Miniature Olive Oil Bundt Cakes with Lemon-Vanilla Glaze Recipe

Plate of Miniature Olive Oil Bundt Cakes with Lemon-Vanilla Glaze photo credit Rebecca Frey

Made with olive oil, lemon, and thyme, these miniature bundt cakes feature a moist, citrus-y cake, plus a drizzle of lemon-vanilla glaze for a sweet finishing touch. Plate and serve as a light dessert, arrange on a pastry tray, or enjoy as an accompaniment to a cup of hot coffee or tea.

Why Bake with Olive Oil?

Though best known for the role it plays in savory baked goods like pizza and focaccia, olive oil also makes a unique addition to cakes, brownies, cookies, and other sweet desserts. 

The inclusion of olive oil creates an ultra-moist cake with a softer crumb. In many recipes, olive oil can replace less flavorful oils such as vegetable or canola, or substitute for melted (but not softened) butter. As a plant-based ingredient, olive oil offers a suitable option for dairy-free and vegan diners, while its nutritional benefits, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, also make it an attractive choice for health-conscious consumers.

Choosing the Best Olive Oil for Miniature Bundt Cakes

Like wine, olive oils possess unique profiles with distinct notes and nuances, in both flavor and aroma. An olive oil can taste earthy, fruity, nutty, peppery, buttery, or even slightly bitter. Because the oil you choose will influence the taste of the finished bundt cakes, opt for a good-quality, extra virgin olive oil with a flavor profile you enjoy. 

Estelle Sohne with olive oil cakes

Estelle Sohne of the award-winning olive oil cake mix Flour & Olive declines to recommend any specific brands for use with her mixes, but when considering different oils, she says you might try using a mild-tasting EVOO from cultivars such as arbequina and mission since many people prefer that in their cakes. She adds, “For anyone looking for more of an olive-oil forward tasting cake, our cake mixes taste excellent even with the bolder olive oil flavors.  It is really a question of individual taste. I think approaching olive oil like wine and asking olive oil retailers for recommendations on which EVOO to pair with a cake recipe is the best way to go about this since there are so many fantastic domestic and international options. 

McEvoy Ranch Blood Orange Olive OIl

You can also experiment with flavored or infused olive oils. For instance, a lemon or citrus oil will magnify the cake's lemon ingredients, while an herb-infused oil will yield a pastry which leans more savory than sweet. Or, choose a mild-tasting olive oil to serve as a backdrop for the recipe's natural notes of vanilla, lemon, and thyme. Sohne agrees, “Flavored oils are also wonderful in cakes – McEvoy Ranch recently baked our Gold Coast chocolate cake with their blood orange olive oil and I am told the result was ‘heaven!’”  Read more about McEvoy olive oils. 

I love baking with extra virgin olive oil because it is fun to play with the multitude of flavor profiles to personalize the way I want each cake I bake to taste.  It also opens up the world because I can decide to bake our cakes with EVOO from the places the recipes are from, for example, I can bake our Californian Almond cake with a world-class Californian olive oil or my South African Honey cake with a South African olive oil.  In addition to making delicious cakes, this type of intentional baking adds more meaning to the baking experience.

Preparing and Filling the Bundt Pans

To make this recipe you'll need a set of miniature bundt pans, each measuring about two-and-one-half inches in diameter. For easy removal, choose silicone rather than metal. If you don't have miniature bundt pans, bake the cakes in a muffin tin lined with silicone cupcake liners instead. 

A generous coating of olive oil allows you to remove the baked cakes without any sticking, breaking, or crumbling. Instead of pouring oil directly into the pans, use a bottled olive oil spray or a mister to evenly coat the entire cavity.

You will notice that the batter remains very liquid after mixing—this is correct! Resist the urge to overmix or add more flour, which will result in dense, heavy cakes. Because of its fluidity, it's easiest to pipe, rather than spoon, the batter. Scoop it into a large piping bag (in a pinch, you can use a large plastic food storage bag with the corner snipped) and pipe into the prepared pans. Before baking, use a damp cloth to wipe any drips of batter from the tray, or these will burn as the cakes bake.

Glazing the Cakes

I kept things simple and drizzled the lemon-vanilla glaze with a teaspoon. For increased precision, transfer the glaze to a piping bag, then pipe over the tops of the cakes.

To make cleanup easier, sit the cooled cakes on a wire rack and sit it over a tray lined with parchment or wax paper. After you've finished drizzling the glaze, crumple and discard the paper—no need to wash the tray or spend time scraping dried glaze from the countertop.

Storage and Serving Suggestions

These olive oil bundt cakes taste best on the day they are made. You can store leftover, unglazed cakes in an airtight container overnight, but they will be denser and heavier on day two. I do not recommend storing glazed cakes.

I've finished my cakes with lemon slices and zest, but fresh thyme leaves also work nicely as a garnish. Or, skip the glaze and dust the cooled cakes with confectioner's sugar instead.

Miniature Olive Oil Bundt Cakes with Lemon-Vanilla Glaze

Makes 12-14 2-inch cakes

Individual serving of Miniature Olive Oil Bundt Cakes with Lemon-Vanilla Glaze photo credit Rebecca Frey

Ingredients:

For the bundt cakes:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for coating pans
1/3 cup whole milk

3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

For the glaze:
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F (176° C). Generously coat twelve 2 1/2-inch silicone bundt pans with olive oil. Arrange pans on a half-sheet rimmed baking tray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and kosher salt.

In a separate bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix eggs and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add olive oil, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and thyme leaves and mix until well combined.

Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just barely combined. Do not overmix. Batter will be very fluid. 

Scoop batter into a large piping bag fitted with 1/4-inch round tip. Pipe into prepared pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 20-22 minutes or until cakes spring back lightly when touched.

Cool 5 minutes in pans. Turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, whisk the confectioner's sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla bean paste in a small bowl.

Sit wire rack over a parchment-lined tray. With a teaspoon, drizzle glaze over cooled cakes.

Garnish with sliced lemons, lemon zest, or fresh thyme. Serve immediately.

Store unglazed cakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.