Chocolate Quinoa Cake
I love chocolate. I’ll eat it in bar form, as a brownie, ice cream or cake. I’d eat it all day if I could. While I usually make desserts with apples and fall fruits during the autumn months, chocolate always gets top priority. So, when I discovered this luscious gluten-free chocolate cake from Paula Shoyer, I knew I just had to make it.
While it was the photo in her new cookbook, The Healthy Jewish Kitchen, that first intrigued me, it’s was Shoyer’s description at a recent Melissa’s event that sold me. Not only did she say it was one of her most popular recipes on her website, she said it was super moist and chocolaty. But that’s not even the coolest thing about this cake. The coolest thing about it is that it isn’t made with flour. That’s right, not one ounce of flour is in this bundt pan of chocolate decadence. How do you make a cake without flour? Easy, you use quinoa.
That’s right, I said quinoa. I know that seems like an odd choice for cake but it actually works quite well. While the recipe in Shoyer’s book calls for uncooked quinoa, Melissa’s Produce has pre-packaged cooked quinoa which makes this recipe even easier to make. Now you don’t need to take that extra step of cooking the grain first since it’s all ready to go. Just scoop it out of the tube and add it to your food processor.
I know an electric mixer is the more common tool when mixing up a batter for cake or cookies, but the processor works just was well. The benefit with the processor in this instance is that it will finely chop the quinoa while blending it with everything else. And putting all the ingredients in the processor at once, still gets you a very well combined, silky smooth batter that pours effortlessly into a beautiful bundt pan.
But all those things aren’t why I love this cake. I love this cake for it’s flavor. Because I used a super dark unsweetened chocolate powder and about half the sugar along with the quinoa and eggs it was sweet without being too sweet and so moist, it literally melted in my mouth. But if that weren’t enough, Shoyer suggests adding a thick chocolate glaze that gives the cake an extra boost of chocolate flavor. That fact that it looks amazing on the platter makes the glaze an absolute must. But if you don’t want to add it, you don’t have to, the cake is amazing all on its own.
If you’re looking for an occasion to make this cake, I have two. First is Yom Kippur which is next week. A cake like this would be a great way to end what’s sure to be a spectacular meal for a very important holiday. But if you don’t celebrate the Jewish Day of Atonement, don’t worry, I have another holiday for which this cake would be perfect: Halloween. Remember that super dark unsweetened chocolate powder I mentioned? Well, that darkness gives the cake an almost pitch black color making it perfect for All Hallows Eve. And if you’re still craving chocolate later in the year, it’s also great for Passover since there isn’t one ounce of flour in it. In other words, this cake is a great dessert option the whole year through.
Notes
Adapted from the Healthy Kitchen
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 2 tablespoon potato starch
- 1-1/3 cups Melissa's cooked quinoa
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
Glaze:
- 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
- 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12-inch bundt pan with cooking spray and then sprinkle with the potato starch and shake to remove any excess.
- Place the quinoa, orange juice, eggs, vanilla, oil, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process until the mixture is very smooth.
- Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and then add to the batter and process until well combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick, when inserted, comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool for 10 minutes and then take a wire rack and place it over the pan. Invert the pan and gently transfer the cake to the rack. Continue to cool for another 30 minutes.
Make the Glaze:
- Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Add the oil and vanilla and whisk until combined and smooth. Use a silicone spatula to spread the glaze over the cake and serve.
