We recently entertained friends, one of whom benefits greatly from gluten-free food. As in, he feels like death after eating foods laden with gluten. So we decided to try some gluten-free baking for the first time.
I have taken issue with gluten-free desserts in the past, because they a) have strange textures that I’m not fond of, and b) usually taste like an old gonch. So I approached all the recipes we considered with extreme wariness and an overwhelming sense of skepticism. Maybe that’s because I’m German too. Who knows?
This one, however, is a winner. Frankly, I believe it will become the standard for chocolate cake in our home, and we don’t even require gluten-free baking.
Quinoa Chocolate Cake
2/3 cup of quinoa – bulk, organic, whatever – we’d recommend white, packaged and organic, but any quinoa will work
1-1/3 cup water
Rinse and boil for at least 10 minutes – leave in saucepan covered to cool, fluff with fork. If the package instructions ask for a longer cooking time, follow those instructions. Pending on the texture you’re wanting, you can adjust this to your preference.
1/3 cup milk
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup melted and then cooled butter
Combine these ingredients with the quinoa and then blend the whole business until it’s smooth
1-1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cacao
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Add these goodies to the blended mixture and blend everything well.
Bake it in a pan (9×13 works best) at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes and you’re good to go.
We serve it with fresh vanilla whipping cream, dusted with cacao and a mint sprig for color. Because that’s the kind of person my wife is.
But let’s be honest here – it’s chocolate cake – you can do anything you want with it. And by anything, I mean eat it with ice cream. Lots and lots of ice cream. Also, in terms of serving suggestions, I’d heap about 4 pieces on top of each other for starters. Why anyone would bother with just one piece of chocolate cake this good is beyond my comprehension.
It’s that simple. I can say, with all honesty, that the person we made this for had three pieces of the cake in one sitting, and it has received rave reviews since then as well.
If you have to ask, our kids loved it.
I’d love to see your feedback once you’ve tried it.
Hope you enjoy it, and feel free to share it!
About Wildsau
I would have had more but I didn’t want to look like a pig…
Mmmmm this sounds delicious!!! Thanks for posting it. It seems easy to bake too, which I’m a fan of. I’ll let you know how it tastes once I’ve made it.
I enjoy the recipes… please keep them coming
Looks like a great recipe, was glad to be able to pass it on to a severely gluten sensitive friend.
I use Orgran Self Raising Flour to bake my cakes with and it responds almost the same as wheat flour. My cakes and cookies are always a hit at gatherings so I’m guessing its good! I have just recently discovered quinoa and am excited I have added another food to my list of ‘can have’! I am going to try this quinoa cake recipe for sure and see how it turns out. I like it because its nutritious and a treat at the same time
My MIL found this recipe pinned to her nursing board and sent it to me. It’s FANTASTIC!!! I of course lost it and had to google to get to your page….so thanks for sharing it! Going to make it for all of my friends and my son’s school bake sale!
OMG… This cake is definitely the food of the gods… It was easy to make (I’ve made it twice now, baking a new cake right now) and uber delicious. This is coming from someone who has no baking expertise whatsoever… The cake is moist, yummy and full of chocolatey goodness. I’m not a fan of chocolate cakes, but this I have to say is heaven on earth…Thank you so very much for the recipe… Now back to baking my THIRD quinoa chocolate cake…
Thank you for this recipe. It is honestly one of the best cakes I’ve had. Never mind that it is GF which is critical for my family.
My sons best friend has to have gluten free. We made this for a birthday party. I’m talking 7 10 year old boys. They had no idea what was in it and ate it right up! No complaints and his buddy got to eat his cake to! Thanks for the recipe!
Very yum. I think I should have let it bake for 5 or so minutes longer, but you wouldn’t know it by the very empty crumb-licked-out cake pan sitting here- cearly enjoyed by the gluten-free and non gluten-free eaters here. And very pretty presentation.
Best cake ever. My fiancée and I are recent gluten-free eaters and made this for Easter dinner. Wow! This cake will now be a staple for us too. It’s dense but light at the same time and the texture is really wonderful. Thanks for sharing it.