Quinoa Chocolate Cake (lower-sugar, grain-free)

Some recipes sink into my brain and won't let go until I've tried them, and this quinoa chocolate cake is one of those. It uses no flour, but pre-cooked quinoa is pureed/blended along with dry ingredients to make the base. The recipe developer also said it was gluten-free and refined sugar-free, which of course is an asset in my house. I was also drawn in by the beautiful presentation and photography over on her website so please check it out - she makes 2.5x this recipe, all in 6-inch rounds, and creates quite the party cake. I just baked one batch and did it in a 8x8 square pan, making it more of a snacking cake. Save your leftover quinoa, kids. You only need a cup for this cake.

Chocolate Quinoa Cake
(from The Kitchen McCabe)

FOR THE CAKE:

• 1 cup Quinoa (cooked)
• 2 large Eggs
• ½ cup Unsalted Butter, melted
• ⅛ cup Milk (plant based milks work great)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• ¾ cup Coconut Palm Sugar
• ½ cup Dark Cocoa Powder
• ¼ teaspoon Salt
• ¾ teaspoon Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoon Baking Soda

FOR THE GANACHE*:

• 1 cup Chocolate Chips(preferably 60% cacao content or higher)
• ¾ cup Heavy Cream (coconut cream can also be used)

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees f.
2. Grease the sides of two 6" round baking pans and line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper.
3. Place the quinoa, eggs, melted butter, milk, and vanilla in a high speed blender and process on high speed until smooth - quinoa should be undetectable.
4. Add the sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda to the blender and process just until combined.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
7. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Remove from pans, peel off parchment, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until chilled.

FOR THE GANACHE:

1. Place the chocolate in a bowl.
2. Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium high heat until it begins to steam. Pour over the chocolate and let sit for two minutes. Whisk until all of the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Let sit for 30 minutes to firm up a bit.
3. Unwrap cake layers. Place on layer on a plate and spread a bit of ganache evenly across the top. Place the second cake layer on top of the first and use the remaining ganache to frost the top and sides of the cake.
4. Serve in slices cut with a hot, wet knife for cleanest cuts.
5. Keep refrigerated. Will keep, covered, for up to a week.

 *I didn't make the ganache - for most of this cake we just ate it plain. I did whip up a tiny recipe of espresso cream cheese icing for the picture and stacked two squares on top of each other.