This chocolate quinoa cake is gluten free, honey-sweetened, absolutely moist, and perfectly delicious.
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Hello my friends!
It’s my birthday today. One year older and wiser (hopefully) too. Happy birthday to me. 🙂
We spent a few days last week up in Idaho for fall break and my first birthday celebration was at Brandon’s grandparents home. We arrived and visited for a little while. Then in just a matter of minutes grandma whipped up a delicious vegetable soup and had a surprise birthday cake (she had made from scratch) with ice cream. It was so sweet and fun to celebrate with them.
Even though they are well into their eighties, Brandon’s grandparents live alone in a little simple farm house. Brandon’s grandpa raised cattle and took care of the whole farm until just a couple of years ago when he started to get some health challenges.
The whole time we were there I kept thinking how even though their home is simple, they have everything that is important. And right at the center of what is most important to them is family.
I thought it was only fitting to celebrate my birthday by sharing one of our family’s favorite cake recipes with you. This chocolate quinoa cake recipe is amazing.
Let me tell you why this chocolate quinoa cake is amazing
First of all it’s Chocolate. Need I say more?
Secondly it’s gluten free and still tastes good. Oh yeah.
Thirdly it’s made completely with whole grain (Quinoa) that not only gluten free but also a complete protein. Wow.
And last of all, it’s honey-sweetened. Mmmh!
Really this cake is ALMOST too good to be true.
But it is true, my friends. I’ve been making it for plenty of birthday celebrations the last several years and it’s always a hit. Since my Dad has celiac disease and can’t eat gluten, we make a lot of gluten free foods for family gatherings.
And the chocolate covered hands and little chocolate mustaches I see wandering around after I serve it, are pretty well proof that something definitely is right with this cake.
If that’s not enough, then my own taste buds’ happy dance compelling me to take “just one more piece” usually gets the best of me.
Tips for making this cake
This chocolate quinoa cake really is actually pretty easy to make. You will need a high powered blender, a couple of 9-inch cake pans, and a few other basic kitchen equipment.
The quinoa will need to be cooked and cooled before making this cake. I’ve included instructions for how to easily cook quinoa on the stove or in an electric pressure cooker. The electric pressure cooker method is my favorite.
To cool the quinoa quickly you can lay it in a single layer flat on a plate and pop it in the refrigerator. It should be cool enough to use fairly quickly that way.
The delicious whipped chocolate frosting is light and dreamy, honey-sweetened, and delicious. It does need some cooling time which means you should plan at least a couple of hours in advance. I usually prepare the frosting while the quinoa is cooking and that works pretty well. And believe me, it’s worth it. But since I can’t just leave you with one option, I’ll give you a few more excellent choices.
This German chocolate frosting includes a honey-sweetened variation that we also love on this cake. Another option is the chocolate glaze recipe I posted for this chocolate zucchini cake recipe. Mmmh. I’ve made this cake using all of these frostings and I can’t decided which is the best. They are seriously all are my favorite. Haha. Actually it’s hard to choose a favorite when it comes to chocolate cake.
Okay my friends, I’m off to enjoy more birthday celebrations. I’d love it if you celebrate with me and make this chocolate quinoa cake. You won’t regret it.
Amazing Chocolate Quinoa Cake with Whipped Chocolate Frosting {Gluten Free + Honey-Sweetened}
This Chocolate Quinoa Cake is gluten free, honey-sweetened, absolutely moist, and perfectly delicious.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup uncooked white quinoa rinsed and drained
- 1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups water
- ⅓ cup milk
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup butter melted and cooled
- 1 cup (12 ounces) raw honey
- 1 cup (4 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder see note
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Whipped Chocolate Frosting:
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon (1.5 ounces) raw honey
- 1 cup (6 ounces) dark chocolate chips see note
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
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For Stovetop: Add uncooked quinoa and 1 ½ cups water to a small saucepan. Heat over high heat until water starts to boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer very lightly until water is absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes. Cover pot and let sit for 5 minutes to help it fluff up.
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For Electric Pressure Cooker: Add uncooked quinoa and 1 ¼ cups water to an electric pressure cooker. Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes. Reduce pressure naturally.
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I usually make the frosting while the quinoa is cooking (see instructions below). When quinoa is cooked, spread it in a thin layer on a large plate or pan and place in the refrigerator to cool for about 10-15 minutes. If making quinoa ahead of time, you can place in a covered container for up to a week.
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Place oven rack in center of oven. and preheat to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease two round 9-inch cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper and set aside.
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Combine milk, eggs and vanilla in a blender and blend for about 30 seconds. Add 2 cups (about 11 ounces) of the cooled, cooked quinoa to the blender. Note that this is not the entire amount of quinoa, you should still have a little left over from what you cooked. Also add to the blender the melted butter and raw honey and blend for a 2 to 3 minutes until mixture is well blended and smooth.
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In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa powder (see note), baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add contents from blender and whisk to combine just until no more dry spots remain and batter is well combined. You want the batter to be mixed completely but be careful not to overmix.
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Divide the batter evenly between the two pans (I usually use a scale for this – each pan should have about 20.4 ounces of batter) and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.
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Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Then invert the pans onto cooling racks and remove the parchment paper stuck to the bottom of the cakes. Let cakes cool completely before frosting.
For Whipped Chocolate Frosting:
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Heat heavy whipping cream in the microwave or on the stove until it gently simmers. Place the chocolate chips and honey in a medium heat-proof bowl and pour over the hot cream. Do not stir the mixture at this point or frosting will be grainy. Let mixture sit for 5-10 minutes to melt the chocolate completely.
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Whisk mixture to combine. Return to microwave and cook in 30-second intervals. Whisking in between until mixture is glossy and smooth and chocolate is completely dissolved. Stir in vanilla.
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Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator until completely cooled (about 2 to 3 hours). Or you can chill quicker by placing bowl in an ice water bath and whisk until cooled. Using a handheld or stand mixer, whip the chocolate cream until soft peaks form.
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Frost the cooled cakes by placing one cake upside down on a serving plate. Add about a third of the whipped frosting to the cake and spread evenly. Gently put the other cake upside down on the frosted cake. Place the remaining frosting on top of the cake and spread over top and sides.
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If desired, cake can be eaten immediately or chilled in the refrigerator until serving. Frosting will be set a little better if chilled for a couple of hours.
Recipe Notes
1. I’ve only made this recipe with white quinoa, but I’m guessing any color will work. You can cook red or black quinoa using the same method I outlined in the recipe.
2. I’ve made this recipe with both natural unsweetened and dutch-processed cocoa powder and they both work fine. I’ve also tried it with this brand of raw cacao powder (aff. link) and it was delicious also. If the cocoa powder is clumpy, giving it a quick sift through a fine mesh strainer before mixing it with the other dry ingredients will help so you don’t have to overmix the cake batter.
3. My preferred brand of dark chocolate chips is the Ghiradelli brand (aff. link).
4. This is my favorite Mexican vanilla (aff. link) that I use all the time and love.
Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat, adapted to be honey-sweetened from a recipe found at Mel’s Kitchen Cafe originally posted on Good Dinner Mom
All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat
Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.
Hey there,
I was just wondering why you bake it at 325 instead of 350 like most cakes bake at? Could I bake it at 350 for a shorter time than 325? Also, do you notice that this recipe comes out different every time? Like does it sometimes come out more moist than other times even if you bake it for the same amount of time? Good job on the photography btw. Thanks!
Hi Kelly I’ve never had a problem with the baking time or consistency in this recipe! If you use weighted amounts that I list sometimes that will help with that! Good luck and thank you!
Hey Heather, thanks you so much for this amazing recipe! This is so nice to have for someone who doesn’t eat sugar. I do have a couple of questions I was hoping you could help me with. I think I am doing some things wrong. I made my batter using the ninja food processor/blender and each time I blended, I used it at 5 speed (it goes up to 10). Is that what you would recommend? Mine came out with a ton of quinoa bits despite that I blended the quinoa in the mixture an extra 2 min. Should I be blending at a higher power or longer? My batter looked smoothish, but I could see tiny quinoa particles throughout. Also when you say to cover the quinoa for 5 min, at that point should I turn off the heat? Thanks so much for helping and sharing a recipe that people with restrictions can have!
Hi Julia, I would definitely blend a little longer at as high of power as needed to make it smooth. It shouldn’t have any noticeable quinoa pieces afterwards. And as for cooking the quinoa, yes the step when you cover the quinoa is off the heat. I will update the recipe so that is more clear. Thank you!
Thank you so much for the fast reply and for throughly answering all my questions! It cleared everything up for me. I can’t wait to make it again today making these changes. I really appreciate you and your website!
Thank you again so much for this recipe and for all your help!
Hello Heather!
First off, thank you for all the recipes that you share with us! Would you happen to know how I could convert this to a vanilla cake? I don’t use gluten-free flour blends due to most of them using either potato starch or rice flour, and I wasn’t sure if a gluten-free blend would make this gummy or dense. If you know of any gluten-free flour or mixture of flours that I can use to make this a vanilla cake, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks again for all you do! 🙂
Hi November, I wish I had better news for you, but I have actually experimented with this cake to see if I could make it vanilla and it failed miserably. The chocolate is strong enough to mask the quinoa flavor, but unfortunately the vanilla is not. It was not something I wanted to try again after trying it once unfortunately. I’m no expert on gluten free but I do agree that the store-bought gluten-free flour blends lack flavor and nutrition. I wish I had a better answer for you!!
This looks amazing! I’m excited to make it for my birthday in a few months….I have a couple quick questions:
1. Could I make the frosting a day in advance, put in fridge, and then take out day of and whip it up?
2. I love how this recipe has healthy ingredients! I make my own homemade yogurt using half and half, and for the frosting, one idea I had to make it a bit healthier would be to sub in some of it – I was thinking 1 cup heavy cream, 1 cup my greek-style (half/half) yogurt. Do you think it might work? Maybe I’d just need an extra tablespoon of honey to compensate? I’d love to get your thoughts. Thanks so much!
Hey Josh,
Happy Birthday! I think this cake is the perfect way to celebrate. To answer your questions:
1.Yes! That should be no problem to make the frosting the day before and whip it up on the day of.
2. I am a huge proponent for subbing in healthy ingredients, but I have to be honest and tell you I DON’T think subbing half of the yogurt will work. In my experience yogurt curdles and kind of separates when it is heated and I do not think it will whip up nice like the cream.
I hope you enjoy the cake!
Ah, that makes sense with the yogurt, it could separate. I like that the frosting looks so light and fluffy and without butter, I find buttercreams are usually too intense. Can’t wait to make the cake. Thank you, Heather!
This was sooo good. The four of us finished it in one day!
Thanks Sarah!
This is definitely MY kind of cake!
Yes!!