Amazing Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake with Whipped Chocolate Frosting
This chocolate cake is life-changing! Super moist and ultra-decadent, you’d never know it was gluten-free!
This cake has taken over my mind and soul since I spied it on Sally’s blog. Sally promised me it would be lifechanging. That it is super moist and absolutely rich and decadent.
The thing that intrigued me the very most about it, though, is that it is made with quinoa.
No flour! Just quinoa and a bunch of other basic cake ingredients. Quinoa? In a cake? No flour? Huh? Nothing against gluten-free cake recipes but usually they call for special flour mixes that I never have on hand and can’t access in my small town; I’ve never seen one with cooked quinoa as a base.
But since this cake was calling to me and I always have quinoa in my pantry, I decided to do an experiment. I made this lovely cake one Saturday afternoon when Brian was entertaining the kids.
None of them knew I was frolicking in the kitchen blending up quinoa and eggs for a cake of all things. Brian and the boys kept sneaking glances at the finished masterpiece (because, while rustic since I didn’t frost the sides, it was quite the impressive piece of chocolate decadence) begging for a taste.
Shockingly it stayed safe for an entire night, and Sunday afternoon, I pulled out the beauty, divvied up the slices and we all dug in.
The Secret Ingredient
After a few bites (of which I was completely overwhelmed with utter chocolate cake bliss), I said to the crew, “So I’ll give you a second piece if you can guess the secret ingredient.”
We play this game a lot so I wasn’t surprised to hear guesses like “coconut oil” and “spinach” and “black beans.”
With a smug smile (mostly smug because I was going to get to claim the second piece as my own) I told them the cake was made with quinoa, and seriously, Brian almost fell off his chair. I really should have had a video camera going as I’m sure I could have won a lot of money on AFV for his reaction.
How it Works
Instead of mixing up a traditional cake batter of wet ingredients + dry ingredients, in this recipe, cooked and cooled quinoa is blended up with the milk, eggs, vanilla and butter until it is ultra-smooth (I use my Vitamix). Cocoa powder, baking powder and soda, and salt are whisked in and the batter is ready to bake!
Quinoa replaces the flour to add structure to the cake…and I actually think the quinoa contributes to how crazy soft and moist the cake is. This gluten-free chocolate quinoa cake is definitely one of the most decadent, rich, moist cakes I’ve ever tasted!
FAQs for Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake with Whipped Chocolate Frosting
A lot of people in the comments have easily made this cake dairy free with substitutions – so read through the comment thread for details. One commenter, said: I made these into dairy free cupcakes by subbing 1/4 cup coconut oil and 1/2 cup earth balance margarine for the butter and did a chocolate coconut cream whipped frosting. Oh. My. Delicious!!!
Yes, it freezes great!
Yes, and it works beautifully! It made 24 and I baked them for about 15 minutes. They don’t have the pretty domed top like bakery cupcakes, but even though they are kind of flattish, they still taste incredible.
I always use white quinoa.
My only attempt at making this chocolate gluten-free cake into a yellow cake was a total disaster. However Nadja commented below: “I just tried to adapt the recipe so it would be a yellow cake version. I simply added the same amount of gluten-free flour instead of Cocoa-powder. It turned out beautifully!!! The only thing to note is that without the cocoa, you can taste the quinoa much stronger, so I will experiment with some more flavors to make it less dominant.”
One Year Ago: Skillet Cilantro and Lime Fish Tacos
Two Years Ago: Grilled Steak Burgers
Three Years Ago: Savory Spiral Stuffed Rolls
Decadent Chocolate Cake with Whipped Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 cups cooked and cooled quinoa (see note)
- ⅓ cup milk
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (170 g) salted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 ½ cups (318 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (85 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Frosting:
- 2 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 ¼ cups (213 g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- For the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two 8-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. Process just until combined. Add the cooked quinoa and the butter. Blend well until smooth.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the contents from the blender and mix with a wooden spoon or whisk until combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake on a rack in the middle position for 28-30 minutes or until a knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Invert the cakes onto cooling racks (remove the parchment paper stuck to the bottom of the cakes).
- For the frosting, 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 smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled and cold (2-3 hours). You can speed up this process by placing the bottom of the bowl in an ice water bath and stirring until cool. When fully chilled, use an electric mixer (stand mixer or handheld) to whip the mixture to soft peaks.
- Place one cake layer upside down on a serving platter or plate. Top with a generous portion (about half) of the whipped frosting, spreading to within 1/2-inch of the edge of the cake (it will press to the edge when the top cake layer is put on).
- Gently put the other cake layer upside down on top of the frosted layer. Spread the remaining frosting over the top of the cake. You could definitely frost the sides, too, but I like the more rustic look for this cake – frosting just the middle and top.
- Chill the frosted cake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving to let the frosting set up a bit.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: cake from Good Dinner Mom (love Sally!) and frosting adapted from Sips and Spoonfuls
I made this cake for my mother-in-law’s birthday, since she has to eat gluten free. Everything turned out well, and it tasted alright, but not amazing. I put the leftovers in my fridge, and when I pulled them out the next day, an incredible change had taken place. The cake tasted divine. So much so, that my friend (who was very skeptical about “quinoa cake” and said she would have just one bite to be polite) and I both ate huge pieces. We then sat staring at the remaining cake, wondering if we should throw all self control out the window and polish it off then and there. We did. Now I’m making it this weekend for her birthday 🙂 And you better believe that I’m baking, cooling, and frosting it the day before. Thanks for the life-changing chocolate cake recipe that even my gluten free friends can enjoy!
I agree. I like this cake on day 1, but I love it even more on day 2!
What a wonderful cake! So moist, did a slightly different frosting, especially young guests loved it!
I made this frosting once and it was perfect and wonderful. The second time however, I must not have waited long enough for it to chill, though it was more than 2 hours, because it separated and was a watery mess. So sad!
Wow, I’m gonna have to try this!
Mel, this is the best gluten free cake that has ever happened to me!!!! I’ve made it several times, and I’m a little ashamed to admit that I completely ruined the frosting every time. I used regular vanilla frosting in its place and it was great, but I really want to try the chocolate whipped cream! It keeps turning into a globby-watery mess. Any thoughts? Whipping too long? Not long enough? I feel like I should be able to handle this, but alas… Not so much. 🙂
Ugh, how frustrating! Let’s see, I bet we can troubleshoot this. What brand of chocolate are you using? Chocolate chips or baking chocolate bars? Are you letting it cool until absolutely, completely chilled? You might try refrigerating it overnight just to see if that makes a difference. It needs to be as cold as possible without being frozen. 🙂 It sounds as though you might be over whipping…but it’s hard to know. Does it every thicken at all?
I’m sorry I forgot to come back and thank you for your help! I tried it again, but refrigerated the cream over night, and watched it more carefully when I whipped it. It was amazing! I’ve now made it more times than I want to admit with perfect success. This is our new family favorite! When I sent it to my husband’s office for a pot luck last week the gluten free ladies asked if I would make it for their birthdays. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe! I love this blog.
Between the overnight chilling of the cream and the reports on how delicious the cake is on day 2, I better get going to make this ASAP so it can sit for a day before serving on Saturday!! My friend loves hosting a group of women for monthly gatherings, but her husband is severely celiac such that they don’t even like to have gluten brought into the house, so this will be perfect for the evening!
I love this cake! You don’t happen to know how to make a vanilla version of this cake, would you? Do you think I could do it without the cocoa powder and with a little more vanilla?
I don’t know, I”m afraid. I tried it a couple of times and it was kind of a disaster.
Okay I don’t know if you’ll see this since it’s an older recipe, but I’m scoping out options for my son’s birthday cake and wanted to make it ahead of time. I’m assuming this would freeze (without frosting) like normal cake? Any thoughts on freezing the cake part for a few days?
I haven’t tried freezing this particular cake but usually cake, overall, freezes quite well so I think it’s worth a try.
This cake was AMAZING! I, like many, was skeptical of the quinoa. But you can’t taste it at all! I made this for my family, and no one would have known the secret ingredient had I not told them. The cake was moist, rich, perfect consistency, and absolutely delicious! We will definitely be adding this to our recipe box to make time and time again! Thank you!!
I made one layer plus cupcakes today, adding candied ginger for our town’s big Fruitcake Festival tonight. The tiny cupcakes sunk badly in the center but the cake came out fine. I wonder why? BTW, the added ginger tastes really great!
can you substitute the following and then post a recipe for me:
ground dried sprouted quinoa or quinoa flakes
nut mylk
chia seeds/ or other whole food binding agent other than eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
coconut oil instead of butter
agave honey or dates as the sweetener
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
baking powder thats aluminium free
baking soda
celtic sea salt
Frosting:
coconut oil
dates
water
Wow! Amazing! I loved that this cake was gluten-free, made with quinoa, and so delicious. The cake turned out perfectly – the frosting would have too, if I hadn’t been multi-tasking while whipping it up. It whipped up a tad quicker than I thought, but even having a heavier whipped cream instead of a light and fluffy whipped cream did not diminish the yumminess of this cake. Can’t wait for another event to make it again!
Which do you quinoa do you for your recipe the red or the white? Will it make a difference? I’m making this for my daughter’s 23rd birthday tomorrow. She was diagnosed with Celiac Disease 2 years ago and Lupus 1 month ago. I haven’t baked in forever but when I saw this cake I thought I would give it a try and hopefully make her day! Wish me luck☺️
I meant which quInoa do you use?
I’ve only ever used white quinoa in this recipe and haven’t tried it with red. Good luck!
I have to say this cake brought her to tears! She said it was better than any gift we could have bought her! It was so moist and truly delicious…everyone was amazed that it was made out of quinoa!!! She said she could even eat it without the frosting. Thank you for sharing!!
Thanks for this recipe Mel, I have been making it for a year, and its a huge hit!!
Do you know how to modify it to be a vanilla cake instead of chocolate?
Thanks 🙂
I’ve tried a vanilla version and it was an epic fail so I don’t have any good advice. Sorry!
I made this cake for my son’s 8th birthday – he has wheat, soy, corn allergy. I followed the directions exactly, and the cake was very moist, didn’t fall apart (used the parchment paper on bottom) and unlike other posters, we didn’t have any nutty taste
The cake was a hit for kids and adults and the only consensus complaint was that frosting was to chocolatey for our families taste, so we all decided “next time” plain whipped cream.
Funny thing is I made too much quinoa, so I stored the cooked leftovers in exactly 2 cup glass containers. So I am ready for the next one! : )
I had printed this recipe off when you first posted it, and I just got around to making it yesterday. I have never used quinoa before, and I think that was my hang-up, but I was brave and made it, and it was sooooooo good! I even had a piece for breakfast because it said you could use quinoa as a breakfast cereal 🙂 Thanks Mel! So yum!
This looks so good, and it’s my husband’s birthday tomorrow. We’re not gluten-free, but I’m still interested! And P.S. I can’t stop laughing at the note to make sure you cook the quinoa in water and not broth! That would be a tragic mistake. Mmmm, chocolate chicken cake.
Hi,
Totally random question: has anyone tried making this icing topping with white chocolate? For Father’s Day my son wants to make chocolate cupcakes with blue icing, so I figure trying to colour chocolate icing blue won’t look too pretty? Thoughts?
Thanks so much!!
I made these into dairy free cupcakes by subbing 1/4 cup coconut oil and 1/2 cup earth balance margarine for the butter and did a chocolate coconut cream whipped frosting. Oh. My. Delicious!!! Thank you, Mel!!
I’ve been gluten free for 3 years and I’m more intolerant to rice than gluten, so most gluten free recipes call for rice flour leaves me out. A dear friend made this cake for me and I had cake for the first time in years. Yum yum! Try substituting almond extract for vanilla and top with almond slivers. Divine!
I have been cooking things from your site for some time now. Only once did I not have an amazing success – and I altered the recipe, so it doesn’t count. THIS CAKE TURNED OUT PERFECTLY. It looks like your PHOTO even. Seriously. I followed the directions exactly and despite the comments about failures, it was perfect. I have been wheat free for six weeks and I miss baking cake and cookies. Rice flour is fine for cookies, but not for cake, in my experience. This cake is glorious. I didn’t want to do the melting of the chips so I threw a tablespoon of instant coffee and a 1/4 cup of sugar into a half cup of whipping cream and popped it in the freezer in the metal mixer bowl and forgot about it, so it froze at the edges, BUT it whipped perfectly with the cream I added to the iced bowl and it is a glorious whipped cream frosting. Thank you thank you for this recipe. I was going to take it to work tomorrow, but not going to do that. We will eat it all, thank you very much. .
Thanks, Jennifer – so, so happy this cake worked out so well for you!
I have made this a few times now and it’s awesome! This might be a silly question (since there is no reason to have leftovers) but how do you recommend I store this? I made them into cupcakes and I know I can freeze them, but what else? Should I refrigerate them covered? Or just leave out at room temp? Any ideas would be helpful!
I usually refrigerate well-covered if they will be uneaten for a day or so. Just for a few hours or up to a day, I store covered at room temperature.
I do have a question. After baking, I could kinda feel the texture in some bites of the quinoa. Does anyone have that problem? It’s possible I didn’t cook it completely? It was an amazing cake no matter what!!
I think that might happen if the quinoa isn’t cooked soft enough or blended fully.
I made this for Mother’s Day and it was a hit! So moist and perfectly rich. I followed the recipe to a T. I did add fresh strawberries to the top which added a fresh element to balance the richness of the cake. So amazingly good!!! Read the recipe closely before starting. You need to give some ingredients time to cool. Will definitely be saving this recipe!
This was absolutely amazing! I made this last weekend for my daughter’s 5th birthday party because we had a child with a wheat allergy here and I did not want to exclude him. I was simply amazed. It was delicious, and what’s more, the children and the adults gobbled it down. My daughter doesn’t usually like cake, and she had 2 pieces of this one! I made mine with vanilla whipped cream for the frosting and used a blend of Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa and regular cocoa (It’s what I had), and it tasted like an Oreo. WOW!
OMG!!!! I was stressing so much — planning and cooking for a small birthday party in a new house — and I needed cake. Chocolate cake was requested. I planned on a quinoa cake, and stumbled on this one. Instead of frosting the cake, I just sifted some powdered sugar on top and served a bit of whipped cream on the side. Rave reviews both before and after revealing the ‘secret’ ingredient! Thank you SO much for posting this!
I have been lucky enough to have two different friends make this for my bday the last two years. It is a freaking amazing cake – somewhat labor intensive, but worth it. Also, I am totally making the icing by itself and eating it like mousse in the near future.
I will try it….when do you put quoina in blender? B4 it is cooked or after??
After it is cooked.
I love using odd ingredients in my baking and getting people to guess what it is!!
This cake sounds wonderful!
We’ve made this cake a few times and love it! My almost 9 year old just requested it for his birthday. I’d love to make it ahead – has anyone had success freezing it without the frosting? Thanks!
I have made these many times as muffins with mini chocolate chips. It makes about 2 doz. muffins and I freeze half with no problem.
Thanks, Laurie, and what a great idea!
Did the cake yesterday, but adapted the filling (banana cream with some slided bananas on one layer and some berries on the top layer, it was divine).
thanks so much! this is my new favorite gf-cake i am going to use for all sorts of cakerecipes i have 🙂
now, i am thinking, did anyone ever try a “yellow” cake version of this? the cacaopowder adds to the texture, so i am thinking of using either starch or simply glutenfree flour of some sort to get the same result.
suggestions? experience? thanks!
I tried a yellow version that was a disaster (using more quinoa) so unfortunately I’m no help!
i’ll give it a try and let you know 🙂
i think as the quinoa is too wet, it has to be something different, as similar to cacao powder as possible. thinking of starch or gf-flour or something the like.
i’ll try 🙂
hey! i just tried to adapt the recipe so it would be a yellow cake version. I simply added the same amount of glutenfree flour instead of Cocoa-powder.
it turned out beautifully!!!
the only thing to note is that without the cocoa, you can taste the quinoa much stronger, so i will experiment with some more flavors to make it less dominant, i added a lot of vanilla in this first try today. i don’t actually mind the taste of quinoa at all, but you can tell that something is different to a “normal” cake, where as in the chocolate version, you think it’s just a normal, delicious cake 🙂
i usually add berries now, directly into the dough before baking, in either chocolate or vanilla version (and then you also don’t have the quinoa-flavor-problem).
and i made a marble version, sooo pretty
i’ll let you know in case i perfect the “yellow version” even more 🙂
Thanks again for this, it saves my baking-life!!
We were feeding the sister missionaries from church and one of them needs gluten free. This was my first experience with gluten free baking and quinoa (I know, where have I been?). This cake turned out wonderful. I’m so glad I found this recipe! I followed it exactly! Thanks Mel!
just made cupcakes and simply the best chocolate cake ever. Even my DH that does not like anything just when you mention its gluten free said it was delicious. Thank you!!!
I made this for a party at my kids school a few weeks ago since there are several gluten free teachers… Rock Star Status achieved!!! It was a huge success. They all loved it and the last time I went to the school to volunteer there were several teachers that came out of their classrooms to find me and thank me for the cake. I have even had some of their friends, people that I don’t even know that heard about this “amazing cake” email me asking for the recipe. Don’t worry, I refer them all to your blog!
I have made this cake at least 5-8 times. It is absolutely the best ever. My first attempt was for a Christmas dinner with a gluten free crowd. I made 3 layers 8″ and “Organics” chocolate frosting. (Most all other ingredients were organic too). It was the bomb. No one could believe it was gluten free. I have since made it with the suggested frosting, plain whipping cream and no frosting. The cake is moist and firm. I have to adjust for altitude since where I live any chocolate cake explodes in my oven. For this cake I reduce the soda and baking powder by half and add an extra egg. I do not like it in a 9×13. It comes out different. Not as moist. Really love 3 layers with frosting or whipped cream the best. I also use Sunrise dark chocolate cocoa powder made by Ghirardelli. That puts it over the top!
LOVE THIS! THANK YOU!!!
Thanks for giving your feedback on this recipe, Cherylee! So happy you are loving it!
I absolutely love this cake!! The moist chocolate flavor is so delightful, and you can’t even tell it’s made with quinoa. My kids and my husband absolutely could not get enough of it. I have a request from all of them to make it again soon. I did change a few things though. I cut down the sugar to 1 1/4 cup and I also used 1/2 butter and 1/4 cup avocado oil and it turned out great! I also didn’t make the frosting and just used a chocolate gnache, and it was still tasted yummy. I will have to try the frosting recipe next time.
over the summer i made this cake for a friend’s birthday (she’s Gluten free). she loved it so much she has asked me to make it for a baby shower she is throwing. The mom to be is also gluten free however she has gestational diabetes as well. i’m trying to research this to see if there is anything in the cake recipe i should not use/substitute for something else. would anyone have any suggestions/thoughts? any information is greatly appreciated. thank you!
This is one of the best cakes I’ve ever made! I have made it several times now for social gatherings (both in cake, and cupcake form), and it never fails to receive rave reviews from everyone. And when everyone asks for the recipe, they are shocked to hear the secret ingredient! So much fun to see their face expressions! 😉
Only changes I made: subbed coconut palm sugar, and added 3/4 dark chocolate chips. The chocolate chips add great texture.
Today is my son’s birthday. When I asked him what kind of cake he’d like me to make, he said he didn’t care as long as it’s chocolate. So, since my daughter is gluten sensitive, I decided to give this cake a try. The first cake we baked fell horribly in the middle. This might have happened for a number of reasons. 1. I realized after making it that my baking powder was expired. 2. I processed the quinoa prior to mixing with the other ingredients. 3. My daughter took the cakes out of the oven thinking they were done. I think they should have gone a little longer. I had enough quinoa left over, so decided to just go ahead and try it again right away. When mixing the wet ingredients in my food processor, I turned away for a moment and when I turned back it had gone from a nice cake batter consistency to a thick, congealed, curdled looking mess! I went ahead anyway and mixed it with the dry ingredients (adding a little more milk to get it to the right consistency) and baked it. It turned out great! I’m so happy to have a cake recipe that we can all enjoy together. I used to make a regular cake for the gluten tolerant and a different dessert that was gluten free for my daughter. Thanks for the great recipe.
I made this cake last night after searching for a gluten free recipe that had great reviews. I am so happy I stumbled across this! Quinoa and other gluten free products are now making their to us in Trinidad and Tobago in a wider variety and I was and still am excited about being able to use it for a cake! I’ve been allergic to gluten from birth and I have a small baking business. Someone ordered gluten free cakes and this was the perfect to try for both them and me! I followed the directions provided and my batter was airy and almost the consistency of mousse rather than runny like I read in some comments. I baked mini cupcakes at 325F in a non stick pan for 20 minutes and regular cupcakes at the same temperature and pan for 30 minutes. They came out perfect slightly sunken in the middles which was a plus for me since I topped half of them with a puddle of chocolate ganache and chocolate shavings and the other half I topped with my own buttercream frosting. They are incredibly moist and not too sweet but sweet enough to eat unfrosted and still be delectable. Will definitely make these again very very soon! 🙂 Thank you Mel!
I just made the chocolate cake and am very disappointed. The cake only rose 1/2 inch. Not suitable. I haven’t tasted it yet. But I have to move on to another kind of cake before tonight. Ugh. I followed the recipe to the T.
Holly, I used coconut oil as a sub for butter and I used a 1:1 sub ratio. The cake turned out phenomenally! I also subbed organic raw coconut palm sugar for the sugar and organic coconut milk for the milk since my friend’s diet is both gluten & dairy-free. She and everyone else who tried the cake LOVED it and raved about it for days! Her husband, who never eats sweets and follows a Paleo diet, also loved the cake and she said she had to fight him for the last piece. Hope it works out for you! Enjoy 🙂
Maria
wow thank you maria and mel for your responses. made the cake last night. i am SO GLAD the batter makes 2 cakes because the first cake turned out horribly (i only have 1 8″ pan). not sure what i did but even after being in the oven for 45 minutes it still was not done. i think the melted chocolate chips had something to do with it. instead of giving up and throwing out the rest of the batter i put it in the fridge. woke early this morning, decided to try again with the batter from the fridge. I did add a 1/4 cup of cocoa powder (all i had in the house) before putting the batter in the oven. maybe the cold batter was the trick when using both the coconut oil AND melted chocolate chips because the second cake came out beautifully! brought it to work so my coworkers could be my guinea pigs and THEY LOVE IT! it’s 9:30 AM EST and half the cake is gone. can’t wait to make this for saturday’s birthday party.
this evening i plan to make this cake however before i do i was wondering instead of cocoa powder can i substitute melted chocolate chips and also if i was going to substitute coconut oil for the butter is the measurement the same (3/4 cup melted)?
Holly – Others have responded in the comments about using coconut oil…I haven’t but I think they are subbing one for one. You will have to experiment with the cocoa sub as I haven’t tried that and don’t know if/how it will work. Good luck!
Holly, I used coconut oil as a sub for butter and I used a 1:1 sub ratio. The cake turned out phenomenally! I also subbed organic raw coconut palm sugar for the sugar and organic coconut milk for the milk since my friend’s diet is both gluten & dairy-free. She and everyone else who tried the cake LOVED it and raved about it for days! Her husband, who never eats sweets and follows a Paleo diet, also loved the cake and she said she had to fight him for the last piece. Hope it works out for you! Enjoy 🙂
this is the best gluten free cake I have EVER had. it was really moist. and the frosting was great thanks so much for the great recipe
God Bless
Sheralyn
It sucked!!! Was nasty and dry!! Never making again!!!!
Hello Mel,
I made this cake and it turned out fantastic! my kids even knew it was GF and had still ate it like it was the real deal! I am the GF person of the house and I have to force the kids to try my things.. but not this one!! not a piece left by morning!
I will say though, I did make it as a 9×13 one layer… DON’T do this! it took forever to bake and it was still very wet.. next time I make it I will do two layers! also I did not have everything to make the frosting, so I cheated and used a GF whipped frosting I had on hand..
I am eager to try this cake but I do not have a food processor or blender…..Has anyone tried using a hand mixer….would that work instead?
Susan – Unfortunately a hand mixer won’t be able to do what a blender or food processor can – and that’s to really process the quinoa to a finer consistency. Maybe you could borrow a blender from a friend or neighbor to ensure it will turn out as wonderfully as possible!
I borrowed a food processor and will be making the cake in a couple days…hope it turns out as delicious as it sounds!
Holy smoke-a-roney! What a fantastic cake! Made a dairy free version using almond milk, and coconut oil instead of butter. For icing I used melted chocolate and coconut oil. And between layers I used the icing plus some dairy free cream and mandarin slices. I rarely bake and as we don’t have an oven at the moment, I used our little stove top cooker and a 7 inch pan. And it still turned out great. Moist (even after 5 days), delicious. One of the yummiest cakes, whether you’re gluten free or not. And so easy. Thank you!! Really. The next time I need to “take a plate” I’ll be taking this!
Just had the cake at our Easter Celebration.. and OMG!! Amazing. Looked just like your photos! Tastes fantastic. Never would have guessed it was cooked quinoa. Absolutely amazing.. Thanks to you and Sally for this one!
I wish I had had the amazing experience with this recipe that so many others seemed to have had! I read lots of the comments before making this, but maybe I didn’t read all the right ones before trying it last night? I usually bake by weight, and a resource I found said 4oz of unsweetened cocoa per cup, and it may have been right, but I couldn’t quite tell since the burnt taste kind of overpowered everything haha
My cake was extremely oily/greasy for some reason, and everyone I asked agreed that “clean” means no grease on the knife–especially since I’ve pulled other GF baked items out at that point and they were undercooked–so I let it bake a little longer. I started to get suspicioius after a while, but by that point the cake was way overcooked. (And still extremely greasy, so I guess that’s on purpose to make it moist?)
Sadly, the frosting didn’t work either. Right after it started to thicken the mixture separated suddenly and turned into chocolate butter instead of chocolate whipped cream. So, I’m not nearly as excited about quinoa cake as I was before (and the kids wouldn’t touch it and they love both quinoa and cake), but I think it has potential, so maybe I’ll try it again some other time in the distant future.
I did cut the sugar to one cup, so that could also be a reason for the DRYNESS****** <— I meant dryness