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    Home » Recipes » Cake Recipes

    Chocolate Olive Oil Cake Recipe

    Published: Apr 4, 2011 · Modified: Apr 13, 2021 by Chef Dennis Littley

    335 shares
    • Facebook94
    • Yummly
    5 from 6 votes
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    Pinterest image for chocolate olive oil cake

    My favorite Chocolate Olive Oil Cake.

    Everyone knows my roots are in Italian Cuisine, and when in doubt I always fall back to what has served me faithfully these many years.

    side view of chocolate olive oil cake with a layer of mascarpone cream in between the layers

    The first time I ever had an olive oil cake, or for that matter, olive oil was in Mama Jeanette’s kitchen. She asked me what I wanted for dessert and I said a chocolate cake, she laughed and said: “sonny boy, Mama Jeanette has just the cake for you!

    When I saw her add the olive oil, I tried to imagine how I would ever be able to eat that cake…..sigh……but after my first bite, my doubts vanished and I ate half the cake that night.

    slice of chocolate olive oil cake on a white plate

    It had been many years since I had that chocolate olive oil cake, and I did take some liberties with the recipe. I added a mascarpone filling and a mocha glaze.

    The cake was excellent, as good as I remembered, and the mocha glaze was a nice addition. And the mascarpone cream went well with the chocolate. If you want to make a simpler cake, whipped cream would make a delicious filling.

    I do hope you give this cake a try, I promise it will be love at first bite! And if you like cake as much as I do.
    Pinterest image for chocolate olive oil cake

    If you enjoyed this recipe you may also like these:
    • Chocolate Ganache Truffles and Chocolate Dipped Treats
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    • Triple Chocolate Pecan Fudge Brownies
    • Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
    • Classical Chocolate Mousse

    Did you make this? Please RATE THE RECIPE below!

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    5 from 6 votes

    Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

    This is the best chocolate cake you will ever make, and it contains no eggs. Try it with my mocha glaze and mascarpone cream filling or with a chocolate sauce and just plain whipped cream! Either way you’ll love my chocolate olive oil cake.
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time30 mins
    Total Time40 mins
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 16
    Calories: 670kcal
    Author: Chef Dennis Littley

    Ingredients

    Cake

    • 3 cups all-purpose flour
    • 2 cups sugar
    • 6 tablespoons cocoa
    • 2 teaspoons baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil *mild if possible
    • 2 tablespoons white vinegar
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    • 2 cups cold water

    Frosting

    • 1 cup mascarpone or cream cheese
    • 1 cup heavy cream
    • ½ Cup Greek Yogurt
    • ¼ Cup granulated sugar
    • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
    • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

    Mocha Glaze

    • 2 tablespoons powdered instant espresso
    • ¼ cup boiling water
    • 1 ½ cups heavy cream
    • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
    • 2 ⅔ cups finely chopped dark chocolate
    US Customary – Metric
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    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
    • Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.
    • With your mixer on low speed beat in the oil, vinegar, vanilla, and water until smooth.
    • Pour the mixture into the two 9″ prepared pans, coated with butter and dusted in flour or sugar.
    • Bake for 30 minutes or until a cake skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Do not over bake the cake. It should be firm to the touch, and a cake skewer inserted in the middle of the cake should come out clean.
    • Put the cake pans on cooling racks and cool for 15 to 20 minutes before removing the cakes from the pans to cool completely.
    • Allow to cool completely before frosting.

    Frosting

    • To make the frosting, combine the mascarpone, cream, Greek yogurt, sugar, salt, and vanilla and beat on medium speed until the mixture becomes thick, about 5 minutes

    Glaze

    • stir together the instant espresso and boiling water until smooth. Set aside.
    • Combine the cream and the corn syrup in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
    • Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the espresso.
    • Pour the mixture over the chocolate and let sit, covered, for 2 to 3 minutes.
    • Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the sauce is very smooth.
    • Keep warm until ready to use, or let cool to room temperature and store in a container with a tight-fitting lid in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
    • Reheat chilled sauce over very low heat on the stove top or in the microwave until warm enough to pour easily.

    Assembly

    • Frost Between the cake layers and pour a generous amount of the mocha glaze over the top of the cake allowing it to run down the sides.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 670kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 280mg | Potassium: 320mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 755IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 4.9mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @askChefDennis or tag #askChefDennis!

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    About Chef Dennis

    Picture of Chef Dennis

    Chef Dennis Littley is a classically trained chef with over 40 years of experience working in the food service industry. In his second career as a food blogger he has made it his mission to demistify cooking by sharing his time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen. Let Chef Dennis help you bring the joy of cooking into your home. For more details, check out his About page.

    Reader Interactions

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    1. Tish

      August 17, 2022 at 1:32 pm

      Hi Chef,
      Would I need to double the frosting if I am using exclusively? That would be 5 cups of frosting. I certainly don’t want to buy extra mascarpone or heavy cream only to find out that your amounts were enough? I am making this for this Saturday so I need a response soon.
      Love olive oil cakes.

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        August 17, 2022 at 3:18 pm

        hi Tish

        If you’re only using a small amount of frosting in between the layers, you should have enough to do the top of the cake with the frosting instead of using the glaze. If you wanted to frost the sides of the cake as well, you may want to increase the amount by one-half

        Reply
      • Tish

        August 18, 2022 at 2:01 pm

        5 stars
        Thank you for your timely reply. Also making the cannoli cream cake. Second time making. It’s fabulous. So two Italian cakes are going to be a hit.
        🎈

        Reply
        • Chef Dennis Littley

          August 18, 2022 at 3:13 pm

          Have you made my tiramisu yet? It’s my all-time favorite dessert!

    2. christine

      April 20, 2013 at 5:55 pm

      5 stars
      This is my second time making your cake. I absolutely love the chocolate cake itself. It’s moist but not too fudgey. The perfect chocolate cake!

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis

        April 20, 2013 at 6:07 pm

        Hi Christine

        I’m so happy to hear that you like my olive oil cake, it is one of my favorite chocolate cakes!

        Dennis

        Reply
    3. Julie

      October 19, 2012 at 9:30 pm

      Your chocolate olive oil cake is the best chocolate cake I have ever eaten…very moist and fudgy. It is the only chocolate cake I make for my family now…truly easy and delicious. My husband says it tastes just like his grandmother’s cake. Thanks so very much for sharing!

      Reply
      • Chef D

        October 20, 2012 at 6:14 am

        thank you Julie! I’m so happy to hear that you and your husband have enjoyed my olive oil cake. It’s one of the first desserts I teach my girls, its so easy to make and incredibly delicious!

        Reply
    4. Helene Dsouza I Masala Herb

      September 15, 2012 at 5:37 am

      Love oilve oil in cakes, keeps it all well moist for some days. =)

      chef, can I ask you why u chose to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil instead of simple Olive oil for the baking? I was taught to use normal olive oil because extra virgin olive oil contains some healthy nutrients that get destroyed when heated up. just curious… =)

      Reply
      • Chef D

        September 15, 2012 at 6:39 am

        hi Helene

        that is true, but Extra virgin is the only olive oil I buy, so I use it for everything. I do keep a bottle of canola oil on hand and now I use coconut oil for somethings. But with the olive oil, its easier to just buy one.

        thanks for asking!
        Dennis

        Reply
    5. Angela

      April 29, 2012 at 6:26 pm

      Thankyou Chef,

      Forgot to ask can they be fozen?

      Thanks

      Reply
    6. Angela

      April 29, 2012 at 10:09 am

      Hi,

      I was wondering if this recipie could be made into cupcakes and iced with buttercream icing or cream cheese icing?

      Thanks

      Reply
      • Chef D

        April 29, 2012 at 10:51 am

        hi Angela

        yes this recipe can easily be made into cupcakes, I do them at school all the time. And what ever type of frosting you like will work, I would love one with a good buttercream!

        cheers
        Dennis

        Reply
    7. Erandi

      March 19, 2012 at 1:16 am

      Awesome, the final result is something more than just a choco-cake!! Isn’t dry, there is no excess of humidity . Is just perfect!!!
      I have to say this is my new favorite choco-recipe, tks!!!!

      Reply
      • Chef D

        March 19, 2012 at 5:52 am

        It is an amazing chocolate cake, so easy to make and delicious! Thanks for letting me know you tried it!

        Reply
    8. EA-The Spicy RD

      February 12, 2012 at 4:29 pm

      Gorgeous cake! I’ve bookmarked several cakes with olive oil to try, but I think this will be at the top of my list, and I’ll take your suggestion to make it with whipped cream. Simply amazing!!

      Reply
    9. Shelly

      February 11, 2012 at 10:55 pm

      Everything turned out great but the glaze….please clarify the amount of chopped chocolate. 2 2/3 cups is alot of chopped chocolate and my glaze was very thick…like fudge 🙁

      Reply
      • Chef D

        February 11, 2012 at 11:31 pm

        I’m sorry about the glaze not turning out, was it warm when you used it because in the refrig it will thicken like fudge. I’m a bit of a chocolate freak so I probably used much more than necessary. My glaze is more like a ganache, if you would like it to be a little more runny, cut back the chocolate by a cup, just make sure to start with the cream before adding the coffee. Of course you could leave the coffee out altogether if you like too. Thinning chocolate can be tricky and I have found that only heavy cream or corn syrup will do to get it started but once its started to melt and thin, you can use other liquids, just thin it down till its more to your liking.

        thanks for trying the cake and if you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to email me.

        Reply
    10. Liza

      February 03, 2012 at 5:59 pm

      I made this incredible cake today and OH MY, it is awesome! I took the chef’s advice and just made whipped cream for the frosting/filling, which made the recipe even simpler. Sooo good!!

      Reply
      • Chef D

        February 03, 2012 at 6:38 pm

        isn’t it amazing! who knew a cake that simple would be so delicious! Thank you so much for letting me know!

        Reply
    11. Gwenevere

      April 19, 2011 at 12:26 pm

      Glaze aside…I can eat this cake! No milk No egss (yeah for wacky cake!) I'm also diggin your profile pic on foodbuz, mostly because I want to garden but I'm frozen with fear. 🙂

      Reply
    12. Dina

      April 15, 2011 at 10:01 pm

      wow, what a great looking cake! i really want to try that frosting. sounds delish!

      Reply
    13. All That's Left Are The Crumbs

      April 15, 2011 at 6:36 am

      I have never tried an olive oil cake before, but you can bet I will be very soon. Such beautiful and enticing photos as always.

      Reply
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    My name is Dennis Littley or "Chef Dennis" as I'm known both at work and across the blogosphere. As a classically trained chef with 40+ years of experience in the kitchen, I share my time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen.

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