Rich Chocolate Quinoa Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

by August 25, 2017

Rich, velvety gluten-free chocolate cake made with cooked red or white quinoa, topped with a sweet, thick frosting. Can be made vegan, too!

Eating Style:

Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Nut-free, Refined Sugar-free, Soy-free, Vegetarian

Prep Time:

Serves:

12

Ingredients

Frosting
  • 3/4 cup coconut butter
  • 1 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight – see note
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoon honey
  • 2 tablespoon vanilla
  • 3/4 cup coconut flour, sifted
  • 3/4 cup arrowroot
Cake
  • 2/3 cup red quinoa, uncooked
  • 1 2/3 cup water
  • 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1 cup coconut sugar
  • 1 cup cacao powder or cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

  1. To make the frosting:
  2. Mix all ingredients with a hand mixer or food processor.
  3. note: I used 2 cans of organic coconut milk, chilled overnight. Pierced a hole in the bottom of each can and drained out the coconut water. Allowed the coconut cream to soften on the counter for an hour before I began the recipe.
  4. note2: recipe could be made vegan if agave nectar is used instead of unpasteurized honey.
  5. note3: if the frosting is too soft to spread on the cake, place in the fridge for 20 minutes and retry.
  6. To make the cake:
  7. In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa and water. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 10 minutes.
  8. Remove from heat [keep covered!] and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Once complete, fluff with fork and set aside.
  9. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F
  10. Lightly grease two 9 inch round pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper [believe me, it’s worth the effort. Just DO it!]. Set aside.
  11. Combine milk, eggs, and vanilla in blender. Blend until smooth.
  12. Add 2 1/4 cup of the cooked quinoa, and the coconut oil. Blend until smooth [may be challenging to do, just blend it as best you can]
  13. In a large bowl, whisk together coconut sugar, cacao powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the contents of the blender to the bowl and mix well with a hand mixer.
  14. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake on the middle rack of your oven for 40-50 minutes [my cake was perfectly cooked at 48 minutes]. You can test to determine if the cake is done by inserting a toothpick in the middle.
  15. Allow cakes to cool for a couple of hours before removing from the pans and topping with icing.

Nutrition Information Per Serving

Calories:

542

Calories from Fat:

307.8

Total Fat:

34.2 g

Saturated Fat:

28.4 g

Cholesterol:

55 mg

Sodium:

214 mg

Carbs:

59.8 g

Dietary Fiber:

8.6 g

Net Carbs:

51.2 g

Sugars:

38.2 g

Protein:

7.5 g

Hi! I'm Leanne (RHN FBCS)

a Functional Medicine Practitioner, host of the Healthful Pursuit Podcast, and best-selling author of The Keto Diet & Keto for Women. I want to live in a world where every woman has access to knowledge to better her health.

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