Lemon-Olive Oil Bundt Cake

I was destined to make this bundt cake. Well, maybe not this bundt cake, but definitely a bundt cake.  You see, I’ve had a bundt cake pan sitting atop my refrigerator in my 350-sq foot Manhattan studio since December 2014.  That December, while visiting home in Louisiana, I decided to take one of my mother’s bundt pans back to New York with me, even though I had never made a bundt cake before.

This particular bundt pan had been in that kitchen pantry for as long as I can remember. My mother has had it for decades. But, I knew she wouldn’t miss it because she has several.  You see, my mother is a collector.  And I have heard her justifying having multiples of the same kitchen tool. For example, when I pointed out to her that she had four rolling pins, she quickly reminded me that she has four daughters. One for each of us.

I’m not sure when my mother planned on distributing her wealth of kitchen gadgets, but I took the stainless steel rolling pin back to Los Angeles with me after that conversation. My mother used to say, “Well, when you get married, ….”  Considering that I’m 30 years old and single, those conversations have ended. But now I feel quite fine helping myself to my birthright of kitchen gadgets whenever I’m visiting home in Louisiana. …which is how I ended up with this decades-old bundt pan.

I was feeling celebratory this weekend, so I planned to make a bundt cake!  I had no clue which cake to make–none of the recipes I had were speaking to me. Then, I stumbled upon my new favorite cake-book “Grandbaby Cakes” (which you should seriously buy) and this recipe that combined some of my favorite Mediterranean flavors–lemon and olive oil. It even used Greek yogurt instead of buttermilk. I instantly knew that this was the cake that would christen my tenure with this bundt pan.

There was just one problem. Tiny apartments have tiny appliances. So, I have a sub-standard-sized oven.  Most regular-sized cookie sheets and pans don’t fit in my oven!  The bundt pan fit, but only on the bottom rack.  I decided to take my chances since this was the only way to actually have the pan fit in my petit oven.

[SPOILER ALERT: Do not bake a bundt cake in the bottom rack of the oven!!]

I spent an entire morning juicing and zesting lemons, while whisking and stirring, pouring and baking.. cooling.. Everything just looked so perfect!  Until I finally removed the cake from the pan. The top was definitely burnt. My burnt bundt was no looker, but I did taste a piece, and WOW.  I loved the tangy and bright lemon, tempered by the sophisticated and floral flavor of the olive oil. Plus, there was this “pudding cake” quality to it. It wasn’t quite a cake-cake. It was just one step past moist. And trust me, I’m not complaining!

But, I had this burnt top that a little lemon-confectioner’s glaze couldn’t fix. So, I made another cake in my tiny oven. This time, I put 9×13 inch pan upside down on the bottom rack, and then I put my bundt cake on top of that pan. This was the only way I could raise the cake from the fiery bottom of the oven with the bundt pan still actually fitting in the oven! I’m pleased to report that this worked; although, it did increase the baking time by about 10 minutes.

This cake is seriously satisfying, and anyone who loves unique desserts and the floral flavor of olive oil will love this cake! If you don’t like olive oil, you can substitute the olive oil with vegetable oil.  And it may be tempting to use bottled lemon juice, but use fresh lemon juice. Lemon is the star of this cake, and the fresh juice helps the lemon to shine.

Adapted from Grandbaby Cakes.