Thank you, Universe, for introducing me to this tasty gluten-free chocolate cake! Actually, who I should really be thanking is Sarah of the blog "making thyme for my health". This recipe is more than I could have ever hoped for in a gluten-free dessert. It's rich and chocolaty. It's moist and delicious. It's heaven. The crazy thing is that this cake is made from quinoa (not quinoa flour, but actual cooked quinoa). So, aside from the sugar, there really isn't anything in it that's bad for you. I've pasted the recipe in its original form below. I made two versions to test it out. The first was as written; the second was using two mashed bananas and a half cup of sugar (instead of the full cup of sugar). Both versions were delicious, which leads me to believe that this is a relatively flexible recipe. (The banana one is on the left and the original recipe is on the right in the picture.) I was feeling lazy and made these each in 9x13 pans this time around, but next time I plan to do cake rounds and layer them up with frosting to make a proper cake. I can't wait to try them again!!
INGREDIENTS
2 cups cooked quinoa*
1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (or preferred milk)
4 whole eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Earth Balance, melted (or butter)
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1 cup white sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Whipped Chocolate Coconut Cream Frosting
1 (13.5 ounce) can of full fat coconut milk, refrigerated/cold
1 (10 ounce) bag chocolate chips
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and then line two round cake pans (or a 9x13” pan) with parchment paper.
2. In a food processor or blender, combine the eggs, almond milk (or preferred milk) and vanilla extract then blend for ten seconds to combine.
3. Add the cooked and cooled quinoa along with the melted and cooled Earth Balance and coconut oil (could also use all regular butter) then blend until completely smooth, about thirty seconds to one minute.
4. Sift together the dry ingredients in a large bowl (cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt).
5. Add the wet ingredients in the blender to the bowl with the dry and mix together until well-combined.
6. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool.
7. To make the frosting you will need to refrigerate the coconut milk overnight (in the coldest part of your refrigerator) so that the cream separates.
8. When you are ready to make it, melt the chocolate in a sauce pan over low-medium heat. Grab the coconut milk from the refrigerator but don’t shake the can or turn it upside down before opening. Open the can and scoop out the solid parts with a spoon, placing them into the pot with the chocolate. It’s okay if it the solid parts on completely separated, just try to get as much of the thicker portions as possible. Melt the coconut cream and chocolate together then transfer to a large bowl that you can later use to whip it in. (note: if the melted chocolate/coconut milk mixture still appears really dark you can add more coconut milk to lighten it up so that the end result isn't bitter)
9. Allow to cool on the counter then cover and refrigerate for several hours, until thickened. Once it has thickened, remove from the refrigerator and beat on high for thirty seconds to one minute, until a fluffy icing has formed. (I made mine the night before baking the cake).
10. Transfer the cakes to a surface for icing with the bottom side up. I recommend that you only transfer the cakes once as they are fragile and difficult to hold together once removed from the parchment paper.
11. Frost the cake and refrigerate until ready to serve. The icing will melt in really warm conditions but should be fine for a few hours in cooler settings.
NOTES
*approximately 1/2 cup dry quinoa will yield 2 cups cooked quinoa.
