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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.
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.
I did reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup – and it turned out great.
That you for sharing.
Isn’t it fun to serve and then let everyone in on the secret? I never thought to try it without the frosting, sounds good!
Hi Sue!
Ok. I am a very experienced baker and just pulled this baby out of the oven. I did bake it in a pyrex square pan and I used cashew milk in place of dairy though other nearly identical quinoa cake recipes I googled said any dairy or nut milk would work. Anyhow…..it was very delicate and springy and fell a bit sort of like a flourless chocolate cake. I haven’t tasted it or pulled it out of the pan yet (thank goodness I used parchment!!) because I think cooling it in the pan longer might help. Soooo…..my question is does your cake fall at all? I left it in a bit longer but there were still a few crumbs on the toothpick though they were still there even 8 min. later so I removed the cake because it was really cracking all over the top.
Any input would be greatly appreciated. I am crossing my fingers….
It’s definitely not a tall rising cake, Michelle, so you’re probably fine, and technically this is a flourless cake, so it will behave somewhat like other similar cakes would. The texture is dense but not heavy, if that makes sense, so as long as yours cooked through you should be good!
Great recipe. I served it with peanut butter whipped cream and we all know how delish peanut butter and chocolate is! The second time I made it I used a blender instead of a processor because I wanted to smooth out the cooked quinoa completely-I liked the texture better.
Can the cooked quinoa be replaced by quinoa flour, if yes, how much flour?
Oh man you’re killing me…peanut butter whipped cream sounds incredible! Not sure about how to switch out the recipe for quinoa flour, I imagine that would change the recipe pretty dramatically.
Let me know if you try it with quinoa flour, since I have a bag and would love to use it. Thanks!
Made this last night for a group of friends…not sure if all loved it, but they all cleaned their plates. I did love it, and had 2 pieces left over. Had one today…I think it was even better the 2nd day. Other one will eat tomorrow. Love that I can have healthier chocolate cake (protein!)
I remember loving it the next day, too Kim! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
Quinoa a great secret to gluten-free!
Help Sue? I made this and used an 8in pan instead. I’ve never made a quinoa cake before and I baked it for an hour and it still has this custard like texture. Toothpick cane out clean when I was testing for doneness. Any ideas why? Or is this the expected texture?
Wondering if I could use regular milk instead of almond milk. We have nut allergies. Excited to try.
Yes, I think that would be fine, Sandra.
Do you need to keep the cake in the refrigerator once it is iced? How long would you bake if making cupcakes?
Thanks!!!
I would keep it in the refrigerator if you need to store it because of the cream in the frosting, Erin. If you bake cupcakes, I would check them at 15 minutes, and go from there.
So, my family Birthday Cake is Angel Food with chocolate whipped cream. I’ve been eating it for decades. I want to share a secret for the frosting. Combine the cream, sugar, cocoa and a touch of salt and vanilla in a bowl. Whisk well. Refrigerate overnight. The cocoa “blooms” in the cream overnight and makes your resulting frosting thick, rich and amazingly creamy. Don’t over whip it as it will break.
That is such a great tip, Diane, I’m going to use it next time I make a chocolate whipped cream, it’s brilliant!
Do you have any nutritional info… calories, carbs, protein, sugars? I’m definitely making this regardless of the stats, but probably good to know in case I’m too tempted to eat the whole thing!