Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Recipes

More and more people these days have to avoid eating gluten and are advised to cut back on their consumption of wheat products or to eliminate them altogether. Many struggle with the symptoms of celiac or similar conditions in which wheat and other flours can no longer be tolerated. But what about special celebrations like birthdays? If you're celiac, do you really have to give up fun foods like chocolate cake? I have gathered on this page some wonderful flourless cake recipes. Even if you don't have problems with gluten, you may discover a new variation on a favorite dessert that you like even better than the original. And a bonus to these recipes is that unlike ordinary chocolate cake, they are actually good for you, well, besides the butter and sugar. These cakes do have more protein than your average treat. Who said dessert has to be empty calories?

Igot this recipe for chocolate cake made with quinoa from a friend who brought it to a pot luck party. I've adapted her recipe just a wee bit to suit me better. If you enjoy this recipe, you may discover more great quinoa recipes, by checking out one of the quinoa recipe books mentioned below. (I think this one originally came from the 365 book.)

Moist Quinoa Chocolate Cake     

• 2/3 cup quinoa
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 2/3 cup milk
• 4 large eggs
• 11/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup butter, melted (see below) 
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Rinse the quinoa in cool water, then add to a pot with the 1 1/3 cups water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.  Take off the heat and let it stand for another 10 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork. I usually measure out the two cups of quinoa at this point and add the butter, letting it melt while the quinoa cools. Saves the extra step of melting the butter.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans.  Line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.

Put the milk, eggs, and vanilla in a blender or food processor and mix.  Add 2 cups of the cooked quinoa and the melted butter and blend until smooth.

In a large bowl, mix the sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Pour in the contents of the blender and mix well. 

Pour the batter into the greased pans. Bake for 40 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool the cake completely in the pan.

You can frost this flourless quinoa chocolate cake any way you like, but I recommend vegan chocolate icing. This would also be a good cake to fancy up for Valentine's Day or a special meal by covering with a paper doily and sprinkling with confectioner's sugar. When you lift the doily from the cake top, a pretty white pattern remains.

If you store this cake in a sealed container, it will stay fresh in the refrigerator for a week. Pop it into the freezer if you want it to keep longer. Can be frozen for about a month.

Here is another surprisingly good gluten free chocolate cake recipe I received from my son. Turns out chocolate cake is not just empty calories any more. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease your pan.

Ingredients and Procedure:

• 1 can black beans (15 oz), rinsed and drained
• 1 T brewed coffee
• 1T vanilla

 Put all in a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside. Combine:

• 6 T cocoa powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt

Set aside. Cream together:

• 6 T butter
• 1 cup sugar

Mix with an electric mixer for 1 minute, then add

• 5 eggs, one at a time, beating until fluffy. 

Add the bean mixture, then the cocoa mixture. Beat for one more minute, then pour into the cake pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.   Brendan says this recipe is his favorite chocolate cake recipe. Yummy and healthy, too, especially if you replace the sugar with an equivalent amount of agave or even honey. As I haven't tried those substitutions myself, you'd have to experiment a bit to see how it would work out.