Gluten-free / Chocolate-free Cakes??

Hey again, everybody!


So this post is about something I'd hinted at, but didn't really go into depth about.
Therefore, I'd like to take this opportunity to share with you a recent discovery:

The glory (and ease!) of gluten-free / chocolate-free baking.

I'm going to be honest with you, I didn't even know about gluten-free diets until I moved to Corvallis. And it's no surprise, since even people in Portland, upon hearing I'm from Corvallis, say "Oh, you mean Gluten-Free Corvallis?"
That's right, this place has at least three gluten-free establishments in the downtown vicinity alone.

And to be more so honest with you, my belief in this whole "gluten is the devil" mindset fluctuates day to day from "yes, totally!" to "give me a break please".
But for the two kiddos' parties I threw earlier this month, I went the gluten-free route for particular guests I knew would appreciate it.

The idea of baking gluten-free always sounded so intimidating because alternative flours such as almond flour have a reputation for being so expensive.
So what was I to do?

Well, when a friend mentioned chickpea flour, I remembered that I had a bunch of dried chickpeas in my cupboard and a grinder to turn them into flour! But when I tried looking up "chickpea chocolate cake" I came across this recipe.
Two things struck me about this recipe:

1) the chickpeas it calls for don't have to be some fancy flour... it's just canned chickpeas!

2) you use a blender to mix everything together. Energy saving!!

Add to that, the fact that it doesn't even call for typical cane sugar but rather OJ...and I was hooked.
I got many a compliment at Ella's party on the cake (though I wouldn't be surprised if some were pity compliments because the guests had seen me struggling with it...) and I really don't know if I could ever go back to conventional "white flour + white sugar" based cakes.

The second cake I fell in love with...I don't remember how I found it...but I've made it twice now is:

**~ Healthy Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake ~**

This baby relies on black beans in place of flour, and honey (or in my case apple concentrate) instead of cane sugar.
Amazing!!!
I made it for Willam's birthday party and for our friend's house-warming party.

And so my initial fear/misunderstanding/impatience/intimidation in regards to gluten-free baking has dissipated! If you come to our place and expect dessert...you can expect one of these bean-based cakes for sure. :D

What about you? Gluten-free baking your cup of tea or worst nightmare? You think you'll be giving beans a role in your cake-baking from now on? ;)

Until next time, take care and Happy Gluten-Free Baking!!