Chickpeas and Chocolate – Made For Each Other

You are probably thinking I’m out of my mind.  Chickpeas are for hummus and chocolate is for cakes and cookies,  right? Technically, yes.  Stick with me though and I’ll make you a believer. My oldest daughter, Cookie, is gluten intolerant.  Having baked goods in the house makes me feel bad for her because she can’t have any of it.   A few months ago I  reviewed a little recipe eBook called Cooking With Beans.  There is a recipe in the book for a Garbanzo Bean Chocolate Cake.  I was very skeptical about how good this would be because chickpeas have a very distinctive,  strong, almost metallic flavor.  Since the confection was going to be gluten free I powered ahead despite my reservations.

It was freezing cold and we were getting our first blizzard in many years.  The girls had never seen so much snow so they went outside and made their happy snowman.  Now it’s later in the evening and they had their noses pressed up against any available window so they could watch the myriads of snowflakes blow furiously by the house.  I knew we weren’t going anywhere and I had a hankering for something chocolaty. When I went digging through the cupboards I found a bag of forgotten semi-sweet chocolate chips.  So I pulled out the recipe for Garbanzo Bean Chocolate Cake and started mixing. I had anticipated that I was going to try this so I asked Hubby the day before to get me a can of garbanzo beans.  Then it dawned on me that I had chick peas in the freezer from several months before.  SO, I used those instead.  Here are the ingredients:

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Recipe courtesy of Cooking With Beans:

Garbanzo Bean Chocolate Cake (gluten Free)

Ingredients

2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips

1 19-ounce can rinsed and drained garbanzo beans

4 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

¾ cups of white sugar

½ teaspoon of baking powder

½ cup of chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon of confectioner’s sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.

3. Microwave chocolate on medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stopping to stir every 20-30 seconds until chocolate is completely melted.

4. Combine the beans, vanilla and eggs in a food processor and pulse until smooth.

5. Add the sugar and baking powder, pulse again until blended.

6. Pour in chocolate and blend again until well combined.

7. Stir in walnuts gently by hand.

8. Transfer to a greased 9-inch round cake pan.

9. Bake for 30-40 minutes in the preheated oven until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

10. Cool and dust with sugar before serving.

Jones, Rhiana (2013-09-25). Cooking with Beans (Frugal Living Academy) (Kindle Locations 391-413). RLJ Publishing. Kindle Edition. [/dropshadowbox]

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It’s not the most beautiful cake in the world.  One fantastic thing about it is I was able to fool even the pickiest and most discerning of sweet confection connoisseurs – my Dad!  He really liked it and had to restrain himself from eating more than he should.  He could not for the life of him figure out what the cake was made out of when I asked.  Not only is the cake delicious, super moist, but it’s also full of protein and gluten free to boot.  Give this a try and see whom you can fool!