Olive oil instead of vegetable oil in cake mix?

[Miltonmaid]

I need to make a chocolate cake, I've got a recipe that I wanted to try but it requires vegetable oil and I don't have any. Can I use olive oil instead or will it ruin it?

[desertgirl]

light olive oil may be ok, EVOO would taste too strong.

[Seriouslyffs]

It will taste very strange- sort of peppery. Melted butter would work.

[Miltonmaid]

I do have the light version of olive oil - the one you cool with, not evoo. So do you reckon melted butter would be preferable to that? Do I use the same amount of butter as oil?

[Miltonmaid]

Cook not cool.

[MehsMum]

I'd avoid olive oil in a cake. Go for the same quantity of melted butter and hope for the best!

[mamapants]

I always use olive oil in carrot cake and that's fine. I think it would be fine.

[Artesia]

Absolutely. Having sampled many, many chocolate cakes, I feel qualified to say this is officially the best ever- www.nigella.com/recipes/view/CHOCOLATE-OLIVE-OIL-CAKE-5551

[Bunbaker]

Ignore MehsMum. Light olive oil works extremely well in a cake. I have always used sunflower oil in carrot cake and other oil based cakes and always disliked the metallic aftertaste it imparts. I made a chocolate cake the other week using light olive oil (and it must be light, not virgin or extra virgin) and it was delicious. There was no unpleasant aftertaste.

From now on I will always use light olive oil instead of sunflower oil.

So the answer is yes, as long as it is light olive oil. Don't use melted butter.

[Bunbaker]

This is the cake I made. You would never know it was vegan as it is very chocolatey and moist.

[Miltonmaid]

Ohhhh, I like the sound of vegan chocolate cake because in my mind vegan = healthy.
I decided to live dangerously and went with the olive oil. The cake is currently cooling and looks like chocolate cake so that has to be a good sign. I will update later on taste.

[Bunbaker]

DD and I went vegan for a week, hence the cake. I took it to work and didn't tell anyone it was vegan until they had tried it. You wouldn't know it was vegan as it tastes so good.