This Bottle of "Liquid Gold" Is My Secret for Incredibly Moist Cakes (Even Better Than Butter)

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angled shot of a full cake with a single slice taken from it.

Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe ; Food Styling: Brett Regot

As a pop-up baker, I know that the type of fat used in a recipe can really make or break it. Take butter, for example. Butter has a burn point of 350 degrees Fahrenheit, so as much as I love how rich and moist it makes my desserts, I only use it for cakes and cookies that bake at 350 degrees or less, so its molecules don’t deconstruct and burn in the oven.

Someone holding bottle of Algae cooking oil.

Credit: Ali Domrongchai

For those occasions when I’m baking something at a higher temperature, I reach for an oil with a higher smoke point, like Algae Cooking Club Oil. It has the same buttery flavor, but with a way higher heat point. It’s my new favorite do-it-all cooking oil that’s become my secret ingredient for moist (yet airy) cakes and cookies.

Related: Chocolate Bark RecipeWhat’s So Great About Algae Cooking Club Oil?

We reviewed Algae Cooking Club Cooking Oil a couple of years ago and raved about its neutral, buttery-adjacent flavor and high-heat power in salads, stir-fries, and dips. It adds an extra level of deliciousness to anything it touches, but I personally love it for baking.

The oil is derived from fermented microalgae that sit in large stainless steel tanks for a few days and are pressed until just the oil is left. The entire production is efficient and quick; the brand claims that producing algae oil creates 47% fewer carbon emissions than canola oil. And my favorite fact: It has an incredibly high smoke point of 535 degrees F (for context, butter’s smoke point is 350 degrees F, extra virgin olive oil’s is 410 degrees F, and canola and vegetable oil’s is 400 degrees F.

Algae Cooking Club Algae Cooking Oil

Amazon

$20

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It’s a bit of a splurge at $20 for a 16-ounce bottle (or $18, if you subscribe), but after baking with it for a few months, I’m convinced that it’s the reason my cakes have never been better. It helps cakes and cookies rise by trapping air bubbles throughout the dough (while sustaining such high heat!), and yields an irresistibly tender crumb and slightly buttery flavor (without any butter at all).

What’s the Best Way to Enjoy Algae Cooking Club Oil?

The oil is mostly neutral in flavor, with only light buttery notes, which means it excels in desserts of all shapes and sizes; it enriches recipes rather than overpowering them (like an olive oil would). I use it as I would any other vegetable oil or butter — I swap it for true ratios.

Freshly baked cake made with algae club cooking oil.

Credit: Ali Domrongchai

I use it to make vanilla cakes, chocolate chip cookies, fudgy brownies, Hawaiian butter mochi, and really anything and everything else. In fact, I even fried a few Oreos with it in a shallow saucepan a few months ago (when I had a craving but no state fair in sight). It is consistently making me a better baker.

Buy: Algae Cooking Club Cooking Oil, $20 for 16 ounces at Amazon

Have you baked with algae oil yet? Tell us about it in the comments below!

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