Gluten Free Chocolate Chickpea Cake
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
When I decided to give up sugar for the month, I wasn’t sure what that left in terms of dessert. I thought at some point I’d look into baking with dates or other natural sweeteners, and then a chocolate chickpea cake popped up in my Google Reader. That sounded too intriguing to pass up. A cake made with beans that tasted like chocolate? (I know, it sounds gross, but I swear it doesn’t taste like hummus.) Add some OJ and agave to sweeten the deal and I was set.
This gluten-free cake is moist and very chocolaty. After 2 weeks without chocolate, it definitely hit the spot. Since it’s made out of beans, it’s pretty filling and also pretty guilt-free. I found myself taking small bites each time I visited the kitchen, even before breakfast.
You can definitely eat this cake plain, but I’d recommend dusting it with powdered sugar. If you’re feeling indulgent, you could add some frosting, although that kind of defeats the purpose of it being healthy (maybe they balance each other out?). Instead of adding more sugar, I made a simple sauce out of frozen cherries to add another dimension of flavor.
Chocolate Chickpea Cake
Makes 1 9-inch cake
- 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained
- 2/3 C orange juice
- 4 eggs
- 2/3 C agave
- 2/3 C cocoa
- 1/2 t of baking powder
- 1/4 t of baking soda
- 1 t vanilla extract
- 1 C hazelnuts or walnuts, roasted and crushed
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch cake pan (even after doing this, the cake stuck to the bottom of my pan – you may want to try parchment paper).
Blend chickpeas and orange juice in food processor until smooth. Add in eggs, 1 at a time, blending in between.
Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl. Mix in chickpea mixture. Pour into prepared pan and bake around 45 minutes, until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Let cool before removing cake from pan.
Cherry Sauce
- 2 C frozen cherries
- 1/2 t agave
- 1/2 t flour
- 1/8 t cornstarch
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Once it starts sizzling, turn down to medium and simmer for around 15 minutes, until sauce has thicken slightly and fruit has broken down.
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No. 1 — January 19th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
Yum, yum, yum! I will definitely try this! I’ll have to go but the ingredients…
And I’m so glad your sugar-free diet has been working out!
No. 2 — January 19th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
Oh, and another thing. A good, healthy topping would be mixing peanut butter, honey (or agave), and cream cheese together. It makes a delicious, flavor-enhancing frosting.
No. 3 — January 19th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
I was just going to send this to you!
No. 4 — January 19th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
OMG! I was JUST thinking to myself, that I should make brownies with pureed black beans! Now, I officially know that I’m not crazy! Great recipe!
No. 5 — January 19th, 2011 at 3:15 pm
How very clever – would never have even thought of using chickpeas on my own. Your cake looks like it has a nice crumb and to top it off ‘guilt-free!’ Thanks for sharing.
No. 6 — January 19th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
How interesting. I would never have thought to use chickpeas in a chocolate cake. I will have to try this as your cake looks very delicious and moist.
No. 7 — January 19th, 2011 at 5:35 pm
Andrea – Thanks! That’s a fantastic idea for a topping. Too bad I already ate the whole cake. I’ll just have to make it again!
Wheels – Too funny! Thanks for thinking of me
Tiffany – You’re not crazy at all! Excited to hear about your brownies – I’ve never made black bean brownies but now I’m totally open to the idea.
Stephanie & Jennifer – Thanks! It was surprisingly good for being guilt-free. Definitely a keeper.
No. 8 — January 19th, 2011 at 7:51 pm
I have got to try this!!! I love the word chickpea in a dessert dish. Its really blowing my mind right now. It looks beautiful with that cherry sauce too!
No. 9 — January 19th, 2011 at 10:51 pm
The only time i use chicpeas is to make hummus and not even in my wildest dreams would i have thought of putting chicpeas in a cake. This is SO cool!!!!!
No. 10 — January 20th, 2011 at 3:40 pm
This is BRILLIANT! Cake looks so completely moist-n-delicious.
No. 11 — January 23rd, 2011 at 3:37 am
This chickpea chocolate cake looks amazing and so decadent! I wonder if it works with white beans or lentils too? Hmm… That could be a new recipe for you!
No. 12 — January 23rd, 2011 at 10:03 am
I just made brownies yesterday using black beans. I’m super curious to see how the chickpea cake tastes!
No. 13 — January 23rd, 2011 at 1:00 pm
This sounds absolutely delicious! I love it, using chickpeas in cake, I need to try this!
No. 14 — January 24th, 2011 at 9:15 am
This cake is he most intriguing one I have come across in some time, chick peas? Very curious and it does look good. Just may try it!
No. 15 — January 26th, 2011 at 11:34 am
[...] month was a tad restricted by my abstaining from refined sugars, but you may remember the chocolate chickpea cake I shared recently. It was so good that I had to make it again, and this time I baked it in a [...]
No. 16 — January 29th, 2011 at 10:42 am
I seriously could eat chickpeas right out the the can – now I can eat them out of my chocolate cake! You have made me a very very happy lady
C&C Cakery recently posted C&C does the 2nd Annual Cupcake Throwdown
No. 17 — February 4th, 2011 at 10:32 am
[...] 1 craving while I wasn’t eating sugar was chocolate. I made an awesome chocolate chickpea cake and cupcakes, but those were gone pretty quickly. I came up with an even healthier substitute: a [...]
No. 18 — February 11th, 2011 at 10:33 am
[...] difficult to do so), it wasn’t too bad. The hardest part was satisfying chocolate cravings (done, done and done) and refusing dessert when others were eating it. (Honestly, I did end up cheating: [...]
No. 19 — April 8th, 2011 at 1:46 pm
Flouring the pan kind of defeats the purpose of it being gluten free…using “Pam” or wax paper keeps it gluten free and from sticking
No. 20 — September 16th, 2011 at 3:11 pm
What a fantastic idea! I’ve been enjoying gluten-free brownies that I make at home, using nuts and dates – and they’re fantastic. But I know that they’re a little high in fat. I would never have considered using chickpeas, but I’m determined to try it immediately when I get home tonight – thank you!
Meanwhile, if you want to try something different – try my nut-based brownies – they really ARE yummy!
http://www.naturallyradiant.info/site/easter-chocolate-brownie/
No. 21 — September 16th, 2011 at 3:46 pm
@Siobhan – your brownies sound yummy and healthy! They may be high in fat but at least nuts have healthy fats. They’re a lot better for you than butter or oil! I’m looking forward to trying your recipe!
No. 22 — December 30th, 2011 at 10:36 am
What a grand idea! We are hummus lovers, so we’re already halfway there. Does anyone have any ideas of how to make this vegan? As in nixing the eggs? Maybe I could try making it with Egg Replacer?
We are always amazed how yummy stuff can taste when you haven’t had anything like it in years and then you try a healthy version of it. Pumpkin Pie with no milk, sugar, eggs or crust? Bring it on! Apple crisp made with only apples, maple syrup, spices and oatmeal? Dessert Disneyland! So the thought of making a chocolate cake from chickpeas sounds downright normal to me.
No. 23 — February 21st, 2012 at 1:13 pm
Wow! I was just looking for an alternative to my usual Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie. I love using chickpeas in desserts. This looks amazing! I am wondering if I can figure out how to use dates instead of agave…
No. 24 — February 21st, 2012 at 1:37 pm
@Anna Mortensen – deep dish chocolate chip cookie pie sounds amazing! And you use chickpeas in it? I should try baking more with beans, I’ve been meaning to make something with black beans too. I don’t think I’ve actually baked with beans since I made this cake last year.
No. 25 — February 26th, 2012 at 4:55 pm
Stephanie, it’s chickpeas and oats and delicious! I used this recipe as a source, though I changd it a bit: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/05/31/deep-dish-cookie-pie/
I’m making your cake tonight.
No. 26 — February 26th, 2012 at 6:34 pm
@Anna – thanks for sharing the link! I discovered Chocolate Covered Katie recently via Pinterest. I love her healthy dessert recipes!
I hope you enjoy the cake. Come back and tell me what you think
No. 27 — April 30th, 2012 at 10:26 am
I recently made some white bean blondies and they were great so I’ll bet that this would be great, as well.
CJ at Food Stories recently posted Raisin Walnut Bran Muffins – National Raisin Day