my favorite, super simple spring & summer cake recipe!! the vanilla lemon cream cheese frosting is just too good y’all. save this recipe & tag me if you try it out!

ingredients—
italian lemon olive oil cake:
+ 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
+ 3 eggs
+ 1 1/3 cup whole milk
+ 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
+ 2 cups sugar
+ 2 cups flour
+ 1 teaspoon baking powder
+ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

filling:
+ 1 cup lemon curd (I usually buy this from tj’s!)

lemon vanilla cream cheese frosting:
+ 1/2 cup butter — softened
+ 8 oz cream cheese — softened
these are the measurements from the original recipe, but I do this part to taste!
+ up to 4 cups powdered sugar, to taste (I use about half this amount so that it isn’t overly sweet)
+ 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
+ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla or vanilla beans

instructions:
+ preheat oven to 325 degrees
+ in a large mixing bowl, add oil, eggs, whole milk, & lemon juice. use stand mixer to cream for 2 minutes.
+ in a large bowl, add sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. stir into egg mixture
and fold.
+ coat two 9-inch or three 8-inch cake pans with thin layer of olive oil (or nonstick cooking spray). place batter into baking pans. if using
three 8-inch pans, bake for 20-26 minutes or if using two 9-inch pans, bake for 30-36 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. cool.

to make frosting:
+ in a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl often.
+ add powdered sugar, lemon juice & vanilla and cream together. chill.

to assemble cake:
+ remove cakes from pan. once cooled, spread lemon curd on top of one cake layer. then set the other layer on top (the lemon curd will be the filling between layers)
+ spread frosting on top of entire cake, coating the sides & top. use a butter knife or icing spatula to smooth out frosting into an even layer.
+ garnish with lemon slices or lemon zest & fresh blackberries.
+ let chill for 20-30 minutes to let the frosting set up.

(adapted from melissa stadler, modern honey)