Amazing Quinoa Chocolate Cake

Quinoa Chocolate Cake ~ naturally gluten free and one of the moistest, fluffiest, most delicious chocolate desserts I’ve ever had ~ and it’s all due to an unlikely ingredient. This super food cake also happens to be super easy, just whip it up in the blender and enjoy!

This chocolate cake challenges a lot of what we think we know about cake. There’s no flour whatsoever in this recipe, but it does include an unusual ingredient…quinoa! By now I’m sure you’ve had quinoa in a salad or a side dish, but I’m guessing you’ve never considered it as a dessert ingredient. Here it takes the place of flour and gives this cake a moist, fluffy texture ~ it was a huge hit with my family of taste testers, and not one of them suspected there was anything unusual in this luscious chocolate cake, until I let them in on the secret ~ who knew?

Quinoa is referred to as an ‘ancient grain’, but it’s really a seed, so, quinoa is naturally gluten free. Like all seeds, it’s a nutritional powerhouse ~ high in fiber and protein, in fact it’s one of the few plant foods on earth that contains all 9 amino acids. It’s a true super food.

For this recipe you’ll need 2 cups of cooked quinoa. (You can use the leftovers from dinner!)  Quinoa needs to be rinsed thoroughly before cooking, but after that it cooks up just like rice. It has a light nutty flavor that is lovely in savory dishes but takes a backseat in this chocolaty recipe. The plumped up grains give it a wonderful light texture that you normally don’t get in a flourless cake.

To cook quinoa: (this will yield about 3 cups cooked quinoa)

• Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a pot.
• Rinse 1 cup of quinoa well under cold water.
• Add the quinoa to the boiling water, with a dash of salt
• Boil for 15-20 minutes.

This cake is a breeze to throw together ~ just combine the quinoa, milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla in a blender or food processor and pulse until everything is combined. It’s that easy! The cake bakes up beautifully, the texture is dense but very moist, and the top is flat, perfect for frosting.

Speaking of frosting, as you can see, I didn’t skimp on it, so I can’t make any health claims for this dessert.

TIP: You can skip the frosting and give the cake a sprinkle of powdered sugar for a lighter version.

Try this Quinoa Chocolate Cake on your friends and family without telling them that there’s anything unusual about it at all ~ then get ready for the rave reviews. You can let them in on the secret…or not!

Once you realize how great this cake is, you might want to try my quinoa BURGER ~ that’s right, my Red Quinoa and Black Bean Veggie Burger is made with it too!

Reader Rave ~

“I made this cake last night – without the frosting. It is divine! Have shared it with friends who couldn’t believe that it is made with quinoa and not flour. I love the light texture and moistness. It tasted perfect with an espresso mid-morning today too.” ~ Madhavi

*This recipe is adapted from my friend Mary at Barefeet in the Kitchen ~ Mary has lots of great gluten free desserts on her blog, so check it out!

Delicious Quinoa Chocolate Cake

4.12 from 35 votes

Quinoa Chocolate Cake ~ naturally gluten free and one of the moistest, fluffiest, most delicious chocolate desserts I've ever had!

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Prep Time:15 minutes

Cook Time:40 minutes

Servings: 8 servings

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Ingredients

 

cake

• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1/3 cup almond milk or dairy milk
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

frosting

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoon confectioner's sugar, sifted
• 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray and line a 9-inch nonstick cake pan with a round of parchment paper at the bottom.
• Melt butter.
• Put the quinoa, milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse to combine and then process until smooth, this will only take about 30 seconds or so.
• Add the sugar, 1/2 cup of the cocoa powder, baking powder, soda, and salt to the bowl and pulse to combine well.
• Turn into the prepared pan and bake for about 40-42 minutes until a toothpick comes out without wet batter sticking to it. Remember that if your pan has different dimensions, your cooking time will vary.
• Let the cake cool on a rack for about 15 minutes before turning out of the pan. Be careful when you flip the cake over as it will be delicate. I like to place a plate over the pan and then gently flip both over together.
• When the cake is completely cool, frost.
• To make the frosting whip the cream until it is starting to thicken, then add the sifted confectioner's sugar and cocoa powder. Continue beating until thick and spreadable. Don't over beat!

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Sue Moran

Keyword: baking, cake, chocolate, dessert, flourless, gluten free, quinoa

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators.  Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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Notes:

• Quinoa comes in red, white, and black varieties. I used the common white variety here, but you can use any of them.
• You can double this recipe to make a layer cake, or bake this up into cupcakes.

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