Let me make one thing clear - the following recipe still has calories and fat but it is lower in fat and calories than regular chocolate cake and has Protein - so it makes a nice chocolate cake fix and an even better alternative to a small piece of regular chocolate cake. It is FLOURLESS and for the most part (depending on which chocolate chips, vanilla you use) GLUTEN FREE.

Although you won't believe it when you taste it - the main ingredient it garbanzo Beans - trust me - my family loved it! (recipe was adapted from a similar recipe on all recipes.com)

Garbanzo Bean Chocolate Cake (12 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 (19 ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup eggbeaters

3/4 cup Splenda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. espresso powder (opt.)

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar for dusting

Sliced strawberries for topping

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch round cake pan.

2. Place the chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl. Cook in the microwave for about 2 minutes, stirring every 20 seconds after the first minute, until chocolate is melted and smooth. If you have a powerful microwave, reduce the power to 50 percent.

3. Combine the beans and eggbeaters in the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Add the Splenda, salt, espresso powder, vanilla and baking powder, pulse to blend. Pour in the melted chocolate and blend until smooth, scraping down the corners to make sure chocolate is completely mixed. Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan.

4. Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving and top with sliced or diced strawberries.

In addition to topping with strawberries - I like to serve it a-la-healthy-mode: instead of ice cream, top with a dollop of splenda sweetened greek style fat free plain yogurt

Also good made as cupcakes (easier to keep to the 12 servings) - for a more decadent serving - warm slightly, poke a little hole in the top and place a small scoop of vanilla or coffee frozen yogurt - to help myself out I use a small scooper - golf ball sized scoops

I've only made it post-banding and have not had a problem with it - maybe due to no flour - Good luck. Texture is similar to making a batch of brownies and using the cake style directions.

Hope you enjoy!

Edited August 31, 200817 yr by kcmagu
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I've made a similar one using black Beans, and another time I substituted kidney beasns. As long as you blend the beans REALLY well, it is a very simple tasty (according to DH) recipe.

The only change I would suggest is to blend all the beans first before adding the eggbeaters. It is just that it takes a lot of blending to ensure the skins of the beans are beaten, so I do the beans until almost done before I add the rest.

Do you have the stats for this cake? Calories, fat grams, etc? It looks interesting...

I did - can't believe I forgot to put that in - I'll have to go back and figure it again - will edit post this weekend.