This spinach cake is green! The flavour of the spinach fades away beneath the coconut, and it's a bit lighter as it's made with yogurt. It's a shows topping green vegetable cake recipe that tastes delicious.
Spinach Cake
Okay, people. Here've got a fluffy, moist (word cringe, sorry), delicately coconuty cake that is rammed full of wholesome spinach that you can't even taste. We've even gone all trendy-like and iced it as a naked cake.
It's green and it looks like a party.
What are we celebrating? I'm not really sure. Perhaps nothing, perhaps everything. Do we even need a reason to bake a cake? A spinach cake?
We could look out in celebration at the wind, the rain, the sun, the clouds of grey and clouds of white, the birds, the trees, the cars, the fields, the glass towers, the urban wasteland, a brick wall.
Look out of the windows we have and the windows we want. We could eat cake and celebrate life as it is, the life we had or the life we wish we were living. It doesn't matter. We can eat cake happy and we can eat cake sad. We can eat cake.
So come with me and mess the kitchen, drop flour on the floor, forget our aprons and smear batter on our jeans. Join me in fishing rogue eggshell fragments out of the bowl, licking the spoon and doing the washing up.
We can enjoy the creation and anticipation, then impatiently wait for it to cool. Later, looking out of houses, cars, boats or offices we can see views whose beauty or desolation has dulled into indifference as we eat a slice of cake and daydream grand thoughts of wonder. Or check our emails.
Vegetable Cake Recipe
If you can't tell by my blog name, I love baking vegetable cakes. Be sure to have a look around my site for loads of other vegetable cake recipes, such as:
Apple Kale Cake
Beetroot Chocolate Cake
Mashed Potato Chocolate Cake
Cucumber Cake
I baked this spinach cake in charming little 6" pans so that I could have all the layers of a celebration cake without it being HUGE. I iced it with whipped coconut cream icing, but you could try sweetened Greek yogurt, buttercream, cream cheese, anything. Tempted by spinach and coconut cake? Try it. You can't taste the spinach, but that bright green colour is pretty special.
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out for you!
Leave a comment and star rating below and share a picture with the hashtag #veggiedesserts. I love seeing your recreations of my vegetarian and vegan recipes and cakes.
Thanks for checking out my recipe! I love hearing from my readers. You all allow me to do what I love and write this UK food blog, sharing vegetarian and vegan recipes, vegetable cake recipes, vegan cake and also easy vegan desserts.
Kate x
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Get the recipe for coconut yogurt spinach cake
📖 Recipe
Spinach and Coconut Yogurt Cake
Ingredients
- 200 g (3 cups) packed raw fresh spinach
- 170 g (¾ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 200 g (1 cup) sugar
- 3 eggs
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) plain Greek yogurt
- 240 ml (1 cup) coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 380 g (3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 75 g (1 cup) shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160C/325F. Grease and line two 9” cake pans (or three 6” pans, as I did in the pictures).
- Steam or simmer the spinach for a few minutes until wilted. Run under cold water to refresh, drain and squeeze out any excess moisture. Puree with a hand blender and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat in well. Stir in the spinach puree, coconut milk, yogurt, vanilla and almond extract.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and coconut. Make a well in the centre and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix gently until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 50 minutes (9” pans) or 25 minutes (6” pans) or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Frost as desired.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors, so is not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietician for special diet advice.
Nonno (grandpa) Giorgio
What a great recipe! I adjusted the baking time for the quantity of butter I made (2/3 of the quantities suggested) and it was amazing! How do I share a picture here? I am going to do it on instagram with your hashtag.
Bella Hardy
This spinach and coconut yogurt cake definitely looks yummy! I love your recipe cuz it contains healthy ingredients! Thanks a lot for sharing!
Jill Roberts @ WellnessGeeky
Definitely your spinach and coconut yogurt cake is awesomeness! This is a great recipe Kate, as you know I made it a short while ago and it was lovely, in fact have made it again since. Thanks for sharing!
Kate Hackworthy
I'm so glad that you like it!
Lilian
made it for a dessert party and it was great! great conversational piece and people were shocked at what it was after they tried it. would make again in the future~
loulou
love your stuff! just interested to know if you have any tips on converting your recipes to GF?
Brook
Erm...shredded coconut. Can you translate to British for me? Dessicated coconut?
Christine
Kate, I came across your cake on G+, and I'm so glad I did! I think this will become one of my major resources for healthy desserts...I'm always looking for them. This cake is so unique, and I never in a million years considered putting spinach in a cake. I tried it with half whole wheat flour and it was great!
Kate Hackworthy
Thanks so much Christine! 🙂 I'd just try it with whole wheat flour. My bakes always start as experiments. Perhaps use a little less ww flour so it isn't too dense. Good luck and please let me know how it goes with whole wheat flour.
motherwouldknow
I know spinach cake may sound weird but the absolute best pie I ever made (sweet) was spinach and ricotta in a shortbread crust. So I'm game for this, especially for St. Patrick's Day.
Kate Hackworthy
Ooooh, I love the sound of that pie!
Fiver Feeds
It seems impossible to mix spinach with coconut but I will try to make something like this and tell you my impressions.
Kate Hackworthy
I hope you like it!
Melissa
Hi, I was wondering if I could substitute the butter with extra virgin olive oil, or canola oil? Also is it possible to sweeten the cake with dates instead of white sugar?
Kate Hackworthy
Hi Melissa, I haven't tried it with oil or dates, but if you often make those substitutions, then it's worth a try! Please let me know how it goes.
Deena Kakaya
I do love your combinations Kate! I am quite fond of a yogurt cake, for the moist texture and background sourness that is not too sharp...I can not imagine what it would be like with spinach but there is only one way to find out...x
Kate Hackworthy
Yogurt is such a great way to reduce the fat in cakes. I hope you get a chance to try the cake, Deena x
Helene @Croque-Maman
Wow this cake looks divine! I cannot wait to try this recipe!!!
Kate Hackworthy
It really was pretty lush! I hope you get a chance to try it. Let me know how it goes 🙂
Katie Bryson
This bake is stunning!!! I'm running a Bake Off at our school summer fair in a couple of weeks and the Technical Challenge for the grown ups is to use vegetables in a their bakes.... if you entered I think you'd win!!!!
Kate Hackworthy
Ha, I'd love to be a part of that!
Sarah, Maison Cupcake
That looks stunning! I love my six inch pans and like you I bought 3 of them especially for bijoux layer cakes.
Kate Hackworthy
Thanks Sarah. I love my little pans - such adorable cakes!
Stuart Vettese
I have never heard of spinach in a cake! I have made spinach brownies before, but this is something altogether different. And that frosting looks to die for!! Lovely
Kate Hackworthy
Thanks so much, Stuart. Now you've got me thinking brownies... mmm....
Sarah @ The Chef Next Door
This is an absolutely gorgeous cake, and I love the beautiful green color!!
Kate Hackworthy
It's so green, isn't it? My favourite colour 🙂
janelle
hidden greens in a cake? sign me up! great photos
Kate Hackworthy
Thanks so much Janelle. I'm all about a nice green cake these days! 🙂
Krystal
I never would have thought to combine these flavors! Great recipe and display.
Kate Hackworthy
Thanks Krystal. Unusual combo, but coconut creamed spinach works for dinner, so.... 🙂
Choclette
Lovley post and fabulous cake. What, I'm wondering is your secret for cutting out such a perfect slice without smears or crumbling or ... ?
Kate Hackworthy
I know, the perfect cut! It was completely accidental. I baked the cake but didn't have time to photograph it, so I froze each layer. It was nearly thawed when I frosted it and thus was really easy to cut. 🙂
jen
Wow looks amazing. Very different would never have thought of this.
Jen x
Kate Hackworthy
Thanks Jen. It's unusual but really good!
Jessica
Oh wow that looks so yummy. I don't understand people that say vegetarian food is boring - this is far from it.
xx
Kate Hackworthy
To me vegetables are definitely exciting! Thanks for your comment 🙂
Ami@NaiveCookCooks
This is such a unique cake! Love the ingredients you used ! Brilliant!
Kate Hackworthy
Thanks so much, Ami
Jenni @ Jenni's Ferris Wheel of Food
I love the surprise green on the inside. What a wonderful way to use veggies in a dessert!
Kate Hackworthy
It is indeed a bit of a surprise!
Lilli @ sugar and cinnamon
Wow it actually looks fantastic! What a great natural flavouring 🙂
Kate Hackworthy
Thanks Lili. I'll never use food colourings again after discovering how vegetables give such great colour.
PassTheKnife
Beautiful presentation. I love the green surprise on the inside. What kind of frosting did you make for the cake?
Kate Hackworthy
I used whipped coconut cream, but any other kinds would work well, too.
Hester McQueen
Whipped coconut cream? Can you elaborate please.
Michaela ~ An Affair from the Heart
What a GORGEOUS cake!
Kate Hackworthy
Thanks Michaela, the green colour is pretty intense!
Lori Hart
I'd love to try this. Your recipes are so creative.
Kate Hackworthy
Thanks Lori, very kind.
Vohn McGuinness
I love that it's mini but looks full-sized! Fantastic colour inside too! 🙂
Kate Hackworthy
Thanks Vohn. Sometimes full-sized cakes are just too much - enter the 6" pan!
Aunt Bee
I LOVE the way you frosted and decorated this cake! WOW! That icing sounds magnificent as well!
Kate Hackworthy
Aw, thanks, Brandi. It's a pretty cute little cake.
Stephanie Pass
I love the look at this cake, especially when you cut the slice and it's so green on the inside! I've seen the trend to not frost the outside, and I just love the look.
Kate Hackworthy
Thanks Stephanie. It really is a surprise inside.
Anyonita
Very interesting! 🙂 Did you let out a squeal of delight when you sliced into it and saw how magnificently green the sponge was? 🙂
Kate Hackworthy
I should have. I'm getting used to green cakes now! 🙂
dina
great way to eat your greens!
Kate Hackworthy
It is, indeed, Dina!