Recipe: Chocolate quinoa cake

One of my friends once told me she threw out some leftover quinoa the day after she’d cooked it because she didn’t know what else to do with it. I’m not going to lie, my heart broke a little. This cake is one of the best ways I know to use up leftover quinoa, although it’s so good I often cook quinoa just so I can make this cake. It’s flourless, rich and super light in texture, aaaaand it easily comes together in a blender!

serves 12

GLUTEN-FREE

BASE

280g (2 cups) cooked, cooled quinoa
200g (1 cup) golden caster sugar
50g (½ cup) raw cacao/cocoa powder
125ml (½ cup) virgin coconut oil, melted
80ml (⅓ cup) coconut milk
4 large free-range eggs
1½ teaspoons gluten-free + aluminium-free baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
½ teaspoon fine salt

Chocolate ganache

85g dairy-free dark chocolate,roughly chopped
60ml (¼ cup) coconut milk
1 tablespoon pure maple/brown rice syrup

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease a 23cm round loose-bottom cake tin and line the base and sides with baking paper.

2. Combine all the cake ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend on high until smooth. Pour into the prepared cake tin and cook for 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 10–15 minutes, before removing from the cake tin and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

3. To make the chocolate ganache, place all the ingredients in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Stir until chocolate has melted and ganache is smooth. If it starts to look a little split (this can happen because of the coconut milk), whisk to bring it back together. Remove from the heat and set aside, stirring occasionally, for 10–20 minutes, or until the mixture has cooled and thickened slightly (but not set).

4. Pour ganache over the top of the cake to coat, then leave to set. You can speed this up by placing the whole cake in the fridge for 5–10 minutes.

5. To serve, cut with a hot knife. Best eaten on the day of baking, but the cake will store in an airtight container for 2–3 days, or in the fridge if the weather is hot.

Recipe extracts from Every Day by Emma Galloway,
published by Harper Collins NZ, RRP $60.