Unforgettable Best-Ever Chocolate Quinoa Cake

I found this recipe on the Making Thyme for Health website but I later found a similar recipe on Barefeet in the Kitchen.  Both of these blogs say it originally came from Quinoa 365 cookbook by way of Mel's Kitchen Cafe blog.  It is an amazing cake.  I want to eat the entire thing.  I never heard of a cake made with actual quinoa before. I thought it was made from quinoa flour but it isn't.  Try this cake and you will be amazed at how moist and delicious it is.  I made a few changes but it is mainly the same as the recipes I found online.  It can be vegetarian or vegan if you want to make a few changes.

Unforgettable Chocolate Quinoa Cake

Servings: 12 -16 servings, depending on size
Ingredients:

Cake Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked quinoa loosely packed
• 1/3 cup milk of choice
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup butter melted and slightly cooled
• 1-1/2 cups white sugar or coconut sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Frosting Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream (or coconut cream - see below)
• 1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two round cake pans (or a 9 x 13 pan) and then line the bottoms of the pans with parchment. (Do not skip the parchment if you want to be able to take the cake out of the pan.)


Combine the milk, eggs and vanilla in the blender or food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the cooked quinoa and the butter 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 the quinoa is pureed. (You should not see any little beads of quinoa in the pureed mixture.) Whisk together the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and add the contents from the blender. Stir until well combined.


Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans and bake on a center oven rack for 28-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean (if you are using a 9 x 13 inch pan please check for doneness at around 20 minutes). 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.


Place the chocolate chips in a medium size glass bowl. Heat the cream in a medium saucepan until is gently simmers. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes or so and then whisk to combine until it is smooth and glossy. Refrigerate and let cool completely. (2-3 hours in the refrigerator or about an hour in the freezer.) When fully chilled. use a mixer to whip the chocolate cream into soft peaks.


Place one cake layer upside down on a plate. Scoop half the frosting onto that layer and gently spread it across almost to the edge. Place the other layer on top of the frosting and top with the remaining frosting. You can frost the sides if you like, I chose to leave mine simple. Chill 2-3 hours before serving to allow the frosting to set.

I actually used the ingredients and instructions from Making Thyme for Health which uses coconut milk.

FOR THE WHIPPED CHOCOLATE COCONUT CREAM FROSTING:

• 1 (13.5 ounce) can of full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
• 1 (10 ounce) bag chocolate chips

To make the frosting you will need to refrigerate the coconut milk overnight (in the coldest part of your refrigerator) so that the cream separates. Grab the coconut milk from the refrigerator but don’t shake the can or turn it upside down before opening. Open the can and scoop out the solid parts with a spoon then place them in a medium size saucepan.  Add the chocolate chips to the saucepan then warm over medium heat, until the coconut cream and chocolate melt together. Whisk until smooth then transfer to a large bowl that you can later use to whip it in. (note: if the melted chocolate/coconut milk mixture still appears really dark you can add more coconut milk to lighten it up so that the end result isn’t bitter)

Allow to cool on the counter then cover and refrigerate for several hours, until thickened. Once it has thickened, remove from the refrigerator and beat on high for thirty seconds to one minute, until a fluffy icing has formed. (you could make it the night before baking the cake).

Transfer the cakes to a surface for icing with the bottom side up. I recommend that you only transfer the cakes once as they are fragile and difficult to hold together once removed from the parchment paper.

Frost the cake and refrigerate until ready to serve. The icing will melt in really warm conditions but should be fine for a few hours in cooler settings.

Enjoy!

BTW 3/4 cup of dry quinoa will make 2 cups of  cooked quinoa!

Coconut-Apple-Ginger Dal

I tried this soup because it lent itself to some adjustments to suit my son who has many food allergies and sensitivities.  I know that without lentils, this isn't a true "Dal" but it works for us. The original re recipe came from Epicurious.  If you skip the yogurt, this recipe is vegan.

Coconut-Apple-Ginger Dal

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. virgin coconut oil
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 (3") piece ginger, peeled, finely chopped
1 large apple (unpeeled), grated on the large holes of a box grater
1-1/2 cups red lentils (I used red quinoa)
1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
Plan yogurt, cilantro leaves, and toasted unsweetened coconut flakes (for serving)

Preparation:

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Cook cayenne, cumin, and turmeric, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add onion, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes.  Add apple and lentils and stir to coat.  Stir in coconut milk and 2-1/2 cups water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until lentils are completely soft and dal is thick, 20-25 minutes.  Add line juice and season with salt and pepper.

Divide dal among bowls and top with yogurt, cilantro, and coconut flakes; season with more pepper.

Enjoy!

Cacio E Pepe

This is another epicurious.com recipe.  The blurb on that site says this dish is "magnificent".  I really can't argue with them.  It is a very simple dish that, to me, exemplifies comfort food.  I grew up eating a dish called alio y olio.  This dish is very similar in its simplicity but does not contain either garlic or oil.  Cacio E Pepe is quite literally translated to just cheese and pepper.  There isn't much else involved.  I never thought it would appeal to me but it is a version of, well, let's call it "Italian Mac & Cheese".  If you want to try making this, go with this version of it.  I think epicurious.com got it right.  Enjoy!

Cacio E Pepe
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:

Kosher salt
6 ounces pasta (such as egg tagliolini, bucatini or spaghetti)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, divided
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
3/4 cup finely grated Grana Padano or Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup finely grated Pecorino

Preparation:

Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a 5 quart pot. Season with sale; add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until about 2 minutes before tender.  Drain, reserving 3/4 cup pasta cooking water.  (I did this the day before I made this dish because I discovered that when you cook pasta and cool it over night in a refrigerator it cuts the carbs in half.  Just put the cooked noodles into hot water to reconstitute them. I'm all about reducing carbs but I love pasta.)

Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add pepper and cook, swirling pan, until toasted, about 1 minute.

Add 1/2 cup reserved pasta water to skillet and bring to a simmer.  Add pasta and remaining butter.  Reduce heat to low and add Grana Padano, stirring and tossing until cheese melts and sauce coat the pasta and pasta is al dente.  (Add more pasta water if sauce seems dry.)  Transfer pasta to warm bowls and serve.

Olive Oil-Confit Chicken with Cipollini Onions

This is a recipe that I got from the epicurious website.  It looked very odd to me but I have made it twice now.  I enjoyed it both times.  Instead of chicken thighs, I used chicken breast. I followed all of the other directions.  It is time consuming to make but very flavorful when done.  I also used regular onions the first time I made it because I couldn't find Cipollini onions.  I liked it both times.

Olive Oil-Confit Chicken with Cipollini Onions

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

8 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (I used chicken breast so I didn't cook it as long)

1 lemon, thinly sliced into rounds, seeds removed

1 teaspoon fennel seeds (I have seen some people use anise instead)

6 sprigs rosemary, divided (I used rosemary leaves)

2-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more

Freshly ground black pepper

1-1/2 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed

12 ounces Cipollini onions, peeled

4 to 4-1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

Toss chicken thighs, lemon slices, fennel seeds, 4 rosemary sprigs, and 2-1/2 tsp. salt in a large bowl to combine, then season generously with pepper.  Cover and chill at least 12 hour and up to 1 day.  

Let chicken come to room temperature, 20-25 minutes.

Place racks in top and middle of oven; preheat to 275 degrees.  Arrange potatoes and onions in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot an season with salt. Transfer chicken mixture to pot, scraping in any stray fennel seeds, and arrange chicken, skin side up, over potatoes and onions in a single layer (it will be a tight squeeze). Pour in 4 cups of oil.  The oil should come to just over the top of the chicken; if the pieces aren't quite submerged, add the additional 1/2 cup of oil. Cover pot and place on middle rack in oven.  Bake chicken, adding remaining rosemary sprigs after 1 hour, until meat is very tender but not quite falling off the bone, 2 to 2-1/2 hours. Let sit until pot is cool enough to handle, 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat broiler.  Use tongs to carefully remove chicken from pot and place, skin side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Transfer potatoes to baking sheet, arranging around chicken. Broil until chicken skin and potatoes are both browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Let rest 5-10 minutes on baking sheet. 

While chicken and potatoes are under broiler, transfer onions, lemon slices and rosemary to a platter.  Strain oil through a fine sieve into a large measuring glass.

Use a fork to lightly mash potatoes, revealing some of their creamy interior.  Season with more salt. Transfer chicken and potatoes to platter with reserved onions, lemon slices and rosemary sprigs.  Drizzle with some of the strained oil (save the rest for another use).

Do ahead

Chicken can be baked (but not broiled) 2 days ahead.  Let cool in oil, then chill.

Enjoy!