the bottom with parchment paper. Set it on a rimmed baking sheet in case of dripping. Set aside.
- Sift together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, cream together the brown sugar and olive oil until the sugar dissolves, approximately 2-3 minutes.
- Blend in the pumpkin puree, eggs and vanilla until smooth.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until just mixed. Do not overmix.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared springform pan.
- Bake the cake for 40 minutes, turning the sheet pan halfway through baking. Bake until the cake passes a toothpick test.
- Remove and allow to cool for 30 minutes before releasing the spring form pan. Allow to cool fully before icing.
Maple Glaze:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, maple syrup, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth.
- Place the cake onto a wire cooling rack with parchment or aluminum foil underneath for easy clean-up.
- Spoon or pour half of the glaze over the cake. Allow the glaze to set for 3-4 minutes, then pour the rest of the glaze over top and allow it to set before cutting and serving.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, we’d love to hear your feedback in the comments and star ratings!
Nutrition
Calories: 447 kcal, Carbohydrates: 66 g, Protein: 5 g, Fat: 18 g, Saturated Fat: 4 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 11 g, Trans Fat: 0.1 g, Cholesterol: 69 mg, Sodium: 393 mg, Potassium: 222 mg, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 42 g, Vitamin A: 4944 IU, Vitamin C: 1 mg, Calcium: 76 mg, Iron: 2 mg
Did you make this recipe?I’d love to see your recipes – snap a picture and mention @savoryexperiments or tag #savoryexperiments!
This was an easy and delicious recipe. Substituted canola oil for olive oil. Tasty the first day and in the following days.
Thank you for coming back to let us know and so glad you enjoyed it!