VEGAN CHOCOLATE QUINOA CAKE!

HOORAY for CHOCOLATE CAKE!! Who's with me? Or does anyone stand a chance against me....especially while eating this cake? Probably not.......because it is THAT amazing.

This cake is

GOOEY
CHEWY
CHOCOLATE-Y
FUDGE-Y
MOIST
TENDER
& Straight-up D E L I C I O U S!!!

I have been eating mainly vegan for awhile now (coming up on a year), and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I currently am enrolled in a NON-VEGAN culinary school, and it actually makes me want to be MORE VEGAN. Pretty awesome, eh?

 This cake uses flax "eggs" instead of actual eggs, and is FLOUR-LESS!!! WHAT? Amazing, I know......

 The only question I have for you is.......WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? You know you want to make this cake!

So, just cave in....after all, think of all the joy it will bring!


VEGAN CHOCOLATE QUINOA CAKE

2 cups cooked Organic Quinoa, loosely packed
1/3 cup NON-GMO PLANT based milk (I used Almond)
4 Flax "eggs" (1/4 C. Flaxseed Meal + 3/4 C. Warm Water, let sit 5-10 min)
1 teaspoon Organic Vanilla
3/4 cup Organic, NON-GMO Grapeseed Oil
1 1/2 cups Organic, NON-GMO Cane Sugar
1 cup unsweetened Organic, Fair-Trade Cocoa Powder
1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two round cake pans (or a 9x13 pan), or 3 small (like I did) and then line the bottoms of the pans with parchment. (Do not skip the parchment if you want to be able to flip the cake out of the pan!)

Combine the milk, flax "eggs" and vanilla in the blender/food processor and pulse to combine. Add both the quinoa & oil, and puree until completely smooth. Stop the machine as needed to scrape the sides and make sure everything is well mixed. This will be a thick and creamy consistency once pureed. SIFT together the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, make a "well" in your bowl, and add the contents from the blender. Stir until well combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans (or 3 like me :)) and bake on a center oven rack for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean (may need more time if you have a DEEPER dish, less for a more SHALLOW). Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool 10 minutes before inverting them onto a wire cooling rack. Peel off the parchment and let the cakes cool completely before frosting/icing/decorating. TA DA!!!!

Please let me know how yours turned out, if you've questions, comments & the like!

Love, Peace, & Joy,

Courtney

CHOCOLATE-Y GOODNESS CAKE WITH GANACHE!

Happy Monday folks....and happy August! Can you believe it? August already?! I've had chocolate cake on the mind for awhile now....and I had to make a chocolate cake recipe of my own making. To be honest, I was worried about complete and utter diaster when creating this. I have made many of my own recipes- but never attempted my own cake recipe.

So.....I stepped out in faith and it was a huge success. I loved it and so did my husband (and he is VERY picky about chocolate cake!). I am more than happy to share the recipe with you all....

NOTE: Next time I'd like to make this truly vegan and add no eggs. If you do sub something else for eggs- let me know how it goes! Flaxseed meal is a great substitute.


CHOCOLATE-Y GOODNESS CAKE

1 cup Organic brown sugar
1/2 cup Organic Cane Sugar
4 TBLS Organic Coconut Oil (I used unrefined- but you can use either)
2oz Organic Dark Chocolate (you can sub vegan chocolate)
2 Organic Eggs
1/2 cup Fair Trade Coffee
1/2  cup Organic Coconut Milk
1 Tsp Organic Vanilla Extract
2 cups Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
3/4 cup Fair Trade Cocoa Powder
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Sea Salt

CHOCOLATE-COCONUT GANACHE

4oz Organic Dark Chocolate (I used 60%)
1 tsp Organic Coconut Oil
 
Grab a large bowl and combine the sugars and the eggs. Next, take the dark chocolate and coconut oil and warm in the microwave for about 45 seconds and stir the chocolate until it's melted and smooth. Add in the batter along with the vanilla extract and combine.

In a separate bowl, combine and mix all dry ingredients- flour, cocoa, soda, baking powder, & salt. Alternate dry ingredients with wet ingredients in bowl until batter is smooth. Pour in greased (with coconut oil) 9x13 pan. Bake @ 350 degrees for 35 min. Check with a toothpick in the center to make sure it comes out clean. Allow to cool on wire rack for @ least 30 minutes before adding on ganache.

For Chocolate ganache- simply melt the chocolate and oil in microwave for 1-2 min and continually stir and pour it over cake. Sprinkle with cocoa and serve!! YUMNESS guaranteed!

Peace, Love, Joy

Courtney