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“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
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. Quinoa chocolate cake was a huge hit with my family of taste testers, and not one of them suspected there was anything unusual in this luscious dessert.
Try out this quinoa chocolate cake on your friends and family without letting them in on the secret ~ then get ready for the rave reviews!
For this quinoa chocolate cake 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.
did you know?
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.
how to cook quinoa
Quinoa comes in red, white, and black varieties. I used the common white variety here, but you can use any of them. The basic ratio is 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water. You can also cook it pasta style and drain after cooking.
- Bring water to a boil in a pot.
- Rinse quinoa well under cold water.
- Add the quinoa to the boiling water, with a dash of salt
- Boil for 15-20 minutes.
how to make quinoa chocolate cake
This cake is a breeze to throw together!
- 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. It’s simply sweetened whipped cream with a bit of cocoa powder for a milk chocolate flavor. But there are lots of other options for topping this simple cake, check out my suggestions, below.
variations on quinoa chocolate cake
- Unfrosted cake: Skip the frosting and serve the cake with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.
- Top with berries: Top with seasonal berries for a company-worthy dessert.
- Chocolate ganache topping: Once the cake is baked and cooled, spread a layer of smooth and velvety chocolate ganache on top. You could also use hot fudge sauce!
- Caramel drizzle: Prepare a simple caramel sauce and drizzle it over the cooled cake.
- Dairy-free coconut whipped cream: Serve the cake with a dollop of coconut whipped cream on the side.
- Orange quinoa chocolate cake: Add the zest of one orange to the cake batter to give it a refreshing citrus flavor that complements the chocolate well.
- Espresso quinoa chocolate cake: Dissolve a tablespoon of instant coffee or espresso powder into the milk before making the batter.
- Mint chocolate chip quinoa cake: Add a teaspoon of peppermint extract or finely chopped fresh mint leaves to the batter. Add mini chocolate chips, too.
- Make a layer cake: Double the recipe and make a celebratory layer cake!
- Make cute cupcakes: Bake into cupcakes for kids.
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Delicious Quinoa Chocolate Cake
Equipment
- 9 inch nonstick cake pan or springform pan
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 unsweetened cocoa powder
- 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 tablespoon 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!
Notes
- Bring water to a boil in a pot.
- Rinse quinoa well under cold water.
- Add the quinoa to the boiling water, with a dash of salt
- Boil for 15-20 minutes.
Could you possibly use an alternative sweetener such as swerve?
I’m not an expert on alternative sweeteners, Carol, but I would think that any granulated sweetener would be ok to swap for the granulated sugar in the recipe. Let us know if you try it!
I made this recipe as cupcakes. I baked them 15-17 minutes. I had 18 small cupcakes. I only made half of the icing to use today, the other half I will make and serve tomorrow.
Delicious! My first quinoa as flour recipe was a success. Thank you!
That’s so great to know, LaQuita ~ I was thinking of doing that myself! I’m so glad you had success, and thanks so much for coming back to let us know :)) Have a great weekend.
Such a terrific recipe! I love the quinoa and am so intrigued. This is a must make. Pinning and sharing 🙂
HI, I just made this and I’m pretty sure it’s amazing….as I was taking it out of the oven, the pan caught an edge and yup, you guessed it, half the cake came tumbling out in a mess! Still, I managed to salvage some (and scoop up some of the messy bits in the oven!) and plopped a couple of pieces in my mouth – truly amazingly light and delicious. So. Instead of cake, I guess it’s gonna be trifle. Who cares? Delicious is delicious! Will definitely make again and hopefully, it’ll come out in one piece – thank you!
Oh gosh, I was cringing as I read this Rose…I’ve been there and done that many times! And you know, quinoa chocolate trifle doesn’t sound half bad 😉
Thank you for the recipe, I tried it and it was delicious. Nice chocolate flavor and moist.
Thanks Lynn, it’s great to get reports back on this cake because I think a lot of people can’t quite believe it can be so fabulous!
I’ve never seen anything like this before – what a brilliant idea putting quinoa in the cake. It’s so much healthier than traditional chocolate cake so I wouldn’t mind eating an extra piece 😉 Looks so moist too!
Ok! I will try it. It is hard for me to resist anything chocolate!
I’m completely blown away by this cake Sue — I’ve never thought to use quinoa in baking like this! This is sheer genius and I would never guess by looking at this cake that it’s gluten-free — it looks so moist! Chocolate is something I need daily and I’d love to try this cake. 🙂
This looks beyond amazing! So incredibly light and fluffy!! I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that there is quinoa in here!! Mind blowing, girlfriend! This is the end all, be all of chocolate cakes! Cheers!
I don’t think anyone would ever guess in a million years if they didn’t know!
Wow! I am so intrigued by this cake. It’s looks so perfectly moist and delicious. And that frosting is a perfect topping 🙂