About MissCakeBaker

I spend the week running in heels and the weekends in my apron.

Saturday 21 January 2012

Chocolate Cake with a Twist





I love black beans, especially in home made soup with smoky bacon added to it.  Knowing they are good for you is an extra bonus too. That is actually a bit of an understatement - they are seriously good for you - high in fibre, folate, protein, antioxidants and vitamin B, along with numerous other vitamins and minerals. In fact in Brazil, one of the world's key black bean producers, they have even been given an exclusive place on the Brazilian Food Pyramid, which means they are essentially recommended as their own unique food group.


But I digress and the aim of this blog isn't to sound like a public health broadcast!  I am leading to the fact that I was intrigued to read about a chocolate cake containing black beans as one of the main ingredients on  the blog A Hippie with a Minivan. I had been toying with what to make for the We Should Cocoa January Challenge where this month Chele at Chocolate Teapot has set us the task of making something 'healthy' with chocolate. Things such as relatively healthy flapjacks sprung to mind but when I saw this recipe I knew it would fit the bill nicely.  While the cake does contain butter and sugar the black beans are the main ingredient, replacing flour, so also making it gluten free. The other bonus is this cake is so quick and easy to make.  It is best served warm with a nice dollop of creme fraiche (low fat of course....).


The recipe can be found here on A Hippie with a Minivan blog.

14 comments:

  1. Black beans in chocolate cake? Can you taste the beans? It looks really good and I'm glad to have another gluten free recipe to add to my list as I know more and more people who are gluten intolerant.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks delicious and I love black beans . . . I just may give this a try! Thanks for a great recipe and have a lovely weekend!

    Mary

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the comments. No you wouldn't know at all.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a great idea. I guess no stranger than beetroot being added to the cake. Also good to have a gluten free recipe for chocolate cake. Looks dee-lish!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi! This sounds so delicious!
    Have a great Saturday

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your cake looks lovely and moist. I am intrigued by the use of black beans and must try and get hold of some so I can try it out for myself. It's really useful to have some more gluten free recipes.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Interesting idea. I'd definitely never thought of black beans in a sweet way before, if you see what I mean.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ah genius! I'm looking for an excuse to make chocolate cake this weekend. Perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow!! When I set the challenge I can honestly say I never expected black beans to make an appearance. I am intrigued now, so how does the finished product taste then??? I too have only ever had black beans in a stir fry etc. Thanks so much for taking part with such a brill recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ooh, now that's something new! I can imagine they made a great texture for the cake

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow! What an interesting addition and a great great idea and brilliant 'healthy' entry for We Should Cocoa!

    ReplyDelete
  12. It really does taste like a flourless chocolate cake but not quite as rich - the beans make it really moist. I gave it to a friend to try without telling her what's in it and she thought it was beetroot. I'm not the biggest beetroot fan so I think it tastes nicer than cakes made with it but maybe not dissimilar.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Beautiful cake and very interesting. Makes me want to try it straight away!

    ReplyDelete
  14. That's totally different! Black Beans in a Chocolate Cake! Gotta try this one because it sounds so good.

    Regards,
    Haley McAdams
    ISOcampus FSMS Training

    ReplyDelete