Chocolate Quinoa Cake

A few weeks ago one of my very good friends, Sarah, brought over a chocolate quinoa cake after we all went to the local high school football game. She has two children that are close in age to my children, so they spent lots of time together at the game running around, and once we brought the party to our house, the fun didn’t stop. Sarah pulled out the chocolate quinoa cake and the boys started falling over themselves to get a slice. They ate theirs and licked their little fingers and the plates that the cake once sat on. I had to fight to get a piece before it was all gone. Let me tell ya, that cake is what heaven feels like. A cake that good is expected to be made from white flour like Mammie used to make them with, but no, it’s made from QUINOA! We really love quinoa; it’s a super food and we eat it pretty much every day. Once it’s cooked, it has a rice like consistency, and we add different ingredients to make it taste different. The quinoa is what makes this cake completely flourless. It keeps the texture soft and moist, and it doesn’t taste “healthy” at all! It’s also naturally sweetened and gluten-free! I asked Sarah to share the recipe, and I’ve added it below. So what are y’all waiting for? Go out, get the ingredients and make this cake asap. You WILL NOT regret it, and your body will love you for filling it with healthy ingredients.

GROCERY LIST:

Best-Ever Chocolate Quinoa Cake {gluten-free}
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 organic evaporated cane juice/ or organic white sugar/ or coconut 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 overnight
1 (10 ounce) bag chocolate chips

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 16

INSTRUCTIONS:
1.Preheat the oven to 350°F and then line two round cake pans (or a 9×13” 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 3/4 cup dry quinoa will yield 2 cups cooked quinoa. I like to soak it overnight, rinse and then cook it in 1.5 cup water by bringing the water to a boil, adding the quinoa and then reducing to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes. Quinoa should be soft and fluffy, you don’t want any crunchy pieces in the cake!

note: using light coconut milk may result in undesirable results for the icing
(time does not include chilling coconut milk overnight or chilling the icing after it’s made)