This is a super moist cake that combines the classics of chocolate and cherry without any gluten or dairy!
I realise that adding cooked quinoa might seem very odd but it really does help here to keep the shape and certainly adds its own nuttiness.
I tend to cook a bigger quantity of quinoa, using some for a salad and reserving some for this cake.
I didn’t ice this cake as it’s for the school lunch boxes, just a little icing sugar over the top.
Ingredients
100g quinoa
250mls water
4 eggs, seperated
150g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
100g ground almonds
2x 415g tins cherries, drained and patted dry
Method
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Centigrade. Grease and line a 24cm ring cake tin.
Pour the quinoa into a pan, add the water, cover with a lid and bring up to the boil and simmer, covered for 13-15 minutes. Leaving the lid on, allow to sit, covered, for 5 minutes and then allow to cool.
Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Fold in the vanilla and cocoa followed by the cooked quinoa and ground almonds.
With clean beaters, beat the egg whites until forming stiff peaks.
Gently fold a couple of tablespoons of egg white into the yolk mix, then gradually fold in the remaining egg white in three or four stages.
Sprinkle one third of the cherries over the base of the prepared tin.
Spoon over half of the cake batter, spreading it out gently.
Top with a third of the cherries again and the remaining cake batter. Sprinkle over the last cherries and pop into the oven.
Bake for 45 minutes until the edges of the cake are coming away from the pan.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin and then tip onto a baking rack to cool completely.
Reblogged this on Recipe Dreams.
I like the combination of chocolate and cherry!
Thanks again Chris! 🙂 Ros
Quinoa in a cake base – now that’s interesting! Protein packed too!
Love chocolate…love cherries 🍒
They are a bit of a classic combo! 🙂 Ros
I love cherries! This looks wonderful.
Thanks so much Debbie! 🙂 Ros
Interesting… The nuttiness you mention, is that just flavour wise and the texture similar to a normal cake or is their a noticeable bite/crunch in the texture?
Hi Tim, apologies for taking so long to get back to you! The quinoa adds a slight nutty flavour and it does alter the texture compared to a “normal” cake but makes it lovely and moist! 🙂 Ros
The cherries goes so well with chocolate. Shades of German “Black Forest Cake” without the whip cream. The icing sugar is great eye appeal! BRAVO!!!
Thanks Simply Splendid Food, that’s very kind of you! 🙂 Ros
I recently tried a chocolate and cherry torte and loved it. I must add this of my cakes to try. Thanks for sharing, Chloe.
https://pinkiebag.com/
My pleasure Chloe! 🙂 Ros
Hi Ros. I tried this out today and it was a winner! I found it useful to put the mixture into a food processor for the almond meal/quinoa part, as I found it a bit firm to mix otherwise. It turned out great, and even the gluten eaters loved it. Thanks!
So glad you liked it Fmmcadam, life is so much easier when the gluten eaters eat the same as us! 🙂 Ros