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Home » Dessert » Gluten-Free Chocolate Quinoa Cake (Perfect for Passover)

Gluten-Free Chocolate Quinoa Cake (Perfect for Passover)

Last Updated April 20, 2024. Published March 26, 2018 Good For You Gluten Free

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Gluten-Free Chocolate Quinoa Cake (Perfect for Passover)
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This gluten-free chocolate quinoa cake recipe yields a rich, chocolatey dessert that your guests won’t believe is gluten-free. It’s also the perfect Passover-friendly dessert. Since my birthday falls on or around Passover, it’s also sometimes my birthday cake. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.

I love a good chocolate cake, so when I received a review copy of The Healthy Jewish Kitchen by Paula Shoyer and saw a decadent chocolate quinoa cake inside, I knew I had to make it. Ever since I first laid eyes on this cake, I have made it every year for Passover. And without fail, every year, it’s a wild success!

This chocolate quinoa cake is perfect on many levels. Let me gush a bit:

  • It’s rich and chocolatey. You’ll feel like you’re indulging in a forbidden cake.
  • It’s flourless. The only “grain” (quinoa is a pseudo-grain) you’ll find is cooked quinoa blended into the batter.
  • It’s 100 percent gluten-free, so it’s safe to enjoy if you have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
  • It’s perfect for Passover, a Jewish holiday when the Jewish people are forbidden to eat leavened bread made from wheat, rye, barley, oats, and spelt. Quinoa is allowed and works beautifully in this cake.

While this is the perfect Passover chocolate cake, I know you’ll soon find out that it deserves to be served year-round!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Quinoa Cake 1

How to Make Chocolate Quinoa Cake

The gluten-free chocolate quinoa cake recipe is surprisingly simple to make. So much of it can be made ahead of time, too. In fact, if you plan right, you can make the quinoa a few days before Passover and leave it in your fridge until you’re ready to assemble your batter and bake your cake.

The first step in making this cake is to assemble your ingredients, and of course, this includes having your quinoa cooked and ready to go. You can use any style of quinoa you like, although make sure the package is labeled gluten-free. Read Is Quinoa Gluten Free? for more information on how to purchase safe, gluten-free quinoa.

I used this ancient grain blend of quinoa, which adds texture to the cake. For a smoother texture, use a milled white quinoa. 

Ingredients for chocolate quinoa cake

Now combine orange juice, eggs, vanilla, oil, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a food processor. Pulse 5-6 times, then add quinoa and process the mixture until smooth, about 60 seconds. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a high-speed blender.)

Blending quinoa into chocolate cake batter

You’ll then add the melted chocolate to the food processor and pulse a few more times until it’s well blended. It should look like a smooth chocolate cake batter.

Chocolate quinoa cake batter inside a food processor

You’ll then add the batter to a well-greased and floured bundt pan (use potato starch as your “flour”) and place it in the oven to bake for 50 minutes. The cake will stick to the pan, so make sure you coat the bundt pan well with cooking spray or oil.

chocolate quinoa cake batter inside a bundt pan

Here is what the cake looks like once it’s baked. After it has cooled for 10-20 minutes in the bundt pan, you’ll want to flip it out of the pan onto a wire rack to fully cool. If the sides are stuck, use a spatula to loosen the sides. Be gentle with the cake!

baked chocolate quinoa cake inside a bundt pan

In the original recipe, you melt bittersweet chocolate, oil, and a little vanilla together, and then the glaze is slathered on the cake.

However, I have come to love frosting instead of chocolate glaze. It tastes more like a donut with the frosting on top! My frosting is made from cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and dairy-free milk.

Both toppings are featured in the recipe below, so take your pick!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Quinoa cake frosted and plated alongside quinoa

A Few More Details about the Chocolate Quinoa Cake

Here are a few things you need to know about this gluten-free chocolate quinoa cake recipe:

Texture: This cake has an awesome texture. Depending on the brand of quinoa you use, you might be able to feel the quinoa in your mouth as you chew the cake. 

You can make the quinoa more smooth in texture by blending the quinoa well into the cake batter. The more blended it becomes, the more cake-like the texture. 

Moist: This cake is extremely moist, much more moist than other chocolate cakes I’ve made in the past. If you like a moist chocolate cake, this cake is for you. I think the quinoa helps it hold in the moisture. Yum!

Flavor: You don’t taste the quinoa at all, which some people dislike because of its nutty flavor and scent. This cake tastes rich and chocolatey. While it does have sugar in it, it’s not that sweet—just right.

Appearance: Well, it looks amazing, right? Your eyes do not deceive you. This cake tastes as good as it looks. I wish I were a better photographer!

Gluten-Free Quinoa Chocolate Cake 7

Kosher for Passover: All ingredients in this cake are Kosher for Passover. Quinoa is fine to use during Passover, and you add a little potato starch to dust the pan. You could also use tapioca starch, and if it’s not Passover, you could use cornstarch as well.

Close up on slice of gluten-free chocolate quinoa cake

Protein-Rich: Quinoa contains four grams of protein and three grams of fiber per serving. While many people consider quinoa a grain, it’s technically a seed and one of the healthier “grains” you can consume. Keep in mind, however, that while quinoa is gluten-free, it still contains 17 net carbs per serving so it is not considered a low-carb food.

Make Ahead: You can make this cake 1-2 days ahead of time. I find it becomes even more moist with time. However, I think the cake tastes best when it’s freshly baked. I prepare the quinoa ahead of time so it’s easier to assemble.

Other Passover Recipes

Try any of these Passover-friendly recipes at your gluten-free seders:

  • Passover Charoset
  • Homemade Gluten-Free Oat Matzah
  • Gluten-Free Matzo Ball Soup
  • Easy Beef Brisket
  • Sweet BBQ Cola Chicken
  • No-Bake Gluten-Free Chocolate Matzah Cake
  • Lemon Crinkle Cookies
  • Overnight Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies
  • Gluten-Free Flourless Chocolate Torte
Gluten-Free Chocolate Quinoa Cake header

Gluten-Free Chocolate Quinoa Cake

This cake is totally gluten-free and perfect for Passover and year-round. As you'll see, it contains no flour, just protein-rich quinoa. The cake is moist and stays moist for days after making it. Enjoy it for Passover along with some fresh fruit or year-round as a delicious moist chocolate cake. They don't have to know there's quinoa in there!
5 from 2 votes
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Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, Jewish
Keyword: Chocolate cake recipe for Passover, gluten-free cake recipes, gluten-free passover recipes, quinoa cake recipe
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes
Servings: 14 slices
Calories: 379kcal
Author: Jenny Levine Finke

Equipment

  • Bundt pan (10" or 12 cup)

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups quinoa See notes
  • potato starch for dusting bundt pan
  • 1/3 cup orange juice approximately juice of 1 fresh orange
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips bittersweet or semi-sweet, melted (see notes)

To Make Glaze:

  • 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350º F and lightly grease bundt pan and then dust the pan with potato starch. Shake off excess starch.
  • Place orange juice, eggs, vanilla, oil, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a food processor. Pulse 5-6 times. Add quinoa and process mixture until smooth, about 60 seconds.
  • Add melted chocolate to the quinoa mixture and process for another 30-60 seconds until well combined.
  • Pour batter into bundt pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
  • Allow cake 10 minutes to cool, then gently flip it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  • To make the glaze, melt 5 ounces of chocolate in microwave, then add oil and vanilla to mixture and mix well. Drizzle or spread mixture over cooled cake. See notes for optional frosting recipe.

Notes

To cook quinoa, combine 3/4 cup of quinoa with 1½ cups of water in a small pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and remove from heat. The quinoa is cooked after all the water is absorbed by the quinoa, about 20-30 minutes. Measure out 1½ cups of loosely packed cooked quinoa. You may have a little quinoa leftover, which you can use for something else or discard. 
To melt the chocolate, add chocolate to a microwave-safe dish. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, then mix and continue to microwave in 15-second intervals, mixing after each interval until lightly melted.
Optional topping: Instead of the chocolate topping, you can make a delicious chocolate glaze (think of the glaze on a donut). To do this, combine the following ingredients and mix well. Then, either drizzle or spread the glaze over the cake. Yum!
  • 3 Tbsp milk substitute
  • 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1.5 cups powdered sugar 

Nutrition

Calories: 379kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 108mg | Potassium: 342mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 97IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @GoodForYouGlutenFree or tag #goodforyouglutenfree!

Filed Under: Cake, Dessert, Jewish Foods 6 Comments

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Good For You Gluten Free says

    March 18, 2021 at 7:34 pm

    Yes of course! You can also make it 1-2 days ahead of Passover. It tastes moist and good for many days (if it lasts that long)

  2. Ineke loewenberg says

    March 18, 2021 at 3:05 am

    Can you freeze this cake?

  3. Chris says

    October 1, 2019 at 4:07 pm

    Third the me I’ve made this! Added 1 tbs of cinnamon and used cocoa instead of potato starch. Best yet! The requests for the recipe just keep coming!

  4. Chris says

    May 13, 2019 at 5:23 pm

    Made this again – following the directions this time :-). Can’t stop thinking and talking about how good (uh..great) it is! It was such a success that I’ve been asked to make it for a wedding shower in early June for a lovely friend with celiac. I’m honored to be asked and am looking forward to more compliments, which I will refer to “goodforyouglutenfree.com”.
    Thank you a thousand times!

  5. Jenny says

    March 25, 2019 at 5:28 pm

    Oh no sounds like an ordeal but it sounds like it ended up ok. It’s a really delic cake. Enjoy for Passover!!

  6. Chris says

    March 25, 2019 at 3:40 pm

    This was an adventure in cooking!!’ Never mind that hubby drank all the oj -easy enough to sub water. Then : no bundt pan! But thanks to Google, I found that 2 8 inch pans – watched carefully after 25 minutes baking – would work. Pans in the oven: I didn’t even take out the potato starch !! I quickly poured the batter back into a clean bowl and added 2 tablespoons of potato starch and put them back into the oven.
    THEN I looked at the recipe: oops! I added the potato starch instead of coating the pans with it! (This May be a helpful hint: I generally coat pans with cocoa powder if it’s a chocolate cake).
    Anyway: this recipe is terrific! Easy when you read and follow directions! Delicious! I’m sure my family will enjoy it all year round. Thanks. Happy Passover all!

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Hi, I'm Jenny Levine Finke and am passionate about the gluten-free lifestyle. I'm a certified integrative nutrition coach and self-taught expert on [most] gluten-free things. I have celiac disease and know the struggles you're going through first-hand. This is why I've dedicated this blog to serving the celiac and gluten sensitive communities with important information, product and restaurant reviews, and simple recipes I hope you'll love. Read More…

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