Olive Oil Cake with Lemon & Thyme | Summer Cake and Tea 2020 | Cake with Genmaicha Recipe

This Olive Oil Cake with Lemon & Thyme, is perfect to be enjoyed as a summer dessert, or even throughout the year. This cake pairs well with a cup of tea. In this video I have demonstrated how to bake the cake and prepare lemon candies. I also have some tips on brewing Genmai tea-a Japanese green tea with brown rice.

The Olive Oil Cake with Lemon & Thyme has a subtle taste of citrus and a nuanced flavor of olive oil. Before starting to prep the ingredients, always preheat the oven. For the Olive Oil Cake the oven has to be preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

First, prepare the lemon candies. Use 1 lemon and slice it to create lemon rings. Transfer the lemon slices into a tray lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle sugar generously and bake for 15 min & then broil for 4-5. Please be careful, everyone’s oven is different and may require different temperatures and time to bake.

When the lemon candies are getting prepared in the oven, prepare the cake batter.

Use a large mixing bowl, crack the room temperature eggs one by one and then add granulated sugar. Mix well until the mixture doubles in volume. Using an electric mixture will make it convenient. Then add the olive oil to go. Slowly keep pouring the olive oil while the whisk gently works to create the perfect batter. Once this is done, add in the lemon juice. Zest the lemons first and then juice. Exact recipe is provided in the description below, for convenience. Remove any seeds from the juice. And I am ready to pour it over my egg, sugar and olive oil mixture.

And then it’s time for the dry ingredients.Sift the flour, salt and baking powder. This step is important because sifted flour is lighter than unsifted and is easier to mix. So it’s perfect for the cake batter.

Slowly mix the dry ingredients to the wet. Going too fast will blow away flour. Once the dry ingredients are well incorporated, it’s time for the lemon zest and thyme. Separate thyme leaves from the sprig. Throw in and mix well using a spatula. Please do not use the electric mixture because the zest may release some bitterness if handled with too much force.

Once the batter is ready, pour it over a cake pan. In this video, I have used a 9 inch pan. In the meantime let the candied lemons cool off. The cake pan bakes for around 35-40 min. Once it is done, check the cake with a skewer, and if nothing sticks to the skewer then it’s baked properly.

Genmaicha Brewing
Add a teaspoon of Genmai tea to a tea pot with an infuser and pour hot water. The water temperature is around 80-85 degrees celsius which is around 176 to 185 degrees fahrenheit. Green tea should not be brewed at a boiling temperature because high grade tea has subtle flavor and boiling water may overpower the flavors. While the Genmaicha is brewing for 2 min, get the cake ready that has been set aside to cool. Sprinkle some powdered sugar all over and place the candied lemon slices on top. This is optional. You may have the cake as it is. Enjoy the Summer Cake with a cup of tea.


Recipe: Olive Oil Cake (Lemon & Thyme)

1 cup Olive Oil
1 cup Sugar (Extra 2 tbsp Sugar for Caramelizing Lime Slices)
½ cup Lemon Juice
1 small Lemon ( Caramelized Slices)
4 medium Eggs
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
½ tsp. Baking Powder
½ tsp. Salt
1 tbsp. Lemon Zest
1-2 sprigs of Thyme (or rosemary)

Step 1: Zest Lemon; Slice Lemon & Squeeze Lime Juice

Step 2: Prepare a cake pan. Oil & Four the base and lay a parchment paper on top. Preheat the oven to 375°

Step 3: Slice 1 lemon into thin slices. Place in a tray with parchment paper and sprinkle generous sugar on top. Bake it for a few min and then broil it for 5-10 min. Monitor from time to time to avoid burning.

Step 4: Sift the flour and mix well with the baking powder (set aside). Add eggs and sugar into a mixing bowl. Mix well at high speed for around 2 minutes or until the mixture doubles in volume. Pour Olive Oil little by little and mix slowly. Then slowly add the lemon juice. Lower the speed to minimum and slowly add the flour. Once the flour is well mixed, add the zest and thyme, and combine thoroughly using a spatula.

Pour the mix into the pan and bake for roughly 35-40 minutes or until it is lightly browned on top. Once ready, remove the cake and place caramelized lime slices. Let the cake cool and then dust with powdered sugar.

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