This Quinoa Brownie Cake is the solution to any chocolate craving. Made with cooked quinoa, cocoa, eggs and a handful of pantry items, this cake is gluten free, dairy free and never turns out dry. Keep it in your fridge for a quick treat throughout the week!
1/3cupchocolate chipsoptional & use a dairy-free variety, if necessary
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan and line the bottom with parchment (cut the parchment to the right size).
In a food processor or blender, add applesauce, eggs and vanilla and blend for 10 seconds.
Add the cooked quinoa, melted coconut oil and maple syrup and blend until smooth.
In a large bowl, mix the cocoa powder, coconut sugar, coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, until ingredients are evenly distributed.
Transfer the wet ingredients to the large bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until well combined. Fold in chocolate chips, if desired.
Scoop the batter into the baking pan and spread it evenly, pressing it toward the corners of the pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out mostly clean (it won't look "clean" if you happen to poke through a chocolate chip!).
Cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes. Carefully transfer cake to wire rack and let it cool completely before slicing. Store any uneaten slices in an airtight container in the refrigerator and consume within 4 days.
Notes
I like to make extra quinoa when I'm prepping another dish that uses it, so I have cooked quinoa on hand for this recipe. If you're starting from uncooked quinoa, you need about 2/3 cup dry quinoa (made with 1 1/3 cups water) to make 2 cups cooked. (Quinoa triples when it cooks i.e. 1 cup uncooked is approximately 3 cups cooked.) To be sure you have enough, I suggested making 1 cup uncooked and measure out 2 cups of cooked quinoa. I've had varying results with different quinoa brands and the right amount of quinoa is important for this recipe.
I tested this recipe with both Camino and Hershey brands of cocoa. Both were great!
The type of chocolate chip you use impacts the sweetness - I used dark chocolate (50%). To go sweeter you could use semi sweet (sweeter) or milk chocolate chips (sweetest).