Can you tell that spring is my favorite season? I love it because the weather is absolutely perfect, and there are beautiful flowers everywhere. Even though I’m allergic to those beautiful spring flowers, that doesn’t prevent me from purchasing a couple of bouquets from my favorite store.

During springtime, I love to decorate everything in beautiful, bright colors, including my food. Yep, that’s right. I love to add beautiful flowers and brightly colored fruit to my cocktails and salads to make them oh, so pretty. That’s what I did when I served yummy Peachy Blackberry & Thyme Cocktails and this heavenly Rustic Lemon & Thyme Olive Oil Cake.

If you’ve never had olive oil cake, you’re completely missing out. I’d been wanting to make an olive oil cake for a while but was a little intimidated by that distinct flavor. Whenever I think of olive oil, I imagine savory recipes — not cake.

Let me just say I was pleasantly surprised when I experimented with this Rustic Lemon & Thyme Olive Oil Cake recipe. The olive oil provided wonderful flavor and moistness. I decided to add fresh lemon and thyme to complement the flavor of the olive oil. It was the perfect combination.

Rustic Lemon & Thyme Olive Oil Cake. (Andrea Mathis / Beautiful Eats & Things)

The thyme brought out the flavor of the olive oil, and the lemon added an element of freshness that was unbelievable. For this one-layer Rustic Lemon & Thyme Olive Oil Cake, I used a little less sugar than the average olive oil cake recipe. In most of my dessert recipes, I like to reduce the sugar amount or use a natural sweetener, such as honey or agave, to help make my recipes just a tad bit healthier.

For the finishing touch, I sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top and decorated it with some beautiful fresh fruit and thyme. This delicious Rustic Lemon & Thyme Olive Oil Cake would be the perfect centerpiece or dessert for your next spring event. I’m definitely thinking about serving this at my Mother’s Day brunch.

Rustic Lemon & Thyme Olive Oil Cake. (Andrea Mathis / Beautiful Eats & Things)

Rustic Lemon & Thyme Olive Oil Cake

Click here for a printable version.

Serves: 10

Ingredients

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 large eggs
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest from about 2 lemons
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• ¼ cup whole milk
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a 9-by-2-inch round cake pan with a little olive oil and flour the pan.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
4. In a larger bowl, add eggs, sugar, olive oil, lemon zest, vanilla extract and thyme and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes. Beat until the mixture is pale yellow and thickened.
5. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the milk, followed by the lemon juice. Mix until the ingredients are incorporated.
6. Add the flour mixture one-half at a time, mixing on low after each addition, until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
8. Bake for about 35 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. Cool the cake for 10-15 minutes and place on a cake plate or cake stand with the rounded side up.
10. Using a fine-mesh sieve, dust the top with powdered sugar and decorate with fresh fruit and herbs.
11. Slice, serve and enjoy.

Recipe notes

Nutritional information – (1 slice): calories, 240; fat, 13 grams; saturated fat, 2 grams; carbs, 27 grams; fiber, 1 gram; protein, 4 grams.

Andrea Mathis is a registered dietitian and owner of Beautiful Eats & Things. For more great recipes, visit beautifuleatsandthings.com.