Olive Oil Lemon Pound Cake

Tender Crumb, Bright with Citrus

There is something quietly generous about a pound cake. It asks very little of you — a slow mix, a patient oven, the soft perfume of citrus warming the kitchen — and it gives back something lasting. This version leans into the gentle fruitiness of good olive oil, which keeps the crumb tender long after it cools and adds a depth that butter alone never quite reaches. The lemon is present but unhurried, woven through the batter and pooled into a glaze that settles like a finishing breath. A cake for an ordinary afternoon that makes the afternoon feel less ordinary.

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cups Alessi Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoons Alessi Fine Sea Salt
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease loaf pan.
2. Using a mixer, combine sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl.
3. Add eggs one at a time then add olive oil and milk.
4. Mix until a thin batter is formed, being careful not to overblend.
5. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt with a whisk.
6. In batches, slowly add to liquid ingredients and mix until combined.
7. Pour batter into loaf pan.
8. Bake for 1 hour until cake has risen and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
9. Let cool before using a knife to loosen edges and remove from pan.
10. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, lemon juice and butter.
11. Drizzle over cake and let harden.