Chocolate Quinoa Cake
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
I have the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert recipe for you to try! And of course, it includes CHOCOLATE 😉 This chocolate quinoa cake, in case you can’t tell by the title, DOES indeed have quinoa in it. (mind blown). And yes, it is intensely chocolate and decadent and absolutely delicious. This chocolate quinoa cake is made with a base of cooked quinoa instead of flour and has a fluffy texture just like traditional cake! This cake is naturally gluten free. It also has zero butter or oil and uses cashew butter (or sub another nut butter of your choice!) instead. It’s much lower in sugar than most cake recipes too. I absolutely love the chocolate frosting made with just TWO ingredients and literally tastes like fudge. I cannot wait for you to try this recipe!
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Gluten Free, Whole Grain
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa (used ½ cup uncooked, but had almost 1 cup leftover)
  • ⅓ cup cashew butter
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ⅓ cup coconut (or brown or white) sugar
  • ⅓ cup cocoa powder (I used half regular and half Hershey’s dark/dutch process)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon espresso powder, optional
  • Frosting:
  • 3 ounce dark chocolate cbar
  • About ½ cup coconut cream (from top of can of coconut milk)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease one 8-9 inch round cake pans OR an 8x8 squiare pan. You can also make two 5-6 inch small cakes for a layered cake, or double ingredients to make a double 8-9 inch cake pan. Line the bottoms of the pan with parchment paper.
  2. Combine the milk, eggs and vanilla in a blender or food processor. Process just until combined. Add the cooked quinoa and cashew butter and blend until smooth.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the contents from the blender and mix with a wooden spoon or whisk until combined.
  4. Bake cake at 350 degrees F for about 22-28 minutes, checking with a toothpick. Don't overbake!
  5. For the frosting, melt chocolate in microwave in 30 second increments until melted and smooth (stir with a spoon; don't over heat). Then add coconut cream and whisk until combined. Place bowl in fridge. It will harden; that's normal!
  6. After completely chilled (at least 1 hour), scrape frosting until a mixing bowl and beat (using stand mixer or handheld beaters) until a fluffier texture results.
  7. After cake is thoroughly cooled, frost cake. Enjoy!! I highly recommend serving with vanilla ice cream as pictured, and I like storing in the fridge to keep fresh (plus leftovers are delicious cold; so fudgy!).
Recipe by Audra's Appetite at https://audrasappetite.com/chocolate-quinoa-cake/