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Chocolate Olive Oil Cake | Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free

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2 November 2024

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Inspired by Nigella Lawson’s famous chocolate olive oil cake, this luscious and decadent dessert cake is both gluten free and dairy free – and perfect for any special occasion!

Chocolate cake served with fresh raspberries, with one slice removed.

As we all know, Nigella Lawson is most famous for tempting us with her rich and decadent recipes. However when you look closely, these recipes often don’t require a lot of elaborate ingredients or complicated techniques – and this suits me!

And so here is my take on Nigella’s famous chocolate olive oil cake!

Looking for more gluten free cakes? I’ve got you covered!

Some of my favourite and most popular dessert cakes are gluten free, such as my 5 star almond and coconut cake, flourless orange and almond cake or my delicious lemon and ricotta cake.

A gold fork resting on a plate next to a wedge of chocolate olive oil cake.

Why You’re Going To Love This Recipe

It’s hard to think what there isn’t to love about a rich, dense and devilish chocolate cake!

Perfect for that special occasion – whether it’s for a birthday or other celebration, or to share at a gathering with family or friends, this chocolate olive oil cake is a winner!
Quick and easy – you won’t believe how quick it is to whip up… in fact, it’s prepared in just minutes!
Gluten free and dairy free – perfect for those that follow a gluten free and dairy free diet, yet equally loved by those who don’t!
Conventional and Thermomix – the recipe card below has easy instructions for both methods.

A chocolate olive oil cake topped with fresh raspberries, and served on a white cake stand.

What You Need

The olive oil brings a subtle yet complex flavour to this decadent chocolate cake, particularly if the oil you use is a fruity or mild extra virgin olive oil.

Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method.

Ingredients for chocolate cake placed on a bench top.

Cocoa powder – always choose the best quality baking cocoa powder, such as Cadbury or Nestle made with 100% Dutch cocoa, for a superior chocolate flavour.
Vanilla extract – extract is a natural product and contains more pure vanillin than vanilla essence.
Boiling water.
Caster sugar – also known as superfine sugar.
Eggs – large, approx 60g, at room temperature.
Olive oil – either light or mild. I recommend using a good quality extra virgin olive oil such as Cobram Estate.
Almond meal – is the same as ground almonds and can be purchased in the baking section of the supermarket. Or, if you have a Thermomix, you could make your own by grinding whole almonds to a fine texture.
Bicarbonate of soda – in Australia, we often refer to this as bicarb soda, whereas overseas it is often known as baking soda.
Salt – just a pinch.

Equipment Required

No pots, no pans, just a couple of bowls and a beater!

Small & large mixing bowls, plus a spatula.
Hand-held beaters, stand mixer or Thermomix.
Springform tin 20-22cm – greased and lined with baking paper.
Oven – temperatures in my recipes are in celsius and based on a fan forced oven. If your oven is not fan forced, simply increase the temperature by 10-20 degrees celsius, and keep an eye on the cake whilst it is baking.

Looking down on a portion of a chocolate olive oil cake with raspberries on top.

Step By Step Instructions

Chocolate olive oil cake is a breeze to make, yet the end result is a most impressive fudgy and moist dessert cake to finish off a special dinner!

Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method.

Step 1 – Dissolve The Cocoa

Preheat your oven to 150 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Grease and line both the base and sides of a 20-22cm springform tin with baking paper and set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the cocoa powder, vanilla extract and boiling water together until the cocoa has fully dissolved and there are no lumps of cocoa powder remaining. Set this aside to cool slightly.

Step 2 – Beat The Eggs, Sugar & Oil

In the larger mixing bowl, use hand held beaters or a stand mixer to beat the caster sugar, eggs and olive oil together for about 3 minutes.

Eggs, caster sugar and olive oil placed in a bowl.

The mixture will be pale, creamy and slightly thickened.

Eggs, sugar and olive oil beaten until pale and creamy.

Step 3 – Combine The Two

Slowly pour the cocoa powder liquid into the creamy egg mixture with the beaters still running on low. Continue mixing on low until combined.

Cocoa mixture added to beaten sugar and eggs.

Step 4 – Add The Almond Meal

Add the almond meal, bicarbonate of soda and pinch of salt to the bowl. Again, mix on low until ingredients are just combined.

Step 5 – Bake

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with just a few moist, not wet, crumbs on it.

Cake mixture poured into a paper lined round baking tin.

Allow the baked chocolate olive oil cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely (or serve while it’s still slightly warm, dusted with a little icing sugar!)

An overhead shot of a wedge of olive oil chocolate cake with fresh raspberries on the side.

Expert Tips

Just a few simple tips to make sure your gluten free and dairy free chocolate olive oil cake is the very best!

Use good quality cocoa powder, preferably this should be a baking cocoa made with 100% Dutch cocoa.
Ensure no lumps remain after whisking the cocoa powder with boiling water.
Have your eggs at room temperature.
Use a quality brand olive oil, and preferably is a mild, light or fruity extra virgin olive oil.
Check your bicarb soda is in date as this is the rising agent in this cake.
Once you combine the mixtures together, only mix gently on a low speed. This is supposed to be a dense, fudgy cake and therefore doesn’t need a lot of air introduced into it.
Grease and line your baking tin well to avoid the cake from sticking.
Use a slow oven (150 degrees celsius) so as to keep the cake moist.
Leave chocolate olive oil cake to cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes before removing it from the baking tin and placing on a wire rack.

Chocolate cake on a fork, held in front of a serve of cake.

FAQs

Can you taste the olive oil in this cake?

By using a mild extra virgn olive oil, it gives an interesting play on flavours, however the taste of olive oil is certainly not noticeable.

Serving suggestions

I love to serve this chocolate olive oil cake slightly warm for a dessert, however it is equally enjoyed served cold with a dollop of thickened cream on the side.
Dust the top lightly with icing sugar, and add some fresh berries or a berry coulis for an extra delicious treat.
A dollop of double cream or mascarpone as well elevates this warm dessert cake to a whole other level!

How can I store chocolate olive oil cake?

This chocolate cake stores best in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. Alternatively, you can wrap well, place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Unwrap and defrost at room temperature for about 3 hours before serving as is, or warming it slightly.

Side view of a dense chocolate cake with fresh raspberries on top.

Try some of my other favourite gluten free dessert-style cakes and pick your favourite!

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