CHOCOLATE QUINOA CAKE OR CUPCAKES

This knock-out recipe deserves to be in the superfoods section.

This rich and chocolaty moist cake is only subtly sweet and is beautifully layered and topped generously with lots of Coconut Whip and berries, peaches, and nectarines. Our dear friend Lotti made this recipe famous—she likes to break it up and smother it with chia pudding and fruit galore.

You can get a head start on this recipe by prepping the quinoa, icing, or whipped topping the day before. You may want to double the icing or whipped topping recipes so you have a generous amount for frosting the cake.

INGREDIENTS:

MAKES ONE 9-INCH DOUBLE-LAYER CAKE OR 14 CUPCAKES

• 3⁄4 cup quinoa

• 1⁄4 cup coconut oil, melted, plus more for greasing

• 4 eggs

• 1/3 cup milk of choice

• 1⁄2 cup pure maple syrup

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted

• 3⁄4 cup cacao powder

• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt

• Coconut Whip (page 901), or Dark Chocolate Icing or Lemon-Vanilla Cashew Icing (pages 908, 909), for topping

• Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, sliced nectarines and/or sliced peaches, for topping
  

If making a double-layer cake, invert one cake layer onto a serving dish (flat bottom side up). Frost with the coconut whip or ic- ing. Top with the second layer (flat bottom side up) and repeat the frosting process. Top abundantly with fresh fruit of choice. For the cupcakes, frost each one with coconut whip or icing and top with fruit.

DIRECTIONS:

1 Rinse and drain the quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer to remove bitter-tasting compounds naturally present in quinoa, called saponins.

2 In a medium pot, combine the quinoa with 11⁄2 cups water. Place a lid on the pot and allow the water to come to a light simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and let the quinoa simmer, without stirring, for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the quinoa sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff gently with a fork and transfer to a large bowl to let cool completely.

3 Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly oil two 9-inch round cake pans or prepare a muffin tin with liners or grease well.

4 In a food processor or blender, combine the eggs, milk of choice, maple syrup and vanilla and blend until incorporated. Add the cooled cooked quinoa, butter and coconut oil. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute.

5 In a large bowl, mix together the cacao powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the blended quinoa mixture to the bowl and stir until well combined.

6 Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans or among the cups in the prepared muffin tin; if using the muffin tin, fill the cups almost to the top (the cupcakes will rise and then fall back down).

7 Bake the cakes for 28 to 30 minutes or the cupcakes for 23 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The cakes or cupcakes should be moist on the inside. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

NOTES:

Refrigerate the cake or cupcakes until ready to serve. The coconut whip will melt in the heat but will still taste delicious.

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