Meyer Lemon-Rosemary Olive Oil Cake

In the winter, Meyer lemons are usually pretty available at most stores. At Trader's Joe's last week I couldn't resist them so I brought home four and began the task of determining what to do with them. A recipe for a Lemon Rosemary-Olive Oil Cake seemed like a good place to plug in Meyer lemons. I am a sucker for sweets incorporating fresh herbs and using a healthful olive oil was interesting, too.


Meyer lemons are a cross between lemon and tangerine. Lower in acid than regular lemons, they have a more floral essence. These small, thin skinned fruits are a beautiful yellow orange when fully ripe. While I ultimately used all of the zest, leftovers are easy to save when left dry at room temperature. Once dry I'll put the zest in a tiny ziploc container and freeze it to retain freshness.



I have finally purchased the hand citrus juicer extraordinaire. Works well for large and small fruits and keeps any seeds out of the juice.



Fresh rosemary from the plant I brought in at the end of summer. Sometimes they do well in the house. This one not so much. The tablespoon I took, just might be the end of it. To me Meyer lemon has a evergreen flavor to so I reduced the original quantity to only a tablespoon so as not to overwhelm the cake. If using regular lemons, maybe try a bit more?



I used a full size traditional bundt pan, but a tube pan would work well, too. Before putting the cake in the oven, draw spatula in batter through the middle. Creating this channel encourages an even rise and more level cake bottom. If your bundt cakes appear to be floating, this is the trick to fix that.

A simple lemon icing and it's finished. It's not too sweet and the icing adds a nice touch. A perfect low fat treat at 3pm when you need a pick-me-up. This a great keeping cake that gets better as it sits....assuming there is any left for the next day.


Meyer Lemon-Rosemary Olive Oil Cake
adapted from Cooking Light, September 2009

for the cake:
Cooking spray
2 T. all-purpose flour (or cooking spray with flour)
13.5 oz. (approximately 3 cups) all-purpose flour
1 T. finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup fruity olive oil
1/2 cup fat-free milk
2 t. meyer lemon zest
1/2 cup meyer lemon juice
1/2 t. vanilla extract
3 large eggs

for the icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 T. meyer lemon juice

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Weigh 13.5oz or lightly spoon 3 cups flour into a dry measure. Combine flour and next four ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl.

Place granulated sugar and next 6 ingredients (through eggs) in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at low speed until smooth. Add to flour mixture and beat until blended.

Coat a 10" bundt or tube pan with cooking spray; dust with 2 T. flour. I don't usually use cooking sprays but to cut prep time and calories used one that included flour. If using cooking spray, spray pan immediatley before pour batter into pan. Allowing pan to sit after being sprayed can sometimes lead to the cake sticking. Draw a spatula through batter to create shallow channel.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack and remove from the pan.

Cool completely on a wire rack. Combine powdered sugar and 1 T. meyer lemon juice and stir until smooth.

Drizzle glaze over cake. Garnish the cake with fresh rosemary sprigs to dress it up.

Wow! 1/16th of the cake has 265 calories.