Have you ever had a surprise party thrown for you? I haven’t. Well, actually, once in college, I had a “surprise” party for my 21st birthday – only I knew about it all along and somehow managed to get food poisoning (actual food poisoning, not euphemism-for-hangover food poisoning) so was late to the party and had to keep stepping out for some fresh air so I wouldn’t hurl. Um, surprise?
The surprise party I went to last weekend was about 5 million times more successful than that one. My good friend and upstairs neighbor threw the most epic weekend of surprise partying for her husband who just earned his masters degree and is about to celebrate a big birthday. There were decoy plans and special guests and so much Chipotle, I almost turned into an avocado (no complaints). I knew she had her hands full, so I volunteered to make some dessert. And because I am a crazy person, “some dessert” turned into 3 trays of 7 different types of treats, plus Nutella cookie dip (see below, right above the third picture, for instructions). And a cake. Of course, a cake.
The story behind this cake is long and hilarious, but only if you’re me, so the short version is this: after I posted these black bean brownies, two friends emailed me the recipe for the best and worst black bean dessert they had ever had. The funny part is that it turned out to be the same recipe. Obviously, I just had to try it! I played around with it a little bit, and it was so delicious that I had to bring it for this party. Not a single person realized it was gluten free, let alone guessed what the secret ingredient is. You won’t either!
But, for those of you who might have been burned by black bean recipes before, here’s the scoop to make sure this one is a success:
- Thoroughly puree the beans. Like, into teeny tiny specks. There is no better way to ruin a bite of cake than with a chunk of beans.
- Make sure you are using natural cocoa powder, not dutch-processed. Special Dark is usually my cocoa powder of choice, because I like the super dark chocolate flavor, but I would recommend using natural here because it facilitates rising better. And I love a tall fluffy cake, don’t you?
- Use salt. The original recipe didn’t call for it, but it enhances the chocolate flavor.
- Don’t leave the cake out longer than you have to. It dries out faster than a regular chocolate cake, so if you are going to bake it in advance, make sure you store it in an airtight container as soon as it’s thoroughly cooled, and don’t take it out until you’re ready to frost/serve it. Once you’ve cut it, if you’re not serving it immediately, a little piece of plastic wrap over the exposed part of the cake would help a lot. I know this sounds excessive and Martha-Stewart-y, but in this case, I think it makes a difference.
- If at all possible, add sprinkles.
Thank you to Natvia for providing the ingredients that inspired this delicious recipe. This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click through and purchase a product, A Clean Bake receives a small commission, which goes toward continuing to bring you delicious, healthy recipes every week. This does not affect the price you pay. Thanks for supporting A Clean Bake!
Gluten Free Chocolate Layer Cake
Ingredients
- 1 can black beans (15.5 ounces),, rinsed and drained
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 Tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled, (dairy or vegan butter is ok, or sub coconut oil)
- 1/2 cup granulated stevia
- 1/2 cup natural cocoa powder, (do not use Dutch processed)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- Your favorite chocolate frosting, for finishing (see notes)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Coat 2 x 6" round baking pans with a layer of butter, oil, or cooking spray, then a layer of cocoa powder. Set aside
- In a food processor, puree the beans, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Add butter/oil, then sweetener, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Puree until smooth, ensuring all of the ingredients are incorporated (i.e. stop a few times and scrape down the bowl.)
- Split the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes (mine took exactly 33 minutes) until a tester comes out clean.
- Cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan, before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To assemble cake, put a dollop of frosting on your cake plate or stand, and center one of the cakes on it. This holds it in place. Put a large portion (1/2 cup, more if you prefer) of frosting on top and spread into an even layer. Add the second layer of cake. Put the rest of the frosting on top of the cake layer and spread it across the top, then wiggle the excess down the sides to cover.
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 8 hours before serving.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Adapted from Chocolate and Carrots
- This is my favorite frosting recipe, but if you need a dairy-free one, try this version.
Stacy | Wicked Good Kitchen says
Beautiful chocolate cake, Nora! I’ve baked with black beans, applesauce, lekvar (prune puree) and yogurt, and no one has ever guessed the secret ingredients! I love the story behind the cake recipe (one friend hated it, the other loved it, LOL!). Thanks for sharing and have a great week!
Nora @ A Clean Bake says
Thank you Stacy! It’s so much fun trying all sneak all of the unexpected ingredients into these recipes!
Colleen says
What a pretty cake! I’ve only tried black bean brownies once (and I liked ’em!), but this cake looks so good that I think I should make another black bean recipe soon…..aka, this one 🙂
Nora @ A Clean Bake says
Thanks, Colleen! I hope you get a chance to try this!
Justine@Cooking and Beer says
This cake is ABSOLUTELY beautiful! It’s almost too beautiful to eat! I’m also slowly dying over that cake stand. Need it!
Nora @ A Clean Bake says
Thanks, Justine! The cake stand is from Amazon if you’re in the market 😉
Erika says
Oh my god. This looks AMAZINGGGG. That first shot is PURE MONEY! I’m so glad this turned out for you!!!!!!! Did you ever figure out what went wrong with the other girl’s cake?? In any case, that party sounds like it was so much fun and you are a ROCKSTAR dessert bring-er! Holy crap! Probably a good thing I wasn’t there because I would have wanted to try every single cookie plus the dip plus the cake. So. Basically I would have taken over the dessert table.
Nora @ A Clean Bake says
Haha, thanks Erika!
Yep, I think the other cake was a dud because of the cocoa powder she used. It was dutched, so it didn’t react with the baking soda and as a result the cake didn’t rise at all. I even tested this with Special Dark and natural cocoa and the natural rose about 50% more. It really makes a huge difference!
Mimi says
Oh yes. Gimme some of that! I just made garbanzo bean chocolate cake and omg, so good. I will be venturing onto black beans now. Also, that cake stand just gets more beautiful every time I see it .
Nora @ A Clean Bake says
I have to check out your garbanzo chocolate cake! I’ve never used those beans before in a cake 🙂
Mary Frances says
Nora, I have no words. Your photography is stunning. Like, that cake … wow, its all I can do to move away from the picture to the pin button. I cannot get over that it is made from beans! But I’m so glad – I can’t afford the GF flour (and I don’t have to, just for when we have GF friends over.) Love love love this!
Nora @ A Clean Bake says
Thank you so much, Mary Frances!! I know, isn’t the secret ingredient pretty unbelievable? I *TOTALLY* understand the concern about specialty flours. They really add up fast. I am working on more recipes like this one that doesn’t require special flours to make it gluten-free.
Allie|Baking a Moment says
This cake looks amazing, Nora, and that story about the best/worst black bean recipe is too funny!
Nora @ A Clean Bake says
It was such a funny coincidence! Glad you like the cake, Allie!
BabyJune says
Mmmm, that looks so luscious and chocolatey! The cake looks great, fancy or not. 🙂
Nora @ A Clean Bake says
Thanks so much!
Helen @ Scrummy Lane says
I saw the inside of this cake on Facebook, and it REALLY caught my attention. Love that you gave us some handy tips for getting the best results, too. Thanks!
Nora @ A Clean Bake says
Hi Helen, I’m so glad the cake caught your eye! It’s a really easy and delicious recipe. Hope you get a chance to try it and thanks for stopping by!
Cate @ Chez CateyLou says
This cake looks seriously moist! I still haven’t tried the black bean in baked good thing, but I really want to – the texture looks amazing! And the frosting and sprinkles – just perfect!
Nora @ A Clean Bake says
Give it a try, Cate! It really works surprisingly well 🙂
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
Goodness gracious, this looks like quite the treat! I’m pretty much in love. Yeah, totally in love.
Nora @ A Clean Bake says
This cake is truly love-worthy!
Roni Evans says
I have made this cake it’s almost like chocolate brownies l have made Delicious ,
Roni k Evans,
Buckhorn ont,
Nora @ A Clean Bake says
I’m so glad you liked it, Roni! You’re right, it is sort of like a cakey brownie 🙂
Monica Cheng says
Hahaha almost turned into an avocado? I wouldn’t complain either. Yummm, I love Chipotle…Wow, your friends really lucked out, with you being the baker extraordinaire and going above and beyond with the baking! 😉 This cake looks so delicious and moist; I didn’t realize black bean could be used in not only brownies but also cake! Yessss, Nutella cream cheese frosting…I approve (: What an awesome cake recipe!!
Nora @ A Clean Bake says
Yep, not a bad fate, eh? It’s pretty amazing how versatile black beans turn out to be. I am working on other ways to use them and other beans. It’s such a relief not to use the expensive GF flours sometimes 🙂 And I thought of you when I made this frosting – I knew you’d like it!!
Kara Phelps says
Question! I’d like to make this for my son’s first birthday coming up.. Is there any way I could sweeten it with fruit, (bananas or something?) instead of an actual sweetener. Please help!
Nora @ A Clean Bake says
Hi Kara! I wouldn’t recommend using fresh fruit (like mashed bananas or applesauce) because they contain so much moisture that it would really throw the proportions off and you’ll end up with a tense, soupy cake. Although I have not tried it, you might consider using date paste (which is just pureed pitted dried dates; here is one: http://amzn.to/1xBoq5g), which has a lower moisture content. I have never tried this with fruit as the sweetener, so I would love to hear how it turns out for you! Good luck!
Emilie says
WOW this recipe looks so good!!! And so simple, which is great–not any weird ingredients. As far as the natural cocoa powder, what are some brands you recommend? I’m not too familiar with the different types of cocoa powder. Thanks! 🙂
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Thanks, Emilie! Yep, that’s the idea – I try to use little/no specialty ingredients (assuming you don’t consider almond flour, etc specialty)! Great question about the cocoa powder. The short primer on cocoa powder is that there are 2 kinds, natural and dutch-processed. Natural reacts with leaveners to make the cake rise (it has to do with the acidic pH level of it, but I’ll save you the chemistry), and has a milder chocolate flavor. Dutched is the opposite – it has a very dark-roasted chocolatey flavor, but it is not going to contribute to rise.
So what does this mean for you? Well, if you are in the US, you’re probably using naturally-processed cocoa powder. Most cocoa powder in the US, unless otherwise marked, is naturally processed. So, if the can just says “cocoa powder” it is going to natural. The exception is some imported European brands, because in Europe it’s the opposite (the default is dutch-processed). So, if you get standard Hershey’s or ghirardelli, or something like that, it should be fine.
Does that help? Feel free to leave another comment or email me if you have more questions! 🙂
Emilie says
Yes that was very helpful, thank you!!
I’ll be making this as soon as I’m home for Easter (currently struggling in a dorm room without a kitchen for all my clean eats :/ ), so I’ll let you know how it turns out 🙂
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Oh great! I can’t wait to hear how it goes! And if you have a chance, I’d love to see a picture of the cake 🙂
Viola Miller says
Have any of you used mayonaise, or tomato soup to make a chocolate cake> They are amazingly super moist. Not the type for gluten free I’m afraid.????
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Viola, just so you know, this is a gluten free food blog. However, many of the recipes are naturally gluten free (i.e. you wouldn’t expect them to include any gluten anyway) so hopefully you will still be able to find something you like. I have not tried the mayo or tomato soup based chocolate cakes. They don’t really appeal to me.
Holly says
Hi,
This cake looks amazing! Where did you get your sprinkled from? Also, do you think I could sub garbanzo beans for black beans?
Thanks!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Hi Holly! If you’re looking for naturally-dyed sprinkles, here are the ones I use: http://amzn.to/2aSnBwx. I get them on Amazon.
As for the beans…. hmm… All I can say is try it at your own risk! In theory it should work, but I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t guarantee it! Sorry 🙂
Jane says
I made this today, and I’m so amazed at how it turned out! I am really surprised how fluffy it is. The batter was pretty bitter, so I added 1/2 tsp of stevia in addition to the the 1/2 cup of sugar. That ended up being the perfect amount.
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
I’m thrilled to hear that you enjoyed it and were able to adapt it to your taste!
Jen says
Has anyone ever tried this as cupcakes instead? Do they hold up as well? Stay more moist for longer? Not so much?? I was thinking of doing it for a birthday for a large group in cupcakes rather than 2 cakes. Whadya think?
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
I’ve never tried this one as cupcakes, but this recipe converts really well to cupcakes! The instructions are in the recipe notes but here they are: “If you’d like to make these into cupcakes, divide the batter into 8 compartments of a cupcake pan and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes.”