Tuesday 20 August 2019

Recipe: chocolate 'cake'


When I read this recipe I thought 'what a travesty' but a friend said it was delicious.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained, thought I, so I had a go and what a surprise!

It is delicious!  Not too sweet, nice and chocolatey and a firm texture, nothing like cake, more like a firm brownie (but not too dry).

It seems to be pretty much 'out there' all over the place as I found when I Google searched for oven timing and temperature rather than microwaving, so I don't think I'm being too bad repeating it in here.

A word of caution though.  I've made it clear what I think of 'tweaks' (which this is) but if you do syn tweaks, take care!  The chickpeas are a tweak!
Also see my note about the sweetener in the Ingredients section.

Ingredients.
400g chickpeas, drained (if you're using home soaked and cooked ones, it's 240g)
3 eggs, whisked
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp golden syrup (2.5 syns) or maple syrup (2 syns) - I used golden syrup
30g cocoa (Morrison's cocoa, four level tbsp, 6 syns)
*1 cup sweetener (I used half a cup as I don't like things too sweet)
1 tsp baking powder (1/2 a syn)

*  Because I used half a cup - eight tbsp, each slice uses less that one tbsp so it doesn't need to be synned.  If you use the whole cup - too sweet for me - thn you'd have to allow one more syn per slice)

Method
If you're using the oven, preheat to 180C
Prepare a Victoria sponge sized tin (if using the oven) or an appropriate microwave proof flan dish by oiling the sides and lining the bottom with parchment.

When the oven is up to temperature, whisk the eggs in a bowl, then put all the ingredients in a blender and blitz together until the mixture is as smooth as possible.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin/dish.
Cook in the oven for 25 mins or in the microwave on high for about seven minutes(I am told - I didn't use the microwave so can't say for sure)

When cooked, leave for a short time, then run a knife around the sides and turn out onto a cooling rack.

I cut mine into twelve slices.  They're quite small and each slice is 3/4 of a syn.  I had one for dessert with some natural yogurt and strawberries and the other eleven are now wrapped and in the freezer!


As you do, I've already started thinking of variations.  Some chopped nuts, perhaps (remember to syn them) or, what would be nice if it works is some orange and lemon zest.
I shall just HAVE to make it again, won't I.  Such a shame!!!

6 comments:

  1. Well I never! It's amazing what you can make cake out of....well done. xx

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    1. I was so surprised. I mean - chickpeas???? Non-egg protein in a cake! :-) Healthy!
      xx

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  2. Firstly, well done on being strong enough to portion and freeze! I don't like chickpeas but presumably it's a bit like carrot cake where you can't taste the carrot. I think I'll make this for the next SW party. If I put it in a square tin, it will be easy to cut into small cubes. If you'd like it a bit less dense you could add another egg or 50ml of water (I do this with cakes that I make as it makes them lighter). I quite like the idea of a brownie texture though.

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    1. You honestly can't tell that it has chickpeas in it. Just make sure the whole thing has been well blitzed so there's no bits of chickpea left. You can't get it totally smooth because of the chickpea skins but that goes during cooking.
      I think a square tin would make it a lot easier to partition and I'll try adding some water next time, although I rather like it as it is too.
      It's not squidgy like a brownie, but it is more that sort of texture than a cake texture, as you can see in the photo.
      I really was very surprised that it was as nice as it was - a real chocolate hit and that small amount was very satisfying.

      And the house smelled wonderful while it was cooking!
      xx

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  3. Sounds like it's worth a try - filling teenage boys is a challenge!

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  4. I used to make Yorkshire puds with all kinds of meals to fill up my teenagers! I swear the younger son had hollow legs

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