Olive Oil Lemon Cake

Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9-inch (23 cm) round cake pan with olive oil and line the bottom with parchment. Zest both lemons directly into the granulated sugar in a large bowl, then rub the zest into the sugar with your fingertips for 1–2 minutes. Juice the lemons and set the juice aside; you need 45 ml for the batter and about 20 ml for the glaze.

Add the eggs to the lemon sugar and whisk vigorously for about 1 minute until pale and slightly thickened. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow stream so it emulsifies, then the milk and 45 ml of lemon juice. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt; add to the wet ingredients and whisk gently just until no dry flour remains. Scrape into the pan and sprinkle the turbinado sugar evenly over the top.

Bake on the middle rack for 40–45 minutes, until the top is golden, the edges pull away from the pan, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Cool in the pan 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and turn out onto a rack, right-side up.

Whisk the powdered sugar with about 20 ml of the reserved lemon juice until smooth and thick but pourable, adding juice drop by drop. When the cake has cooled to just warm (about 30 minutes on the rack), spoon the glaze over the top and let it drip down the sides. Let it set 15 minutes before slicing.