Olive Oil Cake with Pistachio Buttercream

by erika Published: Aug 27, 2024 100 Comments

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This olive oil cake is flavorful with a lush and moist texture thanks to extra-virgin olive oil and almond extract. Paired with a pistachio buttercream and homemade jam, this is a perfect layer cake for anyone who loves salty sweet pairings!

a slice of a four layer olive oil cake on a plate.

Earlier this year, I went to DC to attend a friend’s wedding and had one of the best cake slices of my life. I cat sit for my old roommate over the weekend and she left a slice of cake in the fridge for me from Capitol Jill.

Even after my tests in the olive oil cake bake off to find the best olive oil cake recipe, I’d never seen a cake like it. The thick layers had an open yet dense crumb with a salty kick, layered with a pistachio white chocolate ganache and blackberry buttercream. Jill tipped me off that her recipe was based on Natasha Pickowizc’s olive oil cake. So using Natasha’s brilliant cake as the base, here’s my attempt to bring my interpretation of that cake to you!

A slice of Capitol Jill\'s olive oil cake with whipped pistachio white chocolate ganache and blackberry preserve buttercream. — Capitol Jill’s olive oil cake with whipped pistachio white chocolate ganache and blackberry preserve buttercream.

Why you’ll love this cake

Simple ingredients: This easy cake base uses just 6 basic ingredients (not counting leaveners and salt). It’s a breeze to mix and bake in under an hour, and it’s one of the most delicious cakes I’ve made.
Extraordinarily plush yet structured crumb: The high ratio of oil and sugar guarantees an incredibly tender cake that’s has a melt-in-your-mouth texture. It is very sticky and delicate while warm–but once frozen, it’s sturdy enough to be stacked as a layer cake. But you could happily enjoy this tender cake standalone just dusted with some powdered sugar!
Salty sweet pistachio buttercream: If you don’t prefer the sweetness of American buttercreams, this pistachio frosting balances the sweetness with a rich pistachio paste. It’s nutty and pairs so well with the cake!

an olive oil cake on a cake stand with pistachio buttercream topped with blackberries.

Ingredients

Olive oil: Since this is the main ingredient in this cake, it’s best to use a good quality extra-virgin olive oil that you love the taste of. I tend to prefer more mild-flavored olive oils (I love Partanna but also have often used Kirkland’s EVOO). I would not recommend substituting another oil like canola or vegetable oil as you really want the rich olive oil flavor.
Milk: I use whole milk for the best results. Coconut milk would change the flavor to a more tropical vibe, but the full-fat milk should work well here. You can also try almond, oat or soymilk, but the texture might be slightly less moist and tender as these all have a lower fat content than whole milk.
All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour works perfectly for a plush texture in this cake. No specialty flours like cake flour or almond flour needed!
Almond extract: Feel free to sub vanilla extract if you prefer (but I love the flavor of almond extract).
Kosher salt: It may seem like a lot of salt, but I promise the full 1.5 teaspoons will really bring out a lovely salt-sweet contrast.
Pistachio paste: While you can buy pistachio paste for the pistachio buttercream, I find homemade pistachio paste to be cheaper and quite easy. For the purposes of this buttercream, it’s okay if your pistachio paste is slightly grainy and not silky smooth–it’ll add textural interest to the frosting! All you’ll need is 3/4 cup pistachios and powdered sugar to make a batch of pistachio paste that’s perfect for this amount of pistachio buttercream.

a slice of a four layer olive oil cake on a plate with a fork cutting a bite.

How to make olive oil cake

This olive oil cake is easy to make in one bowl with an electric mixer! While some recipes will have you mix the flour mixture in a separate bowl, there’s really no need here. Simply mix the leaveners and salt into the wet ingredients first. Once those are thoroughly combined, fold in the flour (to avoid overmixing which can overdevelop the gluten and cause your cake to become tough).

Step-by-step instructions are below; full recipe at the bottom of the post.

Step 1: In the bowl of an electric mixer, use the paddle or whisk attachment to whip the large eggs on high speed until foamy, about 2 minutes.

Whipped eggs and sugar in a stand mixer.

Step 2: Slowly stream in the sugar and whip on medium-high speed until the eggs are lightened and nearly tripled in volume, 5-6 minutes.

Step 3: Slowly stream the olive oil into the egg mixture.

Step 4: Gradually add the milk and almond extract to the egg mixture.

Adding flour to the the bowl of a stand mixer.

Step 5: Fold in the baking powder, baking soda and salt, then finally the flour to bring the batter together.

Step 6: Pour the cake batter into prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden and fragrant and a cake tester comes out with just a few moist crumbs. The top of the cake should spring back slightly under your finger.

Once you let the cake cool, I highly recommend wrapping it and freezing it before assembly. This will make this delicate cake much easier to decorate without crumbs getting everywhere.

I love pairing this olive oil cake with a pistachio buttercream (recipe below) and jam for a fruity contrast. I used a homemade blackberry jam, but storebought is great.

How to make pistachio buttercream

This pistachio buttercream uses just three basic ingredients: butter, powdered sugar and pistachio paste. Once you beat these ingredients together, you can taste the frosting and decide if you’d like to add additional vanilla or salt for flavor. You can also optionally add in a few tablespoons of cream or milk to thin the frosting consistency

DIY pistachio paste: Pistachio paste can be expensive, so I typically use my easy pistachio paste from scratch with just 3 ingredients. A few notes:

One batch of that paste is perfect for a single batch of buttercream to frost this cake.
If you’d like to make the paste ahead of time, it’ll keep for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. You can use it straight from the fridge, though it’ll blend more smoothly and quickly into the frosting if you temper it at room temperature for an hour or so beforehand.

FAQ

What kind of olive oil should I use?

While I prefer a mild extra-virgin olive oil, you can use whatever type of olive oil you prefer. While you can use regular (not extra-virgin) olive oil, typically EVOO is better quality and will have a better flavor.

Some recommend avoiding Spanish or Tuscan olive oils as they have a more peppery flavor that won’t be as desirable in a cake. Make sure to taste it before you use it!

What does olive oil cake taste like?

The flavor will definitely depend on the type of olive oil you use. This cake has undertones of almond (thanks to the extract) with light fruity notes from the olive oil and salty highlights. In general, you can imagine a butter cake but with light herbal olive oil notes instead of butter.

What other flavors pair well with olive oil cake?

The salty sweetness of this cake would pair well with almost any fruit jam and nut paste! Think any berry jams, stone fruit jams (like peach, plums, apricots) or even marmalade. If you don’t like pistachios, you can replace the pistachio buttercream with another nut. You can use the same technique as in this DIY pistachio paste with another nut–try almonds or hazelnuts.

Can I make this cake in advance?

I actually prefer baking off the layers a day or two before I need them. Since the cake is so delicate, it’s much easier to handle once the layers are fully frozen. You can bake the cake layers, wrap well in plastic wrap and freeze for up to a week. You can frost the layers straight from the freezer. Though if you need to trim/level the layers, it’s best to defrost them in the fridge for an hour or so beforehand to soften.

Tips and tricks

An electric mixer makes this cake much easier: This cake is a breeze to make with an electric mixer or stand mixer. If you want to make it by hand, be sure to whip the eggs and sugar together very aggressively until they are light, foamy, and pale yellow in color (at least tripled in volume). Although this cake uses chemical leaveners, it’s also important to incorporate lots of air via the eggs to help lift the cake.
Baking in 2 or 3 8-inch pans: If you bake this cake in 2 8-inch pans, you’ll use about ~681g of batter in each prepared pan. If you’d like 3 slightly thicker layers vs. 4 thinner layers, you can bake the batter in 3 8-inch pans with ~454g of batter in each.
9×13 cake: Instead of a round cake pan, I’ve also made this as a rectangular cake baked in a 9×13 pan. (It baked up nearly to the top for a very full pan–I’d place a baking sheet underneath if you think your 9×13 may run small). Once baked, I sliced the cake twice horizontally to make 3 layers. It’s a bit tough to cut the layers precisely even, but this is a nice option for a sheet cake look that doesn’t require a lot of pans.
I’ve also tried cutting a 9×13 cake in half width-wise and height-wise to create 4 square-ish layers. However, this shape was much more difficult to level and frost so I don’t really recommend it!

Happy baking! If you give this recipe a try, I’d love to know how it goes for you in the comments.

Olive Oil Pistachio Blackberry Cake

Erika Kwee

Tender, plush olive oil cake layers with a salty-sweet pistachio buttercream and blackberry jam.

4.78 from 31 votes

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Prep Time 25

Cook Time 45

Course Dessert

Servings people

Equipment

2 8-inch cake pans

Ingredients

For the olive oil cake

3 large eggs 150g
1.5 cups sugar 300g
1 cup + 2 tbsp olive oil 225g
1.25 cups milk 284g
3/4 tsp almond extract
5 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp kosher salt
3 cups all-purpose flour 360g

For the pistachio buttercream

2 sticks unsalted butter, slightly softened 226g
4 cups powdered sugar 454g
2/3 cup pistachio paste 175g
2-3 tbsp heavy cream or milk, if needed
1/2 tsp vanilla extract, optional
salt, to taste

For assembly

1-1.5 cups blackberry jam + more for garnish
additional pistachios, for garnish
fresh blackberries, for garnish

Instructions

For the olive oil cake

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and line 2 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the eggs briefly on high speed until combined and foamy. Slowly stream in the sugar and whip on high until eggs are lightened and voluminous, 5-6 minutes.
Stream in the olive oil, milk and almond extract and beat on medium speed until just combined.
Evenly sprinkle the baking powder, baking soda and salt over the surface of the batter and beat to combine. Finally, add the flour and mix on medium low until flour is just incorporated (a few streaks of flour are okay). Use a rubber spatula to finish incorporating the last few streaks of flour until the batter is smooth (a few lumps are okay).
Divide batter evenly into the two cake pans (~681g). Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the cake is fragrant, tops are golden, and the cake springs back under your finger. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then turn out to cool on a wire cooling rack.
I highly recommend wrapping the cakes in plastic wrap and freezing for at least one hour up to a week at this point. This will help minimize crumbs and mess while frosting the cake as this is a very delicate cake. You can wrap the cakes and freeze while still warm (some believe this helps the cake retain more moisture) or wait until they're fully cooled.

For the pistachio buttercream

Just before you're ready to frost the cake, make the buttercream.
In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the softened butter and beat until smooth.
Gradually add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Once all the sugar is incorporated, beat on high speed for 3 minutes until the frosting is super fluffy and stark white.
Add the pistachio paste and beat for another 2-3 minutes on high, or until the paste is smoothly incorporated. If the frosting looks too thick, add the cream or milk to loosen the texture. Taste and add vanilla and/or salt if desired (depending on how salty your pistachio paste is, you may need to add up to 1/4 tsp salt. I didn't add any salt to mine since I had used salted pistachios in my pistachio paste). Use right away!

To assemble

Torte each layer (I.e. cut in half height-wise to form two thinner layers of cake). Place a layer of cake on a cutting board or cake stand, spread with pistachio buttercream, then 1/4-1/2 cup of blackberry jam. Repeat with the remaining layers. Garnish cake with remaining jam, pistachios, fresh blackberries, etc. Enjoy!