Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
Prepare to be amazed by this healthier version of decadent chocolate cake with a surprise ingredient that makes all the difference!
Baking with Quinoa
This Gluten Free Chocolate Cake challenges a lot of what we think we know about cake. There’s no regular flour whatsoever in this but it does have an unusual ingredient…quinoa! I’m sure you’ve had quinoa in a salad or a side dish, but I’m guessing you’ve never considered it as a dessert ingredient. Here it takes the place of flour and gives this cake a moist, fluffy texture. Who knew?
Some recipes might call for quinoa flour. In this recipe, you will actually used whole cooked quinoa and blend it with your other ingredients. Quinoa is known for its high nutrient content – protein, fiber, and b-vitamins. What it is less known for is its ability to create and amazing texture in baked goods.
Whipped Frosting
I frosted this cake with a whipped cream frosting, but you can use any frosting recipe you like. You can even whip coconut cream just like you would dairy cream, to make a vegan version. Whipped cream frosting is much lighter than a regular buttercream and requires a lot less added sugar as well! I think it is the perfect complement to this chocolate cake.
You can lighten this dessert even further by leaving off the frosting altogether and just giving the cake a dusting of powdered sugar, or topping it with seasonal fruit like fresh berries. Either way this recipe is a keeper! I predict you’ll be amazing friends, family, and guests for many years to come with this one!
This cake was a hit with all my taste testers, everybody gobbled it up and they had no idea there was anything unusual in the ingredient list until I told them. I recommend giving this one a try, even if you’re skeptical. I’ve made it several times and it always turns out wonderfully.
More Gluten Free Desserts
- Homemade Banana Pudding
- Thick and Creamy Chocolate Mousse
- No-Bake Carrot Cake Bites
- Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes
Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cup Quinoa, cooked
- 1/3 cup milk
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup butter, unsalted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Whipped Frosting
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 2 tablespoon powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray and line a 9-inch nonstick cake pan with a round of parchment paper at the bottom.
- Put the quinoa, milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse to combine and then process until smooth, this will only take about 30 seconds or so.
- Add the sugar, 1/2 cup of the cocoa powder, baking powder, soda, and salt to the bowl and pulse to combine well.
- Turn into the prepared pan and bake for about 40-42 minutes until a toothpick comes out without wet batter sticking to it. Remember that if your pan has different dimensions, your cooking time will vary.
- Let the cake cool on a rack for about 15 minutes before turning out of the pan. Be careful when you flip the cake over as it will be delicate. I like to place a plate over the pan and then gently flip both over together.
- When the cake is completely cool, frost.
- To make the frosting whip the cream until it is starting to thicken, then add the sifted confectioner’s (powdered) sugar and remaining 2 Tbsp of the cocoa powder. Continue beating until thick and spreadable. Don’t over beat!
Nutrition
www.superhealthykids.com
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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We love quinoa and it’s such a great grain (we are also gluten-free so it’s perfect for us). Would never think of putting it in a cake but it’s such a brilliant idea! This looks so decadent too.
Glad I could inspire you!
Who comes up with wonderful ideas like this. It looks amazing and no, I would have never guessed there was NO flour and quinoa in it!
I know, really — I’ll never look at chocolate cake the same way again!
I can’t wait to try this! What a great way to get my kids to eat quinoa! LOVE it!
Thanks Holly! I’m pretty confident your kids will love this 🙂
Would it work as cupcakes?
You could do it, Jen, I’ve done another one of my favorite flourless cakes as cupcakes, but they do stick to the papers a bit, and they have a moister, more delicate texture than regular cupcakes, so as long as you’re aware of that, you can definitely cook this cake that way.
How much uncooked quinoa would the 2 cups cooked quinoa needed for the recipe?
It depends, Donna, on a few factors, but I think you’d be safe cooking up 3/4 of a cup of raw quinoa.
What is the baking temperature? Thanks!
Sorry Rox, that was an accidental omission, I’m fixing it now…350F
What temperature should this be baked at? 350?
350F Krista, adding that now 🙂
Do you think I can use regular milk instead of almond milk?
Yes, any type of milk will work, even coconut milk.
We can’t do nuts in my family….would this work with cows milk instead of almond?
Yes Joelle, you can use any type of milk you like, regular, coconut, or soy.
Is there any way I cam substitute the sugar with another sweetener- or perhaps use less? 1 cup is a lot…
You can definitely experiment with using less sugar, or use another type of sweetener. I think coconut sugar would be a possibility.
Would it be possible to substitute the butter in the cake for a vegan butter like earth balance? A friend of mine had to give up dairy and gluten and this would be perfect for her, but for the butter.
I’m not familiar with vegan butter, Jessica, but I’m guessing it would work fine. I think coconut oil might also work.
Can I use a vitamix to blend the quinoa, milk, eggs, etc in the first step or would it blend it too much? I do not have a food processor.
You can use the vitamix Jessi, that would work fine.
I will try this recipe for my son’s birthday! We just love quinoa and I usually put it in cookies. I suggest you to soak quinoa before boiling it.
Can you share a cookie recipie with quinoa? What’s a great idea!
A lot of quinoa doesn’t need soaking, it’s been pre-treated, so I suggest checking the package for directions.
Made this exactly as written – delicious! Thanks for another great recipe!
Amazing recipe, a family we know adores it. May I request you amend the statement about changing the whipped topping with coconut whip topping to make it a vegan desert. Vegans don’t eat egg. I have 2 celiac children with dairy allergies, one who can not have egg. I can’t make this a vegan recipe, I’ve tried several egg subs to no avail. I’d be really excited if someone has had success and is willing to share 😀
I would love the recipe for the frosting
Silly me! Just noticed the instructions for the frosting are in the recipe 🙂
Hope you enjoy it Ariela!
So moist and delicious! Thanks for a great recipe!
You’re welcome Crystal – enjoy 🙂
Have you tried other variations aside chocolate flavor? Idk peanut butter flavor perhaps???
I haven’t Erica, but I like the idea! I think peanut butter would work really well in the frosting!
Just had this at a kids party it tasted amazing! Tasted like a great chocolate cake! You wouldn’t even know it did not have flour!
Any suggestion on how many calories per serving? Thanks!
I just made this for my little girls birthday cake. Just wondering if it would be freezable at all? So i could use leftovers for lunch box snacks. Thanks
Can I use quinoa flour instead of the freshly prepared quinoa?
I don’t think so, Allessandra, that won’t result in the same wonderful texture that you get from the grain itself, and adding extra flour would cause the balance of ingredients to be off, too. Sorry!
If I want to make it vanilla flavor, what substitutes the 1/2 cup of chocolate?
Do you think this could be prepared a day in advance and still be great the next day?
I think the cake would be fine, but I would make the frosting the day you plan to serve it, Nicolette.
This looks amazing! Can you think of a way it would work without eggs? All delicious desserts seem to use eggs and they make me ill x
Could i use coconut milk instead of almond milk? I have it in bulk! lol
I tried the recipe replacing sugar with honey. I found the cake bitter. But it was very moist! I see the potential. I’m going to try again with adding bananas to help balance the bitterness.
I made this as directed except I used butter milk instead of the almond milk simply bc i had it on hand after making some buttermilk pancakes. This turned out to be one of the moistest cakes that I ever had. When my wife tried it I didn’t tell her what exactly it was except that it was a chocolate cake. One bite and she said the same thing. When I showed her the recipe she just about fell off her chair. Unlike myself and my daughter she is not a big fan of quinoa. But in this form she has no problem eating it.
Has anyone tried doubling this recipe and layering the cake? Is it too moist to layer without falling apart?
Made this cake today for my book club and it was a huge hit! Really tasty! I’ll make it again no question. I did find the recipe for the frosting too liquidy so added another TBS of cocoa powder and got the thicker consistency I was looking for. Next time I may even double the frosting recipe, I mean who doesn’t love be chocolate frosting!
SO GOOD! Really moist and delicious. Next time I will cut down on the sugar and add some chocolate chips. It was really sweet already without the frosting. Great recipe!
So glad you liked it!
Hi, I love this cake, it’s amazing. I’m using honey instead of sugar and comes out great .
Hi! So I premade quinoa flour, do you have a suggestion for measurements for that? I’m super excited to try this out!
Hi Beth, unfortunately I don’t have any suggestions for you, since I’ve never tried making this with quinoa flour! (Actually I think one of the reasons it’s so moist and tasty is because the quinoa is whole and pre-cooked.) I did find this dessert recipe for you that does use quinoa flour: https://www.superhealthykids.com/recipes/quookies/?trashed=1&ids=40300
What do I replace the whip cream with?
Hi Anjeni, are you looking for a non-dairy alternative? There are non-dairy whipped toppings available– a coconut whipped cream sounds yummy. I hope this helps!
can you substitute egg with flax egg?
We haven’t tried it, but I’m sure that would work!
I could feel the quinoa when eating the cake. Did my food processor just not grind it up enough?
Yes- you shouldn’t feel or see the quinoa at all after processing it.
We loved this cake. I’ve made it twice, the first time I followed the directions with ingredients, but didn’t process it enough to get rid of the quinoa bits, so I tried again. The second time I blended it more and added only 3/4 cup sugar. I had to add a bit more milk in order to get it really smooth. Next time I think I’ll cut the sugar again to 1/2 cup and see if the flavor is still as good. Thanks!
I feel like this cake should’ve been baked in a bigger pan. I used a 9” cake pan but it took forever to cook and even when I pulled it out thinking it was cooked, it was like pudding texture in the middle. Not sure what else could’ve been wrong
Hi..
Can I divide this recipe in two 6 inch round cake tin?
Yep! That would work fine- just adjust the cook time.
Best recipe!!! I love this recipe AND it’s so easy!!!
Is the two cups of quinoa measured out before or after cooking? So two cups of raw quinoa, or two cups of cooked?
2 cups cooked quinoa. Sorry for the confusion!
My foodie husband even loves this cake until someone tells him there’s quinoa in it. (Don’t tell him it’s quinoa!)