Quinoa Dark Chocolate Cake

Quinoa gives this dark chocolate cake texture without the sugary sweetness

Lululemon co-founder Amrita Sondhi offers up decadent vegetarian recipes, like this quinoa dark chocolate cake (preceded by cauliflower and rainbow chard curry) to balance the mind, body and spirit in her second cookbook, The Tastes of Ayurveda

If you are a dark chocoholic, this is your cake! Quinoa gives it a great taste and texture and won’t spike blood sugar levels. I omitted the oil in this recipe by mistake once and it still tasted moist, rich, and chocolaty—great for Kapha.

Ingredients

• 4 eggs

• 4 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract

• 125 ml (1/2 cup) almond milk

• 500 ml (2 cups) cooked and cooled red quinoa

• 125 ml (1/2 cup) melted and cooled coconut oil
• 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) panela, granulated gur, or unrefined cane sugar
• 310 ml (11⁄4 cups) raw cocoa powder
• 30 ml (1 tbsp) baking powder

• 2 ml (1⁄2 tsp) good salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F).
2. Lightly grease a 1.2-litre (8-inch-round) baking pan and line with parchment paper.
3. In a food processor, pulse eggs, vanilla, milk, and cooled quinoa to blend.
4. Add coconut oil and blend until smooth.
5. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients.
6. Pour wet ingredients (quinoa mixture) into dry and stir well to mix.
7. Pour batter into baking pan and cook for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Makes 8 servings 


Variation 1: Omit oil.

Variation 2: Add 30 ml (1 tbsp) grated orange rind and omit oil.

Raw unadulterated cocoa powder is what foodies call cacao, as chocolate is from the seed of the cacao tree. Cocoa is high in magnesium, which helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function (and thus prevents cramping), keeps our heart rhythms steady, and our bones strong, and supports a healthy immune system. Chocolate contains caffeine, so if you’re eating it at night, go easy!

Recipe from The Tastes of Ayurveda by Amrita Sondhi