Jennifer Garner Just Showed Us How To Make the Easiest 'Anytime' Cake

When a new episode of Jennifer Garner’s Pretend Baking Show airs on Instagram—whether it features a zesty springtime pasta or a childhood favorite dessert—we tune in faster than the Bachelor finale. That’s because you can always count on the A-list actress’s cooking series to deliver a mix of educational content, playful chaos, and, above all, wholesome entertainment.

And, this week’s episode was no exception.

Jennifer Garner’s Olive Oil Cake

This week, Garner baked up one of our favorite light and lemony springtime desserts: Olive Oil Cake. The recipe comes from her two friends and “culinary heroes” Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, who joined her in the kitchen to whip up their take on the classic Italian treat.

But, before we get into it, let’s talk about what olive oil cake is. It’s a moist and flavorful cake that uses olive oil (instead of butter) as the main source of fat. Olive oil (especially a really flavorful one) gives the cake a distinct fruity and peppery taste and makes the texture unbelievably moist and tender. Although it’s simple to make, olive oil cake has a rustic charm that makes it an elegant choice for any occasion.

"Olive oil cake—it’s an anytime cake, you can eat it breakfast, lunch, dinner,” said Dotolo.

The finished cake is light and airy, yet rich and satisfying, and all it needs is a final dusting of powdered sugar to be a simply divine dessert.

How to Make Jennifer Garner’s Olive Oil Cake

Unlike some of Garner’s baking projects, this recipe is very straightforward—it’s just heavy on the whisking.

“I’d recommend to get everything together first,” Jon suggested to Jen. “You should measure everything out and then follow the mixing. That way you don’t forget stuff.”

Yet, Jennifer Garner was all of us when she replied, “Literally never do that.”

This olive oil cake incorporates fresh lemons, which Garner picked straight from her backyard lemon tree (because, of course she has a lemon tree). It also calls on the Italian liqueur Amaro del Capo to add a bittersweet orange essence.

For this cake to reach its full potential, it’s essential to use a good olive oil, meaning an extra-virgin variety with a pure, quality taste. Trust us, it’ll make all the difference.

Because of the cake’s olive oil base, the batter will be more liquidy than you might be used to. Once it’s transferred into a springform pan, the batter will be sprinkled with an even layer of coarse sugar. As it bakes, this will give the crust a crisp, golden, and crackly finish.

The Pretend Cooking Show Olive Oil Cake Recipe 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups high-quality olive oil, plus more for the pan
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1 tablespoon Amaro del Capo
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• zest of 2 large lemons
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup Sugar in the Raw (for topping)
• powdered sugar for dusting

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a 9-inch springform pan with olive oil and a lining of parchment paper. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, olive oil, and sugar until smooth. Then whisk in milk, Amaro, orange zest, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla.
3. In a separate large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and slowly incorporate the wet ingredients. Whisk until smooth—a few lumps are okay!
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the Sugar in the Raw over the top and bake for about 50 minutes to 1 hour.
5. Let the cake cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar and topping with a scrape of lemon zest.

Courtesy of Jon & Vinny’s