One of the unfortunate things about university life is the lack of consistent institutional memory – people move away, and they take their skills and knowledge with them. Or they get busy and stop doing awesome things like, for instance, food-related columns in everyone’s favourite student newspaper.
Two years ago, Arthur boasted two excellent foodie friendly columns: the first a hard-hitting exploration of food policy and issues, the second a light-hearted recipe and story column. Both were written by friends of the Seasoned Spoon, and sadly drifted into the abyss. But now you can get ready for a seasoned swoon, because we’re bringing it all back! Welcome to the first of many editions of Spoon Fed, written by friends and members of your favourite local student-driven co-op café.
So, just in time for our upcoming Gluten Free Baking Workshop, here is a recipe for a flourless chocolate cake. It is a good example of one Spoon stand-by lost to the land where graduated students go – thanks baker Jane for teaching us about this cake and for training up a future generation of awesome gluten-free goodness. Institutional memory lives on! And now you too can taste its goodness: it can all be made in a blender, it is super chocolatey and it contains a special ingredient that makes this cake super healthful and packed with protein. Enjoy!
Chocolate Quinoa Cake
2/3 cup uncooked quinoa
11/3 cup water
4 eggs
½ cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
¾ cup melted butter
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp salt
Optional:
chilli powder
cinnamon
- Add quinoa to water, and bring to a boil. At this point turn down the heat to low, and let simmer, covered, for about 10-15 minutes or until the water is all absorbed. (Hint: cook extra to have on hand for a later meal! Quinoa is an awesome protein and delicious in salads, wraps, or just on its own.)
- You want to let it cool completely before adding to the rest of your ingredients, so consider cooking your quinoa beforehand, or letting it sit outside in the cold or in your fridge for a bit. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350oC and prepare an 8- inch springform pan (or any other pan, really…), grease it and cover with parchment paper if you’ve got it.
- Bust out your blender or food processor and toss in your cooked quinoa, 4 eggs, ½ cup milk, and 1 tsp. vanilla. Blend until smooth, then add ¾ cup melted butter, slightly cooled (it should still be soft, but not piping hot. The key is to not pre-cook your eggs!).
- Now you can mix in your dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, toss together 1 ½ cups sugar, 1 ½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 Tbsp. baking powder and ½ tsp salt. If you want to try something different, try adding a pinch (half a tsp. perhaps?) chilli powder and a tsp. of cinnamon.
- Once these are mixed, add them to your blender and blend until mix is uniform. Pour the gooey delicious mix into your pan, and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.
- Don’t bother trying to get into this cake until it sits for at least 15 minutes- it is super moist and gooey, and your friends will never believe that it is gluten free AND full of protein. Enjoy!
For more fabulous gluten-free tips and recipes come to our Gluten Free Baking Workshop, happening at 4:30pm on Wednesday, Nov. 7th. Or come out to the café and try some of our gf goodies we dare you to do a taste test, and promise you won’t be able to tell the difference.
We are open Monday through Friday, 8am-3:30pm, and are located just past the Great Hall. See you at the Spoon!