I am not going to tell you this Quinoa Chocolate Cake is "healthy", because that depends on who you ask. I will tell you it is a simple recipe to create and thoroughly delicious.
The flour is replaced with cooked quinoa, but it still contains a fair amount of sugar . I could have gone with coconut sugar to make it low glycemic, or even a stevia blend, but I went with good old fashioned cane sugar because I wanted to.
I got a bit overwhelmed today working on this recipe and one coming on Tuesday trying to make it "perfect" for every diet. Gluten Free, Vegan, Raw, Paleo! Is soy sauce okay for Paleo diet? How about vinegar? Does baking powder have gluten? AAAUUUGH!
And then the words to one of my favorite Ricky Nelson songs started playing in my brain.
Ya can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself.
If you research the story behind Garden Party it is quite apropos that I thought about it. He knew he had to write and perform songs that he wanted, and not what certain people told him to do. I don't have the time or energy to try to fix each recipe to please every specific diet out there. I have enough trouble trying to please the three palates in this house.
Personally, I follow the "eat what I want, just not too much of it diet." If you are following a specific diet, feel free to alter this recipe and any others on the site to suit your needs, because that's what any recipe should be: an inspiration to make something you and your family will enjoy.
And I think most people will enjoy this recipe. It is dark and moist and lightly sweet. Doubled it would make a great layer cake with your choice of frosting or other topping. I went with some chocolate syrup, because that's how I roll (translation, that's what was in the house).
[click_to_tweet tweet="Quinoa Chocolate Cake moist and delicious cake made with quinoa instead of flour. #glutenfree #chocolatecake" quote="Quinoa Chocolate Cake moist and delicious cake made with quinoa instead of flour. " theme="style2"]
Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup quinoa
- ⅔ cups water
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 6 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)
- ⅛ teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
- ¾ cups sugar
- ½ cup cocoa
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil, add quinoa. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until quinoa is completely cooked, about 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8" round cake pan.
- In blender, pulse milk, eggs and vanilla until combined.
- Add quinoa, coconut oil and espresso powder. And blend until smooth, 3-5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk dry ingredients.
- Add wet ingredients to the bowl and stir until thoroughly combined. Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
quinoa chocolat
Until next time, happy eating.
~Audrey
Lorelai @ Life With Lorelai
Your cake looks moist and delicious! And the, "because I wanted to," made me laugh out loud. Please come share your blog posts over at the Home Matters Linky Party! We'd love to have you for a visit. The Door is OPEN. http://lifewithlorelai.com/2015/01/15/home-matters-linky-party-20/ 🙂
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
Audrey
It is on my link up list every week, Lorelai! Always get great ideas from the people that link up.
Tricia the Good Mama
Hey, I totally agree with you! I think the best thing (unless you have allergies of course) is to eat everything in moderation, including chocolate & sugar (yum!). I do like quinoa a lot, so I would really like to give this a try. It may not be super healthy, but at least it has the extra protein in there! Pinned.
Audrey
I have a lot of friends that have kids with allergies (corn, egg, gluten, peanuts, PKO, dairy,....) . One of them even commented on FB when I shared this, that they know how to adjust the recipes and I don't need to stress out trying to do it for them.
Winnie
It's a wonderful cake! I've made Quinoa chocolate cake before (have a post on my blog) and it was a great success
I recommend everyone to try this recipe 🙂
Audrey
Thanks Winnie, I really enjoyed it and so did the guys and they had no idea it wasn't "regular cake".
Lorelai @ Life With Lorelai
Thanks so much for stopping the #HomeMattersParty for a visit! We love having you share with us, and hope you will be back again next week. 🙂
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
Lois
Thank you for sharing your recipe with Foodie Friends Friday! Hope to see you again next week!
Kirsten @ Treat Yourself Sweeter
I LOVE quinoa! I never thought of using it like this in a cake...I might have to do some cooking this afternoon!
Audrey
Honestly, if you didn't know it was made with quinoa you'd never guess it wasn't traditional wheat flour.
KC the Kitchen Chopper
Quinoa, Chocolate and Coconut. Wow! I'll take two pieces please. Thanks for sharing at The Weekend Social. This is my last week as cohost of TWS. Please stop by http://www.KitchenDreaming to link up Thursday 9:00 PM EST. Pinned.
Audrey
Thanks for stopping by.
jennifer Abel
So lovely to see quinoa being used more often and in cakes, wonderful! I must give it a try, thanks so much for sharing on #Mum-bo Mondays, I cannot wait to see what you bring us next week, have a great day!
Sarah @ GlamGranolaGeek
This looks so yummy!! Thanks for sharing!
Amberjane
Yep sometimes you just have to please yourself but it still looks amazing - Thanks for linking up to Pin Worthy Wednesday, I have pinned your post to the Pin Worthy Wednesday Pinterest Board.
Leesha @ Living Contently
Wow! I knew quinoa was a wonder ingredient, but I had no idea it would make such a delicious looking cake! Thanks for sharing. I will definitely be trying this one!
Deborah Davis
It is so innovative and surprising to learn that you can make such a moist and delicious cake using quinoa. I look forward to trying this soon. I am pinning and sharing, of course. Just visited from Pinworthy!
Simple Hacks Living
I can't wait to make this! Thanks for sharing on Tasty Tuesdays!
Paula
Are you kidding me right now? Quninoa? I am sooooo trying this amazing recipe. I would love it if you would share this delicious post at our WIW Linky party. I hope you can join us.
Paula
ivyandelephants.blogspot.com
Megan Kubasch
Shut The front door. This sounds amazing!!!!! I have all of the ingredients too.... I think this might be made this afternoon.... Thanks so much for linking up at Come Along Ponds!
Kelly @ Mum-bo-Jumbo
It never occurred to me to use Quinoa in a cake, what a great idea! Thanks for linking up at Mum-bo Monday