Italian Lemon Olive Oil Cake Recipe
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The best Italian Lemon Olive Oil Cake of your dreams, dressed with creamy layers of whipped mascarpone cheese, lemon curd, a lemon blueberry sauce and sprinkled with fresh blackberries. A Tiramisu like berry mascarpone cake but without coffee, simply Amazing!
Berry Mascarpone Italian Lemon Olive Oil Cake
I present to you the first official cake recipe on CiaoFlorentina blog and the only cake recipe you need. It now goes by the Florentina Cake and I’m so excited about this one which is big, because yours truly excited about cake just doesn’t happen.
Melt in your mouth layer cake, lemony and berrylicious, soft and rich with a custardy pudding like lemon curd layer.
Fuhgeddaboutit!
This Italian lemon berry mascarpone cake is also the most and greatest cake recipe ever stollen on the internet, and to that all I have to say is: I am flattered little ones!
It’s the perfect cake all year round, from summer garden parties to birthdays to the holiday table like Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter. If you aren’t in the mood for creamy lemony luscious layers and summer berries you can just bake the cake and enjoy with a sprinkling of powdered sugar.
Mascarpone Cake
Lemon Olive Oil Cake Ingredients
- Blueberry sauce – because lemon pairs amazingly with blueberries and blackberries I just had to make a quick stove top blueberry sauce that will ad tons of flavor and extra moisture.
- Mascarpone filling – basically I’m following the same principle for making authentic Tiramisu, whipped mascarpone cheese with sugar and egg yolks in which I fold stiff whipped cream. Out of this world!
- Lemon Curd – this homemade lemon custard is where the cake gets its bright and fresh lemon flavor. No extract, no limoncello, just pure zesty lemon.
- Olive oil – I prefer using a fruity cold pressed extra virgin olive oil for this but for a more neutral flavor use an extra light olive oil. In any case you won’t really be able to tell if the cake was made with butter or oil. You can’t really taste the olive oil itself, just a lovely aroma.
- Blackberries – fresh juicy blackberries are the perfect contrast to the cooked blueberry sauce and make a beautiful garnish as well.
Now close your eyes for a second and imagine taking a bite out of fluffy layers of  olive oil cake packed with mascarpone, lemon curd and blueberry sauce. Then sprinkle blackberries all over the place, pretending you are the foodie Picasso or something.
Tell the truth! Can you even handle those luscious creamy layers?!
Make Ahead
Although It might seem like a very self involved recipe at first look, it is really easy actually. There are a few simple steps you can do a day ahead:
- make the lemon curd.
- prepare the blueberry sauce.
- whip the mascarpone filling.
- bake your cake, cool it off then dress it nicely with all the goodies you prepared. EASY!
Garnishes – my lemon thyme was blooming so i just had to use the thyme blossoms for garnish; you can use pretty rosemary and even lavender flowers.
Storage – this cake must be refrigerated, ideally in a cake storage box if you have one. It taste better the second and third day so you can make it in advance.
 Cake Variations
- Berries – replace the blueberries + blackberries with fresh strawberries, raspberries or cherries.
- Glaze – cover with this blueberry glaze.
- Figs – use these balsamic figs as a sauce and decorate with fresh figs.
- Chocolate variation – make a chocolate glaze / frosting and sprinkle with coconut.
- Orange – garnish with candied oranges and rosemary blossoms.
- UPDATE 2019: you can now make this cake 100% Vegan, snatch the recipe from the VeggieSociety blog.
Italian Desserts
- Lemon ricotta cookies
- Blueberry ricotta muffins
- Tiramisu
- Cranberry bread
- Lemon blueberry bread
- Italian Wedding Cookies
- Lemon muffins
- Sicilian ricotta cheesecake
- Ricciarelli Almond Cookies
- Rosemary Shortbread Cookies.
Italian Lemon Olive Oil Cake Recipe with Berries + Mascarpone
Ingredients
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup ricotta cheese
- 2 cup all purpose flour
- 5 eggs organic pasture raised
- 1.25 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- Zest from 1 lemon
- A pinch of sea salt
- 1 lb blackberries
- 1/4 cup edible flower blossoms
Blueberry Sauce
- 1/2 lb blueberries
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 2-3 tbsp wild honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Mascarpone Cream
- 4 large egg yolks organic pasture raised
- 4 tbsp granulated sugar
- 3/4 lb mascarpone cheese
- 1.5 cup whipped cream ( Stiff )
- zest from 1 lemon
Lemon curd
- 1/2 cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
- Zest from 1 lemon
- 5 large egg yolks organic pasture raised
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 5 tbsp butter cut into 5 pieces.
Instructions
Make the Blueberry Sauce:
- Start by adding the blueberries with the lemon juice, vanilla and honey to a small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer and cook for a couple of minutes, just until the blueberries burst. Remove from flame and adjust sweetness to your taste with more honey. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Make the Lemon Curd:
- To make the lemon curd, prepare a double boiler with 2 inches of water in the bottom pan. Bring to gentle simmer.
Add the egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice to the top pan. Whisk together over the steam until combined well. Keep whisking for a few minutes until the curd has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. About 5 to 10 minutes or so. Turn off the flame and whisk in the butter until melted. Transfer the curd to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cooled completely. It should be very thick at this point. - Preheat your oven to 325"F.
- Prepare a 10 inch spring form pan by lightly buttering it with a dab of butter. Place on a baking sheet.
Make the Olive Oil Cake:
- In the bowl of a mixer add the eggs, lemon zest and sugar and using the whisk attachment beat them together until well combined. A few minutes.
- Pour in the olive oil and continue whisking on medium low speed until all incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese and sea salt and whisk till combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and slowly mix or fold everything together until incorporated.
- Transfer the cake batter into the buttered spring form pan.
- Bake the olive oil cake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.
- Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
Make the Mascarpone Cheese Filling:
- Add the egg yolks and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Use a mixer with a whisk attachment to cream the sugars and egg yolks until fluffy and pale in color.
- Add the lemon zest and spoonfuls of the mascarpone cheese until incorporated.
- Using a spatula fold the whipped cream (must be stiff) into the whipped mascarpone cheese until combined. Make sure to not over mix. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. It should not be runny, it should be thick and creamy.
Assemble the Cake:
- Once cooled off, remove the cake from the spring form pan by releasing the sides first, then remove the bottom.
- Very carefully slice a thin layer off of the top to remove the top crust and expose the inside of the cake.
- Extra carefully slice the cake in half using a serrated knife.
- Place the bottom part on a plate or cake stand.
- Using a small spatula spread the chilled lemon curd on top of the olive oil cake. Spoon half of the mascarpone filling on top, or as much as you feel comfortable working with. If it seems like too much for you, simply save some for later use. Then top it with half of the blueberries from the blueberry sauce and some of the fresh blackberries. Reserve as much of the liquid from the blueberry sauce as possible for the next layer.
- Add the next olive oil cake layer and spoon all the remaining blueberries with the sauce on top. Add the remaining whipped mascarpone (or however much you feel comfortable working with) and with the back of a spoon or spatula rustically spread it over the top. Place the fresh blackberries all over the top, reserving some to decorate the sides of your olive oil cake.
- Garnish your lemon olive oil cake with edible flower blossoms and enjoy chilled.
Notes
- Make sure the whipped cream is Stiff not runny.
- If whipping your own cream, start with 1 cup of organic heavy whipping cream + 1 tbsp sugar. Whip with the whisk attachment until stiff, it should yield just about 2 cups of whipped cream.
This cake is absolutely delicious!! Stunning cake to look at and my family was impressed with all of the different layers of flavor. I even used a GF flour blend to make it Celiac friendly and the texture was great.
I did have a little trouble getting the mascarpone filling thick enough, it ended up runny. Any suggestions??
Hi Ashley, so happy to hear everyone loved the cake. I suspect your whipped cream was not whipped enough. Sometimes If the cream or even the whisk is not cold enough it really won’t whip well. Which then in turn will make your mascarpone filling lose, since mascarpone cheese is super thick to start with. So i would definitely suggest to use already whipped cream or make sure the cream and wish are very cold. Then gently mix it with the msacarpone. ~ Florentina
Wow, what a gorgeous cake!
This looks insanely delicious!
Thanks Kevin, It really was the best cake of all time. Hope you give it a go 🙂
I was searching for a special cake for my mother-in-law’s birthday….THIS IS IT! I can’t wait to put this together this weekend! Thank you for posting it, Florentina!
I’m so excited to see how it turns out! Enjoy!
The cake was a huge hit! My mother in law was very happy to receive such a beautiful cake. Thanks again for sharing!
I’m so doing the happy dance over here! My favorite cake ever too, nothing beats making cake with olive oil and mascarpone cheese hehe
I am so excited to make this. Am I supposed to make whipped cream use whipping cream or am I buying whipped cream pre-made? Please advise.
I’m so happy I found this recipe!!
Thanks Katie, you can use whatever you have. I usually whip my own cream with 1 tbsp of sugar. But you can just use pre-made whipped cream too. Your call! Let me know how you love the olive oil cake ~ Florentina Xo’s
i have a question on this step: Using a spatula fold the whipped cream into the whipped mascarpone cheese until combine. Make sure to not over mix. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
is the whipped cream whipped or just poured out of the carton? i can’t find anywhere it says to whip it but i wanted to make sure. thanks! i want to try this asap but i am waiting to make sure i have this step correct. also, if you make this part ahead, you just cover it and leave it in the refrigerator overnight!
Hi Kris, you will need Whipped Cream so heavy cream that is already whipped. I hope that answered your question. If you make this part ahead then yes, cover tightly with plastic wrap until ready to assemble your cake. Let me know how you liked it 🙂 ~ Florentina
I have to make this, it’s stunning! I have lemon love oil (Roland citron oil), do you think using a little of it will intensify the lemon flavor or be just too much? Thank you
Hi Leslie, you can definitely use a little bit of it, just don’t replace the entire amount of olive oil in the recipe with it. Maybe about 2 tablespoons or so, depending on how strong it is. I would taste it first. I’d love to hear how it goes, please report back 🙂 ~ Florentina
Thank you so much for this recipe. I made it today and it was super hit. I will for sure try again.
Hi Sangita, I am so happy to hear the cake was a Hit! Happy Dance haha! Definitely our favorite cake as well!~ Florentina
Oh Florentina!! Please forgive me! I found the ricotta cheese. I’m so sorry to bother you about this. Now, on to baking this gorgeous cake!
Joyce
Hi Joyce, no worries, I was just checking for errors and I see the Ricotta cheese is the second ingredient. It goes in the olive oil cake batter. And Yes, it is a whipped mascarpone filling, I hope you love it as much as we did ~ Florentina
I see no ricotta cheese anywhere in the recipe ingredients but you do refer to it in #6 of the directions. I’m dying to try this cake but am afraid I’m missing something. Also, #11 refers to the whipped ricotta filling. Did you mean mascarpone cheese? Can ricotta be substituted? Thanks for your response. It looks like an awesome cake!!
Joyce
I’m making this cake for my birthday, but I have one question–should I cook the blueberries until thickened like pie filling? We don’t have access to fresh blackberries here, so mine is going to be decorated with mango 🙂
Hi MariLou! You only need to cook the blueberries a few minutes until the pop and release their juice. They will form a nice syrup together with the honey, no need to cook them down. You want rustic textures all through your cake. The mango sounds really good too, make sure to send me a pic of your olive oil cake with mango. I’d love to see it ~ Florentina
Ok, this cake is GORG! Love all those fresh berries and of course LOVE mascarpone.
I don’t even know where to start, but I’ll start with how amazing this recipe looks. Your pictures are simply stunning. Just like I could reach threw to the cake! Wow, delicious!
Hmm, I’ve never made a cake with olive oil, rather than butter! It looks and sounds almost like a rich sponge cake, would that be right? And then, of course all the fillings and such just are so lovely.
That is such a beautiful looking cake! A real show stopper and something to serve up to impress guests.
I love this cake! It’s so beautiful with those lemon thyme flowers, now I have to grow some thyme, this is my kind of cake, it looks so delicious!
This isn’t a cake! It’s a dream!
Wow. This cake looks fantastic and so delicious. And it has all my favourite things! Lemon, mascarpone, blackberries. And those thyme blossoms are adorable too! I’ve never baked a cake using olive oil before and this is definitely the cake to try that on. Will let you know how it goes!
Thanks Jolina! Olive oil cakes are so special, I don’t even think I know how to bake anything good without olive oil and some ricotta in the mix. Let me know how it goes ~ Florentina
What a stunner!! Such a showstopping cake full of oozy amazingness. I love the sound of the sharp blackberries and lemon against the marscarpone.
This cake is absolutely beautiful!! <3 I just love the blackberry/lemon combo too.
OMG, this recipe sounds incredible. You had me at lemon and these berries and citrus with mascarpone has me wanting to make this right now!
Hope you do, I mean what can be a better treat than lemon olive oil cake? 😉
This recipe looks divine! Your pictures are amazing too. They really make this cake scream “MUST HAVE!”
awww thanks Michelle, you made my day. I’m just learning how to take good photos, so happy you like them! ~Florentina
This cake looks amazing! I had an olive oil cake in Italy and it was incredible. I need to try this out!
Oh yes you must! I bet you’ll fall in love with olive oil cakes and even more, bake with olive oil more often.
Very beautiful looking cake! I want to have a piece right now!
That gorgeous cake looks like a summer wedding! Seriously, one of the best looking cakes I have EVER seen!
I’m so happy you love it, and thank you so much, that is a true compliment. Hope you give it a go soon ~Florentina Xo’s
The best cake ever and I have hadd plenty a share of it. Marvelous, magnificant, superb, all superlatves, thank you, I am ever so gratefull for the recipe.