Sweet Treats Lemon Olive Oil Mini Cakes Bursting with Provencal Flavour
Cakes & Cookies · Dessert · Martine Bertin-Peterson · Provencal Recipes · TasteThis dessert will appeal to the citrus lover. I prepared these Lemon Olive Oil Mini Cakes as individual servings. You can, of course, make the same batter and bake as a single large cake. Personally, I love this recipe as it combines the flavours of Provence in one tiny (delightful) package – lemons, thyme, olive oil.
It’s a sweet finish to a summer meal.
Bonne dégustation!

Lemon Olive Oil Mini Cakes
This recipe is easy and delicious. The combination of tangy-sweet will convert even the non-dessert lover.
Ingredients
For the Cakes:
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp Grated Lemon Zest (from 2 lemons)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2/3 cup milk, whole
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp fresh thyme finely minced + plus sprigs for garnish
For the Topping:
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- Fresh Strawberries for garnish
Instructions
Prepare the cakes:
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees.
- Brush a 6- or 12-cup mini Bundt or muffin pan with the melted butter. Lightly dust with flour and shake out the excess.
- Pulse the granulated sugar and lemon zest in a blender until combined.
- Add the eggs one at a time, then gradually pour in the olive oil and milk, pulsing until emulsified into a thin batter, about 30 seconds. NOTE: Don't over-blend or the cakes will be too puffy.
- Whisk 1 cup flour, the baking powder, salt and 1 teaspoon thyme in a small bowl.
- Add to the blender in 2 batches, pulsing lightly until just combined; stop to scrape down the sides of the blender as needed.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake until the cakes just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and spring back when lightly touched, 28 to 30 minutes for a 6-cup Bundt pan and 22 to 25 minutes for a 12-cup Bundt or muffin pan.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then loosen the sides with a small knife and invert the cakes onto a rack.
Meanwhile, prepare the glaze:
- Whisk the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and butter until smooth, adding more lemon juice if the mixture is too thick.
- Drizzle over the warm cakes and garnish with thyme sprigs and strawberries (or other seasonal berries).
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Legal
All rights reserved. Perfectly Provence articles and other content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten (including translations into other languages) or redistributed without written permission. For usage information, please contact us.
Syndication InformationAffiliate Information
As an Amazon Associate, this website earns from qualifying purchases. Some recipes, posts and pages may have affiliate links. If you purchase via these links, we receive a small commission that does not impact your price. Thank you in advance for supporting our work to maintain Perfectly Provence.
Previous Post
Flambéed Chicken a Main Course with a SparkRelated Provence Articles
Lemon Ricotta Cake Inspired by Flavours of the South
February 14, 2018
In our house, this dessert is named after our friend Luisa and inspired by Louisa’s Cake from Castellina in Chianti. The tangy combination of lemon zest and fresh ricotta are a terrific balance with sweet apple and raspberry jam. Take a look at the original post “Heard it From a Friend” for step-by-step photos of …
Lemons and Oranges French Citrus Recipes to Try
November 28, 2022
Citrus and the French Table Citrus has had a place in French cuisine, in decoration, and noble gardens since at least medieval times. As both written and iconographical sources have suggested, several species of citrus were consumed, traded and maybe even cultivated in the gardens of the medieval French elite: the citron tree, the lemon …
Remembering My Grandmother’s Chocolate Cake Recipe
July 3, 2020
A Book with Provencal Recipes: Small-town florist Natasha is determined to leave the past far behind her. But when she learns her ex-husband never told his family about their divorce – and that he needs her to accompany him on a trip to the French countryside – could love bloom again between them? ~ Excerpt …
Visiting Menton for Lemons on the French Riviera
May 10, 2022
When Life Gives You Lemons. We Make Gin! The Citron de Menton has been cultivated since the 15th century, reaching its peak in the 18th century, when millions of lemons were shipped to the United States and Russia. Plagued by scurvy, many sailors were saved by eating lemons. In the 1800s there were around 80,000 …
No Comment