Honey Olive Quinoa Cake
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A wholesome and delicious cake you can enjoy without all the guilt! It’s 100% whole grain, made without refined sugar, made with olive oil, and packed with nuts and quinoa. And the best part of all: You’ll never guess it’s “healthy”! This Honey Olive Quinoa Cake recipe is sure to become a regular! Enjoy it for breakfast, as a mid-morning pick-me-up, or a late afternoon snack. It’s downright delicious!
My family’s health is a top priority and so I’m always looking for ways to incorporate healthy ingredients into my cooking and baking. This was especially the case when our kids were really young I had to be more creative in camouflaging some of those ingredients that may otherwise elicit a wrinkled nose and frown. That’s how some of my recipes like my Chocolate Deception Cake and Mega Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes were born. This Honey Olive Quinoa Cake was created in that same spirit of wanting to make something that was packed with healthy ingredients but didn’t taste “healthy”.
This cake was a home run straight out of the oven. I published this back in 2013, about 6 months after launching my blog, and it was an immediate reader favorite. It’s made from 100% spelt flour (easier to digest than regular wheat flour), honey, buttermilk, ground almonds, a whole cup of cooked quinoa, and olive oil! Completely whole grain, made with healthy oil, no refined sugar, and packed with quinoa and nuts, and it’s absolutely downright delicious. And I don’t mean just from the standpoint of, “considering what’s in it, it’s really good.” No, I mean it’s fantastic in its own right.
If you’re a little nervous about the taste of the olive oil and quinoa in this cake, set your fears aside. 1) You won’t even taste the olive oil, and 2) You’ll never guess there’s quinoa is in it – and neither will your kids!
Honey Olive Quinoa Cake Recipe
Let’s get started!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
To cook the quinoa, thoroughly rinse about 1/3 cup of quinoa in a fine mesh sieve (this removes the saponin, a natural coating on quinoa’s outer layer that is bitter and soapy tasting). Place the quinoa in a small saucepan with double the amount of water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit another 5 minutes, still covered. Fluff with a fork.
Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Add the olive oil and the honey.
Add the buttermilk, eggs vanilla and almond extract.
Beat with an electric mixer just until combined. Do not over-mix.
Gently stir in the almond flour.
Gently stir in the quinoa.
Stir in the raisins or dried fruit of your choice.
The second time I made the cake I used a combination of golden and regular raisins and some dried apricots. I think I prefer just the raisins in this particular cake, but feel free to use other dried fruits, including prunes, figs, dates, etc.
Grease a 8×8 inch square baking pan. I use the hand-forged aluminum pans by Magic Line, made in the USA. Love them!
Pour the cake batter into the baking pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean but moist.
Use a toothpick to poke holes throughout the cake. The small holes will enable the syrup to penetrate the cake.
To make the syrup, bring the honey and almond extract to a gentle boil, then remove from the heat. While the cake is still warm, slowly pour the syrup over the cake, starting at the center, using the back of a spoon or a knife to help guide the syrup and prevent it from rushing to the sides of the pan.
Cut the cake into squares.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Enjoy!
For more wholesome desserts be sure to try our:
- Chocolate Deception Cake
- Mega Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes
- Whole Grain Molasses Cookies
- Whole Grain Jam Squares
- Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies (3 Ingredients)
- Mega Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies
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Honey Olive Quinoa Cake
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup quinoa
- 1 1/2 cups spelt or einkorn flour (can use whole wheat instead)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup honey (the raisins also impart sweetness so you can reduce the honey if you prefer)
- 1/2 cup buttermilk (can substitute 1/2 cup milk with 1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar stirred in, let sit 5 minutes)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon quality pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 3/4 cup golden or regular raisins , or dried fruit of choice (e.g., apricots, prunes)
- For the Syrup:
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
Instructions
- To cook the quinoa, thoroughly rinse about 1/3 cup of quinoa in a fine mesh sieve (this removes the saponin, a natural coating on quinoa's outer layer that is bitter and soapy tasting). Place the quinoa in a small saucepan with double the amount of water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit another 5 minutes, still covered. Fluff with a fork.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 8x8 inch square baking pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the spelt flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the olive oil, honey, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and almond extract and use an electric mixer to blend just until combined. Do not over-mix. Gently stir in the almond flour and quinoa followed by the raisins. Pour the cake batter into the greased baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean but moist.
- For the syrup: Bring the honey and almond extract to a gentle boil in a small saucepan then remove from heat.Use a toothpick to poke holes throughout the cake. While the cake is still warm, slowly pour the syrup over the cake, using the back of a spoon or a knife to guide the syrup to prevent it all from rushing to the edges. Let the cake sit a few minutes before cutting into squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet July 3, 2013
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Love this recipe and so do my kids! l subbed quinoa for amaranth and turned out equally great. Thanks!
Hi Kimberly! I Loved this recipe! Thank you for sharing it. Due to what’s available I subbed 3/4 c whole wheat flour & 3/4 c yellow cornmeal for the spelt. I subbed chopped dates for raisins, and added 1/2 c chopped walnuts. I love the Quinoa in it, more protein and fiber. I’m sharing it with my family. Thanks again! :)
Hi Kimberly.. when does the quinoa get incorporated? There’s no mention of it after you fluff it with a fork…im going to assume it goes in with the dried fruit at the end… thanks for a great recipe! I added walnuts and orange zest.
Hi Susie, thanks for catching that, it was in the step-by-step photos but not the recipe card. Yes, it’s added along with the almond flour and dried fruits. I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thanks so much for the feedback!
Packed with nuts in the description ?? That’s what drew me to it, actually… nuts on and in everything for me.
But nowhere in the ingredients do I see nuts…nary a one. Nless the almond flavoring is the thing.
But nothing is a substitute for a crunchy nut. Not in my world, anyway.
Might try it with nuts in it anyway….
Hi Phil, this contains 1/2 cup of very finely ground almonds (almond flour). If you like a bit of crunch you can also add another 1/4 cup of finely chopped almonds.
Hey! Love this recipe but surprised you are using honey. Honey should never ever be heated. It has the chemical structure of human blood and becomes toxic when heated. Heat also kills all the miraculous enzymes,probiotics and nutrition in it! (You mention that yourself in the write up!) Boiling/baking it is completely out of the question. Maple syrup on the other hand – a great sweetener that stands the test of heat! I would also use blanched ground almonds, as the skin is indigestible and should always be removed (by soaking the almonds overnight and popping off the skins the next morning – they are much sweeter this way!). The bitter skin actually contains small amounts of arsenic! Other than that super excited to try the recipe – thank you!!!
Hi Harveen, I don’t know where you’re getting that info but honey absolutely does NOT become toxic when heated. Neither does human blood for that matter. Not that anyone eats human blood (at least I hope not), but pig blood is very similar to human blood and it has been cooked and eaten in the form of blood sausage for centuries. You’re right about the honey – if you’re using raw honey cooking it will kill the beneficial bacteria. If you’re using regular honey it doesn’t matter from that standpoint. But there are other reasons to use raw honey that aren’t impacted by cooking like the higher levels of antioxidants. Happy baking and I hope you enjoy the cake!
Do you think I could swap coconut oil or avocado oil for the olive oil? this sounds great!
Thanks!
Hi Judy, yes you can use either. If the coconut oil is solid just warm it up briefly until it’s liquid. Happy baking!