Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake, gluten free, refined sugar free, dairy free, xanthan free

Make this moist, chewy, grain-free Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake for a party or when you don't want to mess with making batches of cookies. It tastes like the best chocolate chip cookie ever but without the flour and high carbs! Healthy, delicious, easy to make and surprisingly decadent!

Months ago, I opened a bag of chickpeas/garbanzo beans, covered them in water, and planned to soak them for a day or two before I roasted them for a snack.

Well, as life tends to go, I never had the time to roast the soaked beans, so I dried them off and froze them for another day.

When I was cleaning out the freezer recently, I found them and thought I should use them up, but I was in the mood for a gluten-free healthy chocolate chip cookie, not spicy baked chickpeas...so I decided to play around a bit!

Once I was done with the batter I was tired and the thought of putting in batches of cookies didn't sound fun in the heat wave we are having so I made a cake instead. I think you could spread this wonderful concoction out on a sheet pan for bars too! I don't know why I didn't think of that at the time!

Regardless, I loved how the cake came out and I will be making it again when we have company in the future. It's amazingly rich, moist and tastes just like a cookie!

Why chickpeas you ask? Well, there are many reasons. I prefer grain free baked goods, but I don't always want to cook with all nuts since they are expensive and high in fat. Chickpeas are very economical, especially in the dry form and you don't have to worry about the BPA in canned goods. They are high in protein, vitamins and they work great in grain free baking.

I didn't cook the beans this time and I'm glad I didn't bother. I think the cooked beans soak up so much water during cooking it would have made the cake too dense. Besides raw soaked garbanzo beans retain more of the vitamins and they have no gassy side effects! My tummy was perfectly happy after eating this cake for several days.

You might also like my favorite Socca Pancakes and Dumplings made with garbanzo bean flour. I might have  to try my new method of using the dried soaked beans in these recipes too!

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 Makes one 2 layer cake/Serves 12

Ingredients:

• 4 cups (measure after soaking) whole organic dried gluten-free chickpeas, soaked
• 1 cup gluten free almond butter (or grind your own soaked almonds until smooth and add sweetener of choice to taste)
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 4 large eggs
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• dash salt
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon local honey
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1 bag (10 ounce) Semi-Sweet gluten free chocolate chips, like Enjoy Life
• frosting or a simple glaze for between layers, see recipe below

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degree F.  Grease and gluten free flour two 9 inch cake pans

1. Soak one bag/1 pound chickpeas in enough water to cover, in the fridge, for 2 days. Drain and pat dry. Chickpeas should be tender. Do not cook. We are using them raw.
2. In your food processor, add the chickpeas and grind. You might want to add them in batches depending on the strength of your machine. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the chocolate chips and blend until smooth. Add 1/2 of the bag of chocolate chips and blend. Stir in the rest of the chocolate chips by hand. Batter will be very thick.
3. Scoop 1/2 the batter into each pan and spread evenly.
4. Bake for 40-45 minutes until a stick comes out mostly clean. This is a moist cake so don't over bake.
5. Cool on rack, remove from pans by running a knife around the outside edge. Invert one cake on a large plate, add frosting or glaze if using, place the other cake right side up on top.
6. Store tightly covered on the counter for 2-3 days.

I made a light glaze from 1/4 cup runny honey, 1 tablespoon molasses and a bit of almond milk beaten together. Spread on the middle layer gently.