Chocolate quinoa cake- original recipe

 

Ingredients 

• ▢Cake Ingredients:
• ▢2 cups cooked quinoa loosely packed
• ▢1/3 cup milk
• ▢4 eggs
• ▢1 teaspoon vanilla
• ▢3/4 cup butter melted and slightly cooled
• ▢1 1/2 cups white sugar
• ▢1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ▢1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢Frosting Ingredients:
• ▢2 cups heavy whipping cream
• ▢1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two round cake pans (or a 9x13 pan) and then line the bottoms of the pans with parchment. (Do not skip the parchment if you want to be able to flip the cake out of the pan.)

Combine the milk, eggs and vanilla in the blender or food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the cooked quinoa and the butter and puree until completely smooth. Stop the machine as needed to scrape the sides and make sure everything is well mixed. This will be a thick and creamy consistency once the quinoa is pureed. (You should not see any little beads of quinoa in the pureed mixture.) Whisk together the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and add the contents from the blender. Stir until well combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans and bake on a center oven rack for 28-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool 10 minutes before inverting them onto a wire cooling rack. Peel off the parchment and let the cakes cool completely before frosting.

Place the chocolate chips in a medium size glass bowl. Heat the cream in a medium saucepan until is gently simmers. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes or so and then whisk to combine until it is smooth and glossy. Refrigerate and let cool completely. (2-3 hours in the refrigerator or about an hour in the freezer.) When fully chilled. use a mixer to whip the chocolate cream into soft peaks.

Place one cake layer upside down on a plate. Scoop half the frosting onto that layer and gently spread it across almost to the edge. Place the other layer on top of the frosting and top with the remaining frosting. You can frost the sides if you like, I chose to leave mine simple. Chill 2-3 hours before serving to allow the frosting to set. Enjoy!

Chocolate quinoa cake

 

Best-Ever Chocolate Quinoa Cake

Best-Ever Chocolate Quinoa Cake- super moist with the most incredible texture, this decadent chocolate cake is made easy in a blender. No one would ever guess it's made from cooked quinoa. It's seriously the best! (gluten-free and dairy-free)

Ingredients

For the Quinoa Cake

• 2 cups cooked quinoa see notes
• ⅓ cup almond milk or milk of choice
• 4 pasture-raised eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup melted and cooled vegan butter Miyokos is my favorite
• ¼ cup melted and cooled coconut oil
• 1 cup coconut sugar or cane sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

For the Whipped Chocolate Coconut Cream Frosting

• 1 13.5-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
• 1 10-ounce bag dark chocolate chips

Instructions

Prepare the Frosting

• I recommend preparing the frosting the day before to assure it has enough time to firm up properly. In a saucepan, add the entire bag of dark chocolate chips and the full can of coconut milk. *If using dairy chocolate chips please see notes in the body of the post.* Warm the saucepan over medium-low heat, until the coconut milk and chocolate melt together. Be careful not to cook at too high of heat or your chocolate will burn! Whisk until smooth and transfer to a large bowl. Allow to cool to room temperature on the counter then cover and refrigerate until firm, usually at least 6-hours, ideally overnight.
• Once it is firm, remove from the refrigerator and beat on high for thirty seconds to one minute, until a fluffy icing has formed. You can taste test to see if you would like to add a little vanilla extract or pure maple syrup for flavor. Be careful not to add too much or it will make the frosting runny.

Prepare the Quinoa Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and then line two round cake pans (I used 6-inch but 8-inch pans will also work) with parchment paper. You can also make a single layer cake in a 9x13-inch pan.
• In a large bowl, sift together the cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. 
• In a blender, combine the cooked (and cooled) quinoa, eggs, almond milk (or preferred milk), vanilla extract, melted and cooled butter and melted and cooled coconut oil. Blend on high until smooth, scraping down the sides and blending again, if necessary.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry and fold together until well-combined. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and set aside to cool.
• Carefully transfer the cakes to a surface for icing with the bottom side up. Depending on the type of blender and cake pan size you use, I recommend that you only transfer the cakes once as they can be fragile and difficult to hold together. If you made a 9x13-inch cake, I recommend frosting and serving it from the pan.
• Frost the cake and refrigerate until ready to serve. The icing will melt in really warm conditions but should be fine for a few hours in cooler settings. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Notes

Approximately 3/4 cup dry quinoa will yield 2 cups cooked quinoa. I like to soak it overnight, rinse and then cook it in 1.5 cup water by bringing the water to a boil, adding the quinoa and then reducing to a simmer. Cook for 10-12 minutes, or until most of the water is absorbed. Remove from heat and cover with a lid to allow the quinoa to steam a little longer. The quinoa should be soft and fluffy when cooked. You don't want any hard/crunchy pieces in your batter!Nutrition Facts are for 1/12th of the recipe (or 1 slice, if you slice the cake into 12 pieces). Exact numbers will vary depending on the brands you use. This cake is meant to be enjoyed as a decadent dessert that offers more nutrients than a standard white flour cake (think protein, iron, potassium, etc.). It was not developed as a recipe for weight loss. Quinoa cake adapted from the cookbook Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming

Scalloped Potatoes

3 tablespoons butter

1 small white or yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup chicken stock or vegetable stock

2 cups milk (I recommend 2% or whole milk)

1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt

4 pounds Potatoes, sliced into 1/8-inch rounds

2 cups freshly-grated cheddar cheese*, divided (feel free to add more cheese if you’d like)

1/2 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.

Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté for 4-5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add garlic and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Stir in the flour until it is evenly combined, and cook for 1 more minute. Gradually pour in the stock, and whisk until combined. Add in the milk, salt and whisk until combined. Continue cooking for an additional 1-2 minutes until the sauce just barely begins to simmer around the edges of the pan (avoid letting it come to a boil) and thickens. Then remove from heat and set aside.

Spread half of the sliced potatoes in an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Top evenly with half of the cream sauce. (I usually strain out all of the onions and add them here too.) Then sprinkle evenly with 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese, and all of the Parmesan cheese. Top evenly with the remaining sliced potatoes, the other half of the 

cream sauce, and the remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. The sauce should be nice and bubbly around the edges. Then remove the foil and bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through.

Transfer the pan to a cooling rack, and sprinkle with extra Parmesan. Serve warm.