Spirulina Cake

The Grocery Outlet near my house had amazing deals on all sorts of trendy superfoods, powders, and alternative flours last month. Naturally, they’re now all in my kitchen. I started with Maca Pancakes (Gluten Free). I’m researching baobab recipes. And most excitingly, I’ve been baking up a storm with Spirulina.

If you’re unfamiliar, Spirulina, is related to the algae family. It’s dried, ground into powder, and then sold at health stores because it’s packed with good vitamins and minerals. It’s full of antioxidants, helps with inflammation, lowers bad cholesterol, and a bunch of other stuff if you’re interested in learning more about it.

It’s most often added to smoothies, but I’m not a smoothie drinker so I wanted to see how I could incorporate it into my baking instead. When coming up with ideas, my brilliant mother suggested I do a marble cake (to showcase spirulina’s natural green color). In sticking with the healthier theme, I created a cake with olive oil instead of butter and added greek yogurt (instead of more butter and sour cream).

The result is a wonderfully light cake, that’s actually delicious. I never want to bake something that’s just good “for a health food.” I want to create a GOOD food that happens to be healthy. And this is it. I mean, healthy is a stretch because there’s still sugar and white flour used, and it’s a cake. But if you’re looking for a lighter dessert, that happens to give you a few health benefits while you’re at it, then this is the recipe!