Gluten free cake without any fancy flour blends - just basic cake ingredients mixed with 2 cups of cooked quinoa for a fudgy, decadent chocolate cake!
Ingredients
2 cups cooked and cooled quinoa (just under ¾ cup uncooked - rinse before cooking, and cook with an extra ¼ cup water - see post for details)
⅓ cup milk
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¾ cup butter, melted and cooled
1½ cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
MOUSSE FILLING:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
FROSTING:
⅓ cup butter or margarine
¼ cup cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups icing sugar
3 tbsp buttermilk (or regular milk or cream)
Instructions
For the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper.
Combine the milk, eggs and vanilla in a blender or food processor. Pulse just until combined. Add the cooked quinoa and the butter. Blend well until COMPLETELY smooth.
While that blends, in a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the smooth quinoa mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined.
Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake on a rack in the middle position for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and cool for 10 minutes - they will be quite flat. Invert the cakes onto cooling racks (remove the parchment paper stuck to the bottom of the cakes).
While the cake bakes, prepare the mousse filling. Place the chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Heat the whipping cream in a saucepan until it gently simmers. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and let the mixture sit for five minutes. Whisk to combine until it is glossy and very smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled (2-3 hours). When fully chilled, use an electric mixer to whip the mixture to soft peaks.
Place one cake layer upside down on a serving platter or plate. Top with the whipped mousse, spreading to within ½-inch of the edge of the cake (it will press to the edge when the top layer is put on).
Gently put the other cake layer on top of the frosted layer.
Make the frosting: Melt butter in large microwaveable bowl. Stir in cocoa and vanilla. Alternately blend in icing sugar and buttermilk until smooth, adding more milk if necessary to achieve desired consistency. Spread the frosting over the top of the cake.
Chill the frosted cake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving to let the frosting set up a bit. Store any leftovers in the fridge.
Notes
For CUPCAKES: Line 22 muffin cups with paper liners. Fill the remaining 2 spots half full with water to ensure even baking. Bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool before frosting.
Recipe by Hidden Ponies at https://hiddenponies.com/2013/11/saturday-sweets-perfect-gluten-free-chocolate-cake/