Simple and rustic Apple Olive Oil Cake with chunks of apple, raisins and the perfect combination of spices. The kind of no-fuss olive oil cake you'll love.
Prep time: PT20M
Cook time: PT45M
Rating
4.7 stars (105 reviews)
Keywords
apple cake, olive oil cake
Ingredients
2 large Gala apples (peeled and chopped as finely as possible)
Orange juice to soak apples in
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil,
2 large eggs
2/3 cup gold raisins, (soaked in warm water for 15 minutes and then drained well)
Confectioner's sugar (for dusting)
Cuisine
Italian/Mediterranean
Steps
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the chopped apples in a bowl and add orange juice; just enough juice to toss and coat apples so as to prevent browning.
In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside for now
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, add sugar and extra virgin olive oil. Mix on low for 2 minutes until well-combined
While mixer is on, add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to mix another 2 minutes until mixture increases in volume (it should be thicker but still runny)
In the large bowl with the dry ingredients, make a well in the middle of the flour mixture. Add the wet mixture (the sugar and olive oil mixture) into the well. Using a wooden spoon, stir until just blended; it will be a thick batter (do not add anything to loosen it).
Drain raisins (which have been soaking in water) completely; and rid apples of excess juice. Add both raisins and apples to the batter and mix with spoon until well-combined. Again, batter will be fairly thick.
Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper. Spoon thick batter into the pan, and level the top with the back of your wooden spoon.
Bake in 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until an inserted tooth pick or wooden skewer comes out clean.
Cool completely in pan. When ready, simply lift parchment up to transfer cake into a serving dish. Dust with confectioner's sugar. Alternatively, heat some dark honey to serve on top (those with a sweeter tooth like this option.)
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 388.4 kcal
Carbohydrates: 51.3 g
Protein: 4.5 g
Fat: 19.2 g
Saturated Fat: 2.8 g
Trans Fat: 0.003 g
Cholesterol: 27.3 mg
Sodium: 139.4 mg
Sugar: 24.7 g
Unsaturated Fat: 15.6 g
Reviews
Laurel on 2026-04-18 (5 stars): Tasty but not too sweet and great instructions
Tracy Ruffin on 2025-12-02 (4 stars): my all time favorite cake to keep in the house for company, breakfast, etc.
Maureen on 2025-11-12 (5 stars): This recipe was delicious. It is not too sweet so good for breakfast. It raised well but needed more time in the oven. The middle was hard to get done, even with some extra time. Only change I made was to soak the raisins with approximately a shot of Amoretto. Thanks for the recipe!
ndml1@aol.com on 2025-10-15 (5 stars): The cake was delicious. A bit crumbly. The outside was crunchy which I loved. I cooked for 35 mins and it was perfect. I always cut time of the suggested time and check on it as all ovens are different.
Diane Fiszer on 2025-10-09 (5 stars): This recipe is perfect. I made it exactly as directed except I springled cinnamon sugar on top after I took it out of the oven. I used two very large Sweet Tango apples. My cake came out light and fluffy with a beautiful crumb texture. I was concerned about the lack of salt and vanilla but it wasn't necessary. Thank you for the recipe!!
Joanne on 2025-09-21 (5 stars): I can’t wait to try this beautiful recipe. Am I able to substitute some of the White Flour for Whole Wheat or Almond flour?
Amanda Allerton on 2025-01-06 (4 stars): Came out tasty and crumbly, thought the olive oil and egg had split, and added an extra egg, walnuts and no sultanas as we are snowed in atm, it took 65 mins to cook but is delicious. Not too sweet, and interesting. Will make again, thanks!
