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Cacio e Pepe Olive Oil Cake

This Cacio e Pepe Olive Oil Cake is perfect for people who want a sweet treat that’s not too sweet. Yes, there’s sugar, but the olive oil mellows it out, and the parmesan cheese and black pepper give it the savory balance. Serve with some extra parmesan sprinkled on top or a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream. A fun take on a classic pasta dish you know and love.

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Ingredients

Flour: standard all purpose flour. I like to use unbleached so it’s not as chemical-y
Baking powder & baking soda: leavening agents
Kosher salt: brings out all the flavors
Black pepper: the “pepe” of “cacio e pepe” - you need more than you might think to get the flavor across. Fresh cracked black pepper is crucial for this recipe so the flavor shines through and tastes fresh.
Granulated sugar: just a bit of granulated sugar because it’s still a cake 🙂
Eggs: to bring moisture and bind everything together.
Extra virgin olive oil: olive oil of the olive oil cake – you’ll want to use an extra virgin olive oil that you like the flavor of, because it’ll really impact the end result of the cake. If you want a milder flavor, just use “olive oil” instead of “extra virgin olive oil” because it’s been processed more and therefore has a weaker flavor.
Whole milk: Bring a bit of moisture and liquid – you could also use 2% milk, but I wouldn’t recommend fat free milk.
Ricotta cheese: whole milk ricotta. similar to adding sour cream to a cake, ricotta cheese brings a great moist texture and a mild cheesy flavor, amplifying the cacio of cacio e pepe.
Parmigiano reggiano: freshly grated parmigiano reggiano is best for this recipe to ensure it melts properly and has the freshest, strongest flavor. Skip the pre-grated cheese for this one.
- You could use pecorino romano cheese if you're in a pinch.

Step by step instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients.

2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar together until a shade paler and frothy.

Adding milk, oil, and ricotta to eggs and sugar.

3. To the egg mixture, whisk in the whole milk, ricotta cheese, and extra virgin olive oil.

4. To the wet ingredients, add the dry mixture and whisk until 80% combined.

Mostly combined batter, adding parmesan cheese.

5. Add the parmesan cheese and whisk until fully combined, being careful to not over whisk.

6. Transfer to a prepared baking pan and bake until cooked through.

Tips and tricks

Grate your own parmigiano cheese fresh, it melts better and tastes better.
Use an oven thermometer so you can monitor the temperature of your oven.
To test if your cake is cooked through, insert a cake tester or toothpick into the center of the cake – if it comes out with just a few crumbs it’s ready, if it comes out with any raw batter it needs some more time.
Gently bang the batter in the baking pan before you bake it to let any air bubbles out.
To prepare a cake pan, I like to use both parchment paper and baking spray to ensure it doesn't stick.
I like to use a springform pan so I can avoid having to flip the cake over.
Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes to set, then remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Serving suggestions

Since this cake is a little different than your ordinary sweet-focused cake, you might be wondering how to best serve it. My suggestions are below!

With a dollop of homemade mildly sweetened whipped cream
Scoop of vanilla ice cream
Dusting of more parmesan cheese
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Slice of cake with whipped cream and a drizzle of olive oil.

Storage

Because this cake has cheese in it, it’s best stored in the fridge in an airtight container or bag for up to 4 days.

FAQs

Can I use neutral oil instead of olive oil?

Sure! I’d recommend canola or vegetable oil. You will miss out on the flavor that olive oil brings, though.

What’s the difference between parmesan and parmigiano reggiano?

Parmesan can be made anywhere, but parmigiano reggiano is PDO (protected designation of origin) and is made in Italy using traditional methods, therefore is generally of higher quality. More on this here.

What does olive oil do to a cake?

It brings moisture (similar to other oils) plus a mild olive oil flavor that is really nice particularly paired with cacio e pepe.

Did you make this recipe? Leave a rating and review below and tag me on social!

📖 Recipe

Cacio e Pepe Olive Oil Cake

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Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 45

Total Time: 1

Servings: servings

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup whole milk
¼ cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and black pepper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar and eggs until a shade paler and frothy on top.
To the egg mixture, add the extra virgin olive oil, whole milk, and ricotta cheese. whisk to combine.
Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and whisk to combine about 80% of the way.
Add the parmesan cheese and finish whisking to combine everything together.
Transfer to a prepared (sprayed & parchment paper) 9" baking pan and bake 40-50 minutes until cooked through and lightly golden on top.

Video

Nutrition Estimate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Italian/American

Keyword: cake

Easy Homemade Nut-Free Pesto

This Easy Homemade Nut-Free Pesto recipe is super simple to make and tastes just as delicious as traditional basil pesto. It swaps the pine nuts for sunflower seeds so you still get the nutty texture with no nuts. Use it on fresh pasta, fish, steak, veggies, or add a little more olive oil to make it a salad dressing. Homemade pesto truly blows store-bought pesto out of the water and it's so easy to make, I highly recommend giving it a try.

Consult your doctor and/or double check packaging to ensure nut free ingredients used.

Finished nut free basil pesto in a bowl on a wood table.

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Ingredients

Nut free pesto is made with the same ingredients of classic pesto, just uses sunflower seeds instead of pine nuts to adhere to any nut allergy needs.

Basil: Classic pesto herb, plenty of fresh basil leaves.
Sunflower seeds: Raw, unsalted sunflower seeds are used in place of pine nuts (or other nuts such as pistachios, almonds, etc.). They have a mild nutty flavor and are similar in texture to pine nuts, so it’s an almost unnoticeable difference.
Garlic: One clove of garlic brings so much flavor and a little bite.
Extra virgin olive oil: A good quality flavorful extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) is important here because fresh pesto is so simple, all the flavors really shine through. Since the pesto is not being cooked at a high temperature for most applications, you can use a good EVOO (lower smoke point).
Grated parmesan cheese: Parmigiano Reggiano is always best because it’s PDO (protected designation of origin) which means it’s made in Italy using the traditional methods. However, I know that’s not always possible to get in the States, so “parmesan” is totally fine.
- If you need the recipe to be vegan, try substituting nutritional yeast for parmesan cheese.

Step by step instructions

This homemade fresh pesto without pine nuts is truly super simple and follows just about the same process as traditional pesto – full recipe with ingredient quantities can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.

1. In a food processor, pulse the basil, sunflower seeds, and garlic together until coarsely chopped.

2. Add the EVOO in a slow steady stream while simultaneously pulsing the food processor.

Parmesan cheese added to food processor.

3. Add in the parmesan and pulse together until just combined.

Equipment

My favorite way to make pesto is with a mini food processor (or a regular sized food processor if I'm doubling the batch). However, you could also use a mortar and pestle to grind everything together by hand – it's a very therapeutic process!

Tips and tricks

I always like to grate the Parmigiano Reggiano myself because I think the texture is better, but you can totally use pre-grated for this recipe.
If you can’t find sunflower seeds, you could simply omit them altogether; however, the texture will be a little different. Alternatively, you could substitute pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or hemp seeds.
There's a surplus of basil in the summer when it's at its peak, so if you’re making this recipe in warmer months using local (or home grown!) basil, it’ll be much more delicious. However the grocery store always has pretty good quality even in the colder parts of the year.
If you want your pesto to have a really bright green color, blanch the basil before using it – just make sure you squeeze out all the excess moisture.
If you want to make the pesto more saucy to put on hot pasta, I suggest warming it in a pan, then adding the cooked pasta and some reserved pasta water to loosen the pesto up and make it saucier.
If you want to add a little citrus, some fresh lemon juice or lemon zest would be great – it also helps retain the green color.
Always taste your food – if you feel it needs a bit of salt, add a pinch of kosher salt. But don't add it to start, because the parmesan cheese might make it salty enough.

The difference between extra virgin olive oil and olive oil

Extra virgin olive oil is the least processed form of olive oil, therefore retains the most flavor and nutrients, but the lowest smoke point. So, extra virgin olive oil is best used in fresh / non-cooked instances (pesto, dressing, finishing oil, etc.). Olive oil is more processed, and therefore has less of the natural nutrients, and because of that a higher smoke point – so you'll often see this one more recommended for cooking and sautéing. More on this here.

Storage

If you have leftover pesto, here's what you can do with it:

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The olive oil may solidify, and if that happens it’s nothing to worry about, just leave it out at room temperature for a few minutes.
This nut free pesto can also be frozen - put it in a freezer safe container and it’s good for up to 3 months. You can also freeze it in an ice cube tray and then transfer to a freezer-safe bag, this gives you more singled out serving sizes vs. all one chunk.

Pesto spread out on a plate with a spoon.

FAQs

What nut is typically used in fresh basil pesto sauce?

Pesto traditionally is made with pine nuts (pinoli).

Can I use another herb other than basil?

It’ll change the flavor pretty significantly, so if anything I suggest doing half basil and half another tender herb such as parsley. If you really can’t find any basil, a combination of parsley and fresh baby spinach would be my preference.

Can I use pecorino romano cheese instead of parmesan?

Yes! They are similar in flavor, the main difference is parmesan cheese is made from cow’s cheese and pecorino cheese is made from sheep’s cheese.

Where did pesto originate?

In Genoa, Italy! All about its history and origin can be read here.

📖 Recipe

Easy Homemade Nut-Free Pesto

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 0

Total Time: 15

Servings: servings (just over 1 cup)