The Path to the Best Olive Oil Cake You’ve Ever Had

If you’ve never tried making a cake with olive oil instead of butter, the Lime Olive Oil Cake class on the Food Network Kitchen app might convince you to give it a shot. On a recent episode of Kids Baking Championship, a contestant used olive oil, lime and mandarin oranges to create a sophisticated cake that set him apart from the competition, and the judges ate it up.

In our Wanna Make This? series, Chef Jordan Andino created a similar version that exceeded his expectations. “This could be the best olive oil cake I’ve ever tasted,” he said. Here’s how to create it your kitchen:

Use good quality olive oil.

“You definitely want to use really good olive oil,” advises Jordan. High-quality extra virgin olive oil will add a fruity note to the final cake. You will taste the olive oil in the final product so get one that tastes good to you.

The olive oil, sugar and egg mixture should be very creamy.

Jordan uses a hand mixer instead of a whisk to achieve the desired texture. “What’s really cool right now is that the eggs are almost emulsifying the olive oil and it’s making the sugar creamy. It’s a fun trick that separates olive oil cakes from traditionally baked cakes,” he says.

Zest only the dark green part of the lime.

Zesting citrus calls for a light hand and some precision to avoid adding the bitter white pith. “When you’re zesting, you know it’s too much when you grab too much of the white,” cautions Jordan. “Grate lightly and just enough to get rid of the green on the outside skin.”

Let the lime and milk meld together to create buttermilk.

Don’t freak out when the lime juice curdles the milk; that’s supposed to happen. Adding an acid to milk creates buttermilk, which tenderizes the cake. “We’re basically making buttermilk here because what’s going to happen is all of that acidity is going to curdle the milk and that will tenderize and make a moist fluffy cake,” says Jordan.

Slowly combine the wet and dry ingredients.

When combining the dry and wet ingredients, Jordan gradually incorporates them to make sure nothing clumps. “When baking, patience is a virtue,” he says. Your patience will be rewarded with a tender, smooth cake.

Cook along with Jordan to taste the results at home and save the recipe to your Food Network Kitchen app. Follow the Wanna Make This? page for more recipe classes inspired by your favorite shows. Watch Kids Baking Championship Mondays at 9|8c to see the talented contestants in action.

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