The Ultimate Gluten Free Chocolate Cake {Recipe}

This cake, y'all. I don't even know where to start. I guess I could start by saying that it's made with quinoa. No - don't go! I promise it's delicious. My family said they liked it better than non-gluten free chocolate cake. They are self-proclaimed "cake snobs," so that is saying something!

The quinoa is cooked and then pureed, so if you puree it enough it is undetectable. I didn't puree mine quite long enough, so there were still little tiny bits of quinoa, but it didn't bother me or my family. There is no quinoa flavor, just delicious chocolate flavor. I never would have guessed that quinoa could make such a delicious, gluten free cake.

This isn't the typical light and fluffy cake - it is super fudgy and rich. It is paired with a whipped ganache so as to not be sickeningly sweet. It's amazing. I didn't call it "ultimate" just for fun.

The Ultimate Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
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Source: Once Upon a Tier. Adapted from Barefeet In The Kitchen.
Yields 12-14 servings

Ingredients:
The Cake:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa powder  (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups cooked white quinoa
1/3 cup milk
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup butter, melted 

The Ganache:
2 cups chocolate chips
2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions:
For the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 9-inch cake pans generously with baking spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Add the quinoa to a food processor and pulse until the quinoa is broken up and sticks together. Add the milk, eggs, vanilla, and butter and puree until smooth and no bits of quinoa are seen, stopping to scrape the sides of the processor occasionally. 
4. Add the quinoa mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until fully combined.
5. Pour the batter evenly into the cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes before flipping them out onto cooling racks. Let cool completely before frosting. 

For the whipped ganache:
6. Place the chocolate chips in the bowl of an electric mixer. In a small saucepan, heat the cream until it just begins to boil. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate chips. Whisk the cream and chocolate until the chocolate is completely melted. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least an hour.
7. When the ganache is chilled, attach the whisk attachment to the stand mixer and whisk on high speed until soft peaks form. 

Assembling the cake:
8. Place one cake layer onto a cake plate. Spread half of the whipped ganache onto the layer. Place the other cake layer on top of the ganache. Spread the remaining ganache on top of the cake. Keep refigerated.

Enjoy!   
  

Rachel and my mom dug in as soon as I told them I was done taking pictures. The piece was gone in seconds.

It's seriously that good.

Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake {Recipe}

I decided to finally jump on the pumpkin bandwagon! The chocolate pumpkin bandwagon.

I like to hold on to Summer for as long as I can, but Fall is definitely here now. The leaves are all falling to the ground after changing their pretty colors. I guess this is my "Welcome Fall" cake.

I was at work the other day when these thoughts popped into my head: Chocolate pumpkin cheesecake cake! A chocolate cake with pumpkin cheesecake in the middle and pumpkin buttercream. With chocolate ganache!

I then got on the internet and Googled chocolate pumpkin cheesecake cakes. Nothing matched what I was looking for so I narrowed it down to just "pumpkin cheesecake cake." I found ones that were pumpkin cakes with plain cheesecake in the middle, but I wanted pumpkin cheesecake in the middle...with chocolate cake! I then thought, does chocolate and pumpkin even go together? Let me tell you: chocolate and pumpkin go together. No, they were made for each other.

I am so glad that I decided bring the Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake to life. I really hope you will try it!

Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake
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Source: Once Upon a Tier. Cheesecake layer adapted from Lori Lange's many cheesecake cakes at RecipeGirl.com
Yields 12-14 servings

Ingredients:
Pumpkin Cheesecake Layer:
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin, NOT pumpkin pie filling
1/4 cup sour cream
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/16 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/16 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Cake Layers:
1 box Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix
1 small (3.9 oz.) box chocolate pudding mix
4 large eggs
3/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup water or milk

Pumpkin Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves
Pinch salt
1 pound powdered sugar

Chocolate Ganache:
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:
For the Cheesecake Layer:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Fill a 13x9 pan with an inch of water and place it on the lowest oven rack. Place another oven rack on the level above the pan of water. Spray a 9-inch spring-form pan with nonstick spray.

2. Using an electric mixer beat the cream cheese until it is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.  Add in the sugar and salt and beat for 2 more minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each egg until incorporated. Mix in the sour cream, pumpkin, spices, and vanilla until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared spring-form pan. Place the pan on the rack above the 13x9 pan. Bake the cheesecake for 40-45 minutes or until the cheesecake is set and doesn’t jiggle. Let the cheesecake cool on a wire rack. After it has completely cooled, put the pan in the freezer until the cheesecake is frozen through. This will take at least 3 hours and may be frozen overnight.

For the Chocolate Cake Layers:
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 9-inch cake pans with floured baking spray.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, add all of the ingredients. With the electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Increase to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes. Pour half of the batter into each prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool on wire racks for about 10 minutes, then flip the cakes out of the pans and let them cool completely.

For the Pumpkin Buttercream:
5. With an electric mixer, mix the butter, pumpkin, and vanilla until smooth. Add the spices, salt, and powdered sugar and mix on low speed until smooth and combined.

For the Ganache:
6. Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl; set aside.

7. In a small saucepan, bring the cream just to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Whisk until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Let cool to room temperature.

Assembling the Cake:

 
1. Level the chocolate cakes by cutting off the crown. Place one of the chocolate cake layers onto a cake stand or cake board. Spread a thin layer of the pumpkin buttercream on top. 

2. Take the cheesecake out of the freezer and take off the sides of the pan. Slide a knife under the cheesecake to remove it from the pan. Place the cheesecake layer on top of the first cake layer. Spread another thin layer of buttercream on top of the cheesecake layer. 

3. Place the second cake layer on top of the cheesecake. 

4. Frost the entire cake with the pumpkin buttercream.

5. Pour the ganache onto the top of the cake. Using an offset spatula, spread the ganache towards the edge of the cake until it starts to drip down the sides.

You can leave the cake like this, or you can add the swirls like I did. To do this, fit a decorating bag with a Wilton 1M tip. Fill the bag with whatever pumpkin buttercream is leftover from frosting the cake. Pipe 8 evenly spaced swirls around the top of the cake. Place a chocolate chip upside down onto the tip of each swirl. Slice, eat, and enjoy!!

Mocha Basket Weave

I made this cake the other day:

It was a chocolate cake with mocha icing. I was disappointed though because the mocha icing was delicious by itself, but after it was on the cake, it just tasted like chocolate icing. Oh well though, it was still good. :)

I used a different tip for this basket weave than my last basket weave. Which one do you like better?