Quinoa Chocolate Cake

I have died and gone to cake heaven! At first I had fears that putting quinoa in the title would suggest that it was a weird-tasting cake imitation. But let me assure you, this is chocolate cake in its finest. Now, I am happy to include the word in the title - if this recipe can so easily pull of a healthier version of the classic then why not celebrate its fantastic ability to do so!!  This recipe comes from one of our favourite Quinoa cookbooks, Quinoa: The Everyday Superfood 365. 

The cake by itself is delicious enough. I am going to experiment with some garnishing and icing options but for now I am happy just to savour the cake on its own.

INGREDIENTS

2/3 cup white or golden quinoa
1 1/3 cups water
1/3 cup milk
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla abstract
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white or cane sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Together in a small saucepan, Bring the quinoa and water to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the saucepan sit on the burner for another 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow the quinoa to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease two 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms of the pan with parchment paper.

Place the butter in a microwave safe dish. Microwave just until melted. Let cool for a few minutes so as to let the butter cool slightly. In the meantime, combine the milk, eggs, and vanilla in a blender. Add 2 cups of the cooked quinoa and butter. Mix until smooth.

Add sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Add blender contents to the sugar mix. Mix well. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Bake on the centre rack for 40 to 45 minutes or until a knife, inserted into the middle, comes out clean. Let cool completely. Frost if desired.

Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for up to one month.

I had a difficult time understanding the recipe's instruction on the butter. It said to add 3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled. I was impatient and didn't want to wait for the butter to cool from melted so at first I added butter that was quite soft to the blender. Joey however was concerned the butter would go chunky this way. So I put the butter back in the microwave, melted it thoroughly and put it in the fridge for a bit to cool. In the end I figured the most important part of all of this is not to add piping hot butter so as to potentially begin cooking the egg. If its soft enough to blend and cool enough not to cook the egg, you are good. 

This recipe earns one whisk - I did not use my stand mixer for any part of this recipe.