This light and flavourful keto olive oil cake is my low carb take on the Mediterranean classic. Extra virgin olive oil and fresh lemon thyme turn this recipe into a feast for the taste buds. We love to serve this easy almond flour olive oil cake with a dollop of Greek yoghurt. It's a wonderfully moist sugar free cake that simply tastes of summer.
Table of contents
I know what you're thinking - does olive oil cake ACTUALLY taste of olive oil? The answer is - just a little. Like, in a super subtle way. The olive oil lends moisture, and a pleasing fragrant hint of flavour that takes this cake from good to great.
Here' what I love about this almond flour olive oil cake: It's not only very easy to make, but it is also naturally gluten free and really versatile. It works all on is own as an easy low carb breakfast, or you can dress it up with anything from yoghurt to whipping cream, powdered sweetener and berries as a keto dessert. And it's only 2.3g net carbs per slice!
Let's jump straight in and take a look at the ingredients!
Ingredients
Almond flour and coconut flour - I' using what we in the UK call ground almonds. This is equivalent to regular almond flour in the US. Super-fine almond flour will work just as well in this recipe, although you may want to use 2 tbsp less.
Extra virgin olive oil - This is what lends flavour to the cake and gives moisture without the need to add butter. Choose a fruity, deep green extra virgin olive oil.
Eggs and yoghurt - Eggs should be room temperature and large. Take your time beating them to trap as much air in the batter as possible. This helps give the cake a lighter texture. I used Greek yoghurt with 5% fat.
Lemon thyme, lemon juice and lemon zest - Regular thyme works as well here, but if you can get hold of fresh lemon thyme, you're in for a treat. Buy unwaxed lemons so it's safe to use the zest.
Granulated sweetener - I used an erythritol monk fruit blend that is a 1:1 sugar replacement. You can also use allulose or xylitol.
Baking powder and salt - There's 2 tsp baking powder in the cake because almond flour bakes need a little extra help with rising. And don't omit the sea salt - it enhances the flavour. You can sub with 1 tsp baking soda.
How to make keto olive oil cake
Blend the eggs with an electric mixer in a large mixing bowl until they are doubled in size, pale and frothy. This takes about 2 minutes.
Add ½ cup monk fruit sweetener, ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, yoghurt, lemon juice and zest and continue mixing until well-combined.
Sir together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Then add to the wet ingredients and whisk together until you have a smooth batter. Last, stir in the lemon thyme leaves with a spatula.
Fill into the prepared springform tin (line it with parchment paper at the bottom and grease the sides) and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Check the cake after 40 minutes. If it has browned sufficiently, loosely place aluminium foil over the top to prevent burning.
Let the cake cool completely before releasing the springform. I brushed a little more olive oil over the top before serving.
Serving suggestions
I like to serve this cake with a dollop of Greek yoghurt (option to stir in a little powdered sweetener or sugar free syrup) and a few leaves of lemon thyme.
Alternatively, serve with a dollop of Keto Whipped Cream or whipped coconut cream and fresh berries.
Or how about a simple cream cheese frosting? Simply mix ¾ cup (180g) cream cheese with 1 tsp powdered sugar free sweetener (or more, to taste), 1 tsp vanilla extract and a little lemon juice or zest and spread over the cake. For a more decadent frosting, replace ¼ of the cream cheese with whipped cream.
Recipe tips and variations
First of all, you need to know that this olive oil cake is not very sweet - which is how I like it best. If you know you prefer a sweeter cake, do add up to ⅔ cup of granulated sweetener.
If you decide to bake the cake in a larger springform pan (9 inch / 23cm) or in a rectangular cake pan to make olive oil cake bars, the baking time will be shorter - probably about 40 minutes.
Similarly, if you turn this recipe into muffins, these should be ready in circa 25 minutes.
Nut free olive oil cake recipe - It should be possible to replace the almond flour with equal parts of sesame seed flour and sunflower seed flour.
Dairy free cake - For a dairy free version, replace the yoghurt with coconut or almond yoghurt.
I think this cake would taste equally lovely with orange juice and zest in place of the lemon.
Storage
Best stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. Alternatively, slice and freeze for up to 3 months.
More easy keto cake recipes
Keto Rhubarb Coffee Cake - Another wonderful contender for summer. This vanilla flavoured pound cake has a layer of rhubarb and is topped with cinnamon streusel.
Keto Orange Almond Cake - I like to call this my keto breakfast cake. It's made with whole oranges, including the skins. This makes it extra fragrant.
Vanilla Coconut Flour Cake - For everyone who prefers a nut free, gluten free cake. It has a super light and airy crumb.
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Keto Olive Oil Cake (Almond Flour)
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary. ***As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Equipment
- 20cm / 8 inch springform tin
Ingredients
- 4 eggs large, room temperature
- ½ cup / 100g granulated sweetener use ⅔ cup if you like a sweeter cake
- ½ cup / 110g extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup / 60g Greek yoghurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 cup / 200g almond flour
- ¼ cup / 30g coconut flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp fresh lemon thyme leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F. Line the bottom of an 8 inch / 20cm springform pan with parchment paper and grease the sides with olive oil.
- Blend the eggs with an electric mixer until they are doubled in size, pale and frothy. This takes about 2 minutes.
- Add the sweetener, olive oil, yoghurt, lemon juice and zest and continue mixing until well-combined.
- Sir together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Then add to the wet ingredients and blend until you have a smooth batter. Last, stir in the lemon thyme leaves with a spatula.
- Fill into the prepared springform tin and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Check the cake after 40 minutes. If it has browned sufficiently, loosely place aluminium foil over the top to prevent burning.
- Let the cake cool completely before releasing the springform.
- Serve with a dollop of Greek yoghurt (option to stir in a little powdered sweetener or sugar free syrup) and a few leaves of lemon thyme. Optional, but delicious: brush the top of the cake with a little more olive oil!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Jill says
This was incredible! I subbed sour cream for the yogurt because I didn’t have any, but other than that I followed the recipe and it was perfection. I’d only argue that it really makes more like 6 portions than 12 🙂 No one would ever know that it was sugar and gluten free. Thank you!
Eva Muhlhause says
Very easy to make, the lemon thyme just elevates the whole thing and if you serve it with sweetened greek yoghurt it's a zingy refreshing desert. Equally good just with a cup of tea.
Eva Muhlhause says
Made this for guests this weekend. It's a beautiful cake and the lemon thyme elevates it into something special. I added a few drops of vanilla flavoured stevia for extra sweetness. I'm going to try reducing the baking time 5-10 min as it was a tiny bit dark and crisp, could also have been my oven running hot, I really need to put in a thermometer to check. Definitely, a keeper would be good plain with a nice cup of tea or coffee or served with sweetened greek yoghurt as I did for a bit of a zingy moist kick as is recommended in the recipe.
Dianne Wheeler says
I have Candida and am doing a cleanse.
Can you make this cake with no sweetener as I can’t have sugar or sweetener.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Yes, I think that would work. Check the consistency of the dough and compare it with mine in the video. If necessary, add a little more flour to get to the same wet/dry ratio. However, I think it's possible that you can just leave it out.
Cathy says
Can you use avocado oil instead of olive oil? I haven't any olive oil. Thank you.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Yes, that should work as well. It will change the taste though!
Manal says
Thanks for posting, never baked an olive-oil cake before so looking forward to trying this! Is there a substitute for fresh lemon thyme leaves? Thanks!
Katrin Nürnberger says
You could use real thyme. Or a little grated lemon zest.
Isabelle Van der Poorten says
What if I didn't add sweetener and made it savoury by adding some salt?
Katrin Nürnberger says
I'm sure that would work. Check the consistency of your batter and see whether you need to add a little more almond flour to make up for the missing dry ingredients.
Rachel says
Would Soya coconut yoghurt work with this? I don’t have Greek yoghurt but maybe the coconut and lemon would work well together?
Katrin Nürnberger says
I'm not sure whether soya yoghurt is suitable for baking. I remember a reader once mentioned they baked a bread recipe of mine using soya yoghurt and it became soggy.
Sara says
I loved the cake, thank you! I made it in a brownie dish and cut it into 16 pieces.
I actually cut some pieces thinner and dipped them in harrisa infused olive oil and balsamic and yum! I think I will reduce the sugar even more next time if I intended to have it with olive and balsamic.
I started logging this to mymitnesspal app, and I cannot get it to calculate to (4.5 - 2.2)g net carb though, keeps giving me (9-1)g net carb. even though I divided it to 16 pieces ...Can you help me on how you calculated it and it shocked me.
Can you help me with calculating, to see what I am getting wrong? I really want it to be 2.3g netcarb and not 8g 🙁
I can email you my calculation and you could tell me if you want.
Thank you!
Katrin Nürnberger says
It's possible that the calculator you are using registers the sweetener in the carb count. I don't as the carbs in erythritol are not metabolised, making it 0 carb.
Rani says
The cake really looks good I’m going to try. I’m for more low carbs recipe. Thank you very much.
Cindy says
I'd like to make this in mini Bundt cake pans. Would it work okay? Also can I add some lemon extract for an extra lemony flavor? Maybe 1tsp?
Katrin Nürnberger says
Yes, that would work! Baking time will be shorter. Muffins take around 25 minutes, so the oven time will depend on how large your pans are.
Joanna says
I would really like to make this cake today, but I don’t have any coconut flower. Can I just add an extra 30g of ground almonds?
Thank you for the recipe!
Katrin Nürnberger says
You can't replace coconut flour 1:1 with almond flour - you'd need about 3x as much almond flour as coconut flour. I would use around 80g. The cake may be a little denser, but it should work.
Beverley says
Hi Karin. Can this be made in the blender as was the Chocolate Birthday Cake (so good!!!!!) Thanks so much for all the recipes that you email to me.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Yes, this would work well in a blender. Just be sure to still follow all the steps.
Sneha Epstein says
Such a fabulous cake with incredibly unusual flavours, Katrin! Thank you - I'd give it 6 stars if I could!
Katrin Nürnberger says
Thank you so much!
maggie says
Most of the olive oil almond flour cake recipes I have found do not have yogurt - and so I'm wondering if you have tried it that way and if it needs it? I made one the other day and it did not have yogurt.
Katrin Nürnberger says
You would need to replace the yoghurt with another wet ingredient to stick to the same we/dry ratio. Maybe 3 tbsp almond milk.
maggie says
It sounds easy and fast - and I have looked at 50 recipes tonight as I suddenly want something sweet. Did you use almond flour or almond meal?
Thanks
Katrin Nürnberger says
I used ground blanched almonds.
Elina says
Would it be okay to use confectioners sugar in place of the granulated?
Katrin Nürnberger says
Yes, powdered sweetener would work as well.
HP says
Easy and lovely. I had it with a little singe cream. Delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
I would also recommend making the Pastel de Santiago, but replacing the sugar with sweetener. Very similar but with almond flavour and also great with a little single cream.
Katrin Nürnberger says
I just checked out the recipe and it sounds delicious!
Cathy peterson says
Delicious and very easy. Thank you for sharing!
Andrea says
Totally bloomin awesome! The first cake I've made since being low carb which tastes like normal cake, I love it! So did my husband. It's so good having a UK website - much easier to follow and less likely to waste expensive ingredients.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Happy it was a success!
Gisselle says
I made this cake yesterday and it turned out amazing!
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Katrin Nürnberger says
I'm happy you liked it!
Debra says
I can’t believe this! I’ve been wanting to make a gluten free olive oil cake for about two weeks and voila, you’ve posted one. Thx so much. Will try it out this weekend!
Valentina Oguguo says
For those who likes moist texture in cakes this olive cake is STUNNING. If I was served this cake by someone else and wasn't told it was made with almond flour and olive oil, there was no way I would have guessed that. The lemon zest was a great addition to it, so well matched to the cake texture.
I made it with your mascarpone frosting and served it with fresh strawberries. All my family enjoyed it and said this recipe is to keep for sure!!!
A fantastic cake and yet, with the best keto traditions.
Thank you very much for sharing it with us!
Valentina
P.S. I would like to purchase a physical book of your pudding recipes if any of them available in the UK.
Katrin Nürnberger says
I'm so happy you all liked the cake! Thanks so much for your comment 🙂