My mulberry olive oil cake has moist, tender crumbs with pockets of jammy mulberries and a crunchy demerara-almond topping.

This spring our Pakistan mulberry tree fruited early. Coupled with the torrential rain we got this year, the tree flourished and we had our first harvest by late April. Since then we couldn’t eat them fast enough. Instead of wasting the imperfect, bruised mulberries, I made a mulberry olive cake. The cake has moist, tender crumbs with a lemony note, pockets of jammy mulberries, and a crunchy demerara-almond topping. This mulberry olive oil cake makes an easy bake that you can enjoy from spring to summer.

Ingredient Notes

Mulberries: for this recipe, I used Pakistan mulberries. They taste sweet with low acidity. If you can't find mulberries, blackberries or boysenberries make a great substitute.
Olive oil: when it comes to baking, choose a quality fruity olive oil. Arbequina olives are small and distinctly sweet, producing buttery, fruity, and smooth olive oil, most suited for sweet baking. Cakes made with olive oil tend to bake up with a moist and tender texture compared to ones made with butter.
Greek yogurt: like other dairy products, adding Greek yogurt to cake batter makes the crumb moist and tender. Use only plain whole-milk, full-fat Greek yogurt for the best flavor. If you’re trying to cut calories, use 2% but avoid nonfat, as it contains fillers and stabilizers that change the taste and texture of what you’re baking. Sour cream, creme fraiche, and cream cheese are other alternatives that I use.

How to Make This Cake

This mulberry olive oil cake is one of the easiest cakes you can add to your dessert repertoire. It only requires a bowl, a whisk, and a few steps to make. First whisk all the wet ingredients together. Then sift in all the dry ingredients. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Top with mulberries, sliced almonds, and a sprinkle of demerara sugar. It takes less than an hour from prep to baking.

Tips for a Moist Cake

Everything that goes into making a cake affects its flavor and texture. Besides measuring the right ingredients and following instructions to the t, there are a few essential steps for getting a moist cake. Preheat your oven to ensure the proper temperature. Opening the oven door during baking creates great fluctuations in heat and causes your cake to collapse. Over-mixing the batter will incorporate too much air resulting in the cake falling and becoming dense. Don’t overbake or the texture will be dry. Place the cake on the middle rack so the heat is distributed evenly between the top and bottom.

How Long to Bake the Cake

Bake the mulberry olive oil cake for 38-40 minutes at 350 degress F. Check for doneness 5-8 minutes before the required baking time because not all ovens act the same. The best method for testing a cake's doneness is with a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake. When it comes out clean, the cake is done. If the cake is still wet, bake it for another 5 minutes.

What to Serve the Cake With

The mulberry olive oil cake is best served the day it's baked. Serve warm by itself. Whipped cream, cream fraiche, or vanilla ice cream makes the perfect accompaniment.

Make Ahead / Storage

You can bake this cake 24 hours ahead. Keep in an airtight container at room temperature. The cake will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 72 hours. Warm up the cake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 5-7 minutes before serving.