Sourdough Olive Oil Lemon Cake Recipe | Easy Lemon Cake
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🍋 Sourdough Olive Oil Lemon Cake
Bright. Moist. Tender. Ridiculously easy.
A little sourdough starter turns this simple lemon cake into something seriously special.
Have some extra sourdough starter hanging around? Don't throw it away. Turn it into this beautifully simple Sourdough Olive Oil Lemon Cake instead. It's soft, moist, lightly tangy, packed with fresh lemon flavor, and finished with the subtle richness of olive oil. Best of all, you don't need complicated sourdough techniques to make it. If you can whisk and stir, you can make this cake.
🍋 Why You'll Love This Cake
✔ Bright fresh lemon flavor
✔ Moist, tender crumb
✔ Perfect for sourdough discard
✔ Simple beginner-friendly method
✔ Olive oil keeps the cake beautifully moist
✔ No complicated sourdough fermentation required
✔ Elegant enough for guests
🍋 Sourdough Olive Oil Lemon Cake
🍋 Ingredients
- 150 g sourdough starter or discard
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup (120 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup (120 ml) milk
- Zest of 2 lemons
- ¼ cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 200 g bread flour
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
🍋 Optional Finish
- Powdered sugar for dusting
- Extra lemon zest
- Thin lemon slices
🔥 Preheat & Prepare Your Pan
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Grease an 8-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
🍋 Zest the Lemons — Then Squeeze
Before you cut or squeeze your lemons, zest them first.
Use a fine grater or microplane to remove the bright yellow outer layer from 2 lemons.
Stop when you reach the white pith underneath. The pith can taste bitter, so you only want the yellow zest.
Once you've collected the zest, then cut the lemons in half and squeeze them for the fresh lemon juice.
🍋 ZEST FIRST. SQUEEZE SECOND.
This little order-of-operations trick makes zesting dramatically easier and helps you get every bit of fresh lemon flavor into the cake.
🍋 Wake Up the Lemon Flavor
Place the 150 g sugar into a large mixing bowl.
Add the zest from your two lemons.
Using your fingertips, gently rub the lemon zest into the sugar for about 30 seconds.
The sugar will become fragrant and slightly damp as the natural lemon oils are released.
🥚 Mix the Wet Ingredients
Add the following to your lemon sugar:
- 3 eggs
- 150 g sourdough starter
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla
Whisk everything together until smooth and evenly combined.
🌾 Add the Dry Ingredients
Add:
- 200 g bread flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
Stir gently until the batter comes together.
🛑 DON'T OVERMIX
Mix just until you no longer see dry flour. A few small lumps are completely fine.
🍰 Pour Into the Pan
Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan.
Gently smooth the top with a spatula.
Give the pan one or two gentle taps against the counter to release any large air pockets.
🔥 Bake Until Golden
BAKE 35–40 MINUTES
Bake at 350°F (175°C) until the top is lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
❄️ Cool Before Slicing
Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10–15 minutes.
Carefully remove it from the pan and transfer it to a cooling rack.
Allow it to cool completely before slicing.
🍋 DON'T RUSH THIS PART
The crumb continues setting as the cake cools. Waiting gives you cleaner slices and a better texture.
✨ Finish Your Lemon Cake
Once completely cool, give your cake a generous dusting of powdered sugar.
Add a little extra fresh lemon zest over the top if you want an even brighter finish.
For an extra-special presentation, add a few thin lemon slices just before serving.
👩🍳 Squirrelly Girl Pro Tips
🌟 New to Sourdough? This One Is For You.
This isn't one of those recipes where you need to understand hydration percentages, bulk fermentation, coil folds, or dough temperature.
You're simply taking your sourdough starter and using it as one of the ingredients in a delicious cake.
No complicated sourdough skills required.
Just mix, bake, cool, dust with sugar, and enjoy.
👩🍳 Want a Bakery-Quality Result?
Weigh your ingredients, use fresh lemon zest, avoid overmixing, and watch the cake rather than relying entirely on the timer.
Zesting the lemons before squeezing them also helps you capture the maximum amount of bright lemon aroma.
The best version has a delicate crumb, plenty of moisture, and a bright lemon flavor without being overly sweet.
⚠️ Baker's Warning
You may tell yourself you're making this cake because you need to use your sourdough discard.
We both know you're really making it because lemon cake is ridiculously good.
☕ How to Serve It
This cake is fantastic with a cup of coffee or tea.
For an extra-special dessert, serve it with:
- Fresh berries
- Whipped cream
- Vanilla ice cream
- A drizzle of lemon glaze
- Extra fresh lemon zest
It's simple enough for breakfast and elegant enough for dessert.
📦 How to Store It
Store the cooled cake covered at room temperature for up to 2–3 days.
For longer storage, refrigerate it in an airtight container and allow it to come closer to room temperature before serving.
📚 Continue Your Sourdough Journey
Ready to learn more about sourdough? Keep building your skills with the Squirrelly Girl guides created to make sourdough easier to understand, whether you're just starting out or already baking regularly.
🐿️ Ready to Make Better Sourdough?
Great sourdough baking starts with a strong, healthy starter.
Squirrelly Girl Sourdough Starter makes it easy to get your starter active, healthy, and ready for breads, cakes, cookies, and everything in between.
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Get Squirrelly Girl Sourdough StarterOne starter. Endless sourdough possibilities.
❤️ Happy Baking!
Bright lemon. Rich olive oil. A little sourdough magic.
That's one seriously good way to use your starter.
🍋🐿️ Happy baking from Squirrelly Girl!