Teff.
A teenie, tiny little gluten-free grain packed with nutrition.
Frugal, too, because a little goes a long way. Soaking up and expanding in miraculous ways, this nearly microscopic grain produces tender cakes, cupcakes and breads. Pair it with chocolate, ginger, rich spices.
Coulis for Your Cake
Who doesn’t love berries and chocolate?
A simple puree of mixed berries and lite coconut milk adds another layer of flavor and interest to this already delicious cake. If you don’t have a plastic bottle to drizzle sauce over your cake, put it in a ZipLoc baggie and snip a little bit off the corner – not too much or you’ll have a stream instead.
Add a scoop of sugar free vanilla bean ice cream for a decadent, but healthier, dessert. This cake is dense while still being incredibly moist so it will hold up to the ice cream.
Other Teff Recipes
Ingredients
- 1 cup teff flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 ounce unsweetened baking chocolate
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup palm sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tablespoon organic vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1/4 teaspoon clear liquid stevia (I like NuNaturals)
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg white
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare an 8×8 baking pan with cooking spray.
- Whisk together teff flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum in a medium mixing bowl.
- Break chocolate into smaller pieces. Place chocolate and canola oil in a small glass bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir. Microwave for another 20 – 30 seconds until chocolate is nearly melted. Stir until it’s completely melted. Transfer to the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Fit your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Add palm sugar, applesauce, and almond milk. Whisk on medium until combined and palm sugar has mostly dissolved. Add in vanilla extract, espresso powder, and stevia. Mix for a few seconds. Add egg and egg white and mix just until combined.
- Switch to the paddle attachment and add in dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Use a rubber spatula to do any final mixing. Don’t overmix. Turn batter into prepared cake pan, level with your spatula, give the pan a few raps on the counter to collapse any air bubbles. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean. The cake will pull slightly from the edges of the pan when it’s done.
- Before serving, drizzle chocolate cake with mixed berry coulis.
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen mixed berries, thawed
- 1/4 cup lite coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 teaspoons powdered stevia (I like NuNaturals)
- a pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- Put all ingredients in your VitaMix. Start on low, increase to Variable 10 then whirl on high for about a minute until all the seeds have been pureed.
- If you don’t have a VitaMix, use a food processor or blender. You may need to push the coulis through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds.
Lauren
posted on March 18, 2010 at 8:50 pm
Yes. This is gorgeous and I adore the berry coulis! Yum =D.
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Polynat
posted on March 18, 2010 at 8:55 pm
Love the plating! No doubt you are a great baker!
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Tracy in NC
posted on March 18, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Amy,
I am a newcomer to your blog and I love it! My sister and I are both trying hard to go completely sugar-free. This cake looks great and I think it would be a lovely way for us to celebrate sometimes. Can you suggest how I might use a different sweetener? Neither of us care much for stevia. I know you say elsewhere that you use agave. Could I use that in this cake?
Thanks!
Tracy in NC
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Amy Reply:
March 19th, 2010 at 8:32 am
@Tracy in NC, So glad you brought up stevia! I didn’t much care for it either until I happened upon NuNaturals. Their stevia is non-bitter and easy to work with. I add a little to boost the sweetness without adding any more calories.
If you’ve never tried NuNaturals, I’d give them a go. But I’m sure a little agave wouldn’t alter the recipe ratios too much.
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gfe--gluten free easily
posted on March 18, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Well, that is stunning, Amy! Love your new photo, too. Looking like a movie star with the shades!
Shirley
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Stephanie
posted on March 18, 2010 at 10:39 pm
Oh my! Breathtaking cake! Glad I just stocked up on teff flour. Looks like I’m going to need it!!!
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Meaghan
posted on March 18, 2010 at 10:59 pm
This looks fantastic!! I can not wait to try the recipe!
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Aubree Cherie
posted on March 19, 2010 at 5:27 am
Amy, this is GORGEOUS!!!!
Can I eat the photo? Just kidding
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Noelle@Singer in Kitchen
posted on March 19, 2010 at 7:20 am
This looks fantastic! What a great picture and so creative. I have to admit I have not cooked with Teff flour but this recipe looks good and enticing. Thanks!
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Laura
posted on March 19, 2010 at 7:20 am
Amy, I’d love to try this recipe, but I’m not sure about one of the ingredients. In the ingredient list the item below the canola oil says the amount of “1/2 cup” but doesn’t list the ingredient. Could you tell me what it is? Thanks.
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Amy Reply:
March 19th, 2010 at 7:52 am
@Laura, That is proof that I need an editor. I’ve corrected it – it should have said “1/2 cup palm sugar.” Thanks for catching my mistake.
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Alta
posted on March 19, 2010 at 7:35 am
Hooray for teff! I love teff – and it’s been too long since I last baked with it. This sounds delightful.
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Chelsey
posted on March 19, 2010 at 9:03 am
I wish I could find teff flour here
So far I can only find the whole grain. I am curious about palm sugar too. What is it like? Is there any health benefits? So many things to try!
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Cara
posted on March 19, 2010 at 10:19 am
I’ve never head of teff and now I’m intrigued! I will definitely be on the lookout for this.
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Ricki
posted on March 19, 2010 at 11:51 am
What an enticing cake! I’ve often thought teff and chocolate would be a perfect match. I can’t wait to try this cake! (Now, just gotta find some palm sugar. . . ).
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Amy Reply:
March 19th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
@Ricki, I have a link in the recipe to where I buy palm sugar – from iHerb.com. There’s a $5 off coupon in my sidebar, too. (I put it there because I like them – not getting paid but they do have a cool affiliate program I’m in.) They have great customer service, too.
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Iris
posted on March 19, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Oh my God, I love that photo Amy!
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Kelly
posted on March 19, 2010 at 5:34 pm
Just 3 little words for this cake and it’s lovely ingredients: Come To Mama…
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The Curious Baker
posted on March 23, 2010 at 7:50 pm
chocolate and teff really are a match made in heaven! You just can’t go wrong. I’m crazy about it at the moment, can’t stop posting teff recipes!
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carrie @ gingerlemongirl.com
posted on September 2, 2010 at 10:28 am
My GOSH Amy, you’re killing me with these recipes, I saw the links to other chocolate goodies you made at the bottom of the torte post… you do realize i’m CRAVING chocolate today! lol… This looks amazing too! Love the coulis!
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Judi
posted on February 9, 2011 at 12:49 pm
Hi Amy,
) soy, almond, cow?
hope you are well. I’m writing to ask about the Gluten Free Chocolate Teff Cake. I’m wondering if I can replace the palm sugar with Agave Nectar of maple syrup. If so, should I leave out a bit of the applesauce so it doesn’t get too moist? Also, for the berry coulis, could another milk be used? (allergy to coconut
Thank you
Judi
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Amy Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 2:21 pm
@Judi, Sure – you can try it with the agave nectar or maple syrup. And, yes, I suggest reducing the applesauce by 25% or so…your bake time might be longer. These are all just guesses you may have to fiddle around to get it just right.
And, yes! You can use any milk you want for the coulis – or any liquid for that matter. Remember that coconut milk is thicker than almond & cow’s milk (not sure about soy…I don’t use it…) so you’ll need less.
Thanks for leaving a question on the post! It will help the next person who has the same question.
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Becky
posted on February 26, 2011 at 7:32 pm
Amy-
I happened to have some coconut palm sugar and teff flour on hand and, being that I’m doing weight watchers and this recipe is very friendly, I decided to give it a try. I had never baked with coconut palm sugar before, but I loved it! I didn’t add the stevia in, it was sweet enough on its own to my taste. My 7 and 8 year olds loved them too, and with the nutritional profile I’m happy to slip these in lunches-yum! Thanks for the great, diet and health friendly recipe!!! We’ll be making this one often.
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Amy Reply:
March 2nd, 2011 at 10:31 pm
@Becky, Thanks for letting me know, Becky! I love this recipe. There’s an updated version in my book that’s even better.
I agree that the coconut palm sugar is a great alternative.
Hugs!
Amy
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Theresa
posted on January 14, 2012 at 3:12 pm
This is my absolute favorite chocolate cake recipe. I have made it as a birthday cake for my 6 year old, Isaiah, who is refined sugar and gluten free. Tonight I will make it for my husband’s 31st birthday so the whole family can enjoy. Amy, I use your recipe book and website everyday. I love to cook and bake and you have challenged me and encouraged me throug your words and recipes to continue to love cooking while getting to be a better mom and wife by feeding my family in a way that makes them and myself healthier people. You really have changed our lives!! I really can’t thank you enough.
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Amy Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 10:23 pm
@Theresa, Thank you, Theresa!! I am so glad that you’re able to feed your family food that works for them. How wonderful to be able to celebrate with a cake!
I admire your commitment to taking care of your family. It’s not something all women are willing to do. I know how hard it is to make the transition. You are incredible!
Hugs,
Amy
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Joey
posted on January 20, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Amy, I don’t drink much coffee, and don’t have expresso powder on hand. I’m thinking this has to be my Valentine cake this year. Do you think I could make some really strong coffee and use as part or all of the milk, or would that just mess up your great-sounding recipe? Thanks!
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Amy Reply:
February 2nd, 2012 at 4:09 pm
@Joey, The espresso powder just enhances the flavor of the chocolate. You can leave it out.
Hugs!
Amy
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Leanna
posted on August 6, 2012 at 11:28 pm
This looks good! I actually didn’t know that teff was gluten-free before I did some research…but I didn’t think if making a cake with the flour! I’ll have to try this.
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Pooja
posted on November 5, 2012 at 10:05 pm
Thanks Amy! I just made this, and even though I ran into some crazy problems (the “pan” my sister lent me was a dollar store piece of crap with no hope of evenly distributing heat) the cake turned out WONDERFUL
! I made the coulis with xylitol instead of stevia because I just can’t seem to find a stevia without an aftertaste. I am thrilled with how brilliantly this cake turned out, the coffee flavour with the chocolate combined with the density make it feel like it must be SO bad for you 
Thanks again, you’ve made me a “teff believer”!
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Amy Reply:
November 7th, 2012 at 11:35 pm
@Pooja, Yea!! I’m so happy! I do love the dollar store – maybe not for cake pans – but for so many other things. Sounds like the pan worked well enough!
xoxo
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Anonymous
posted on May 21, 2013 at 10:03 am
Wow!!! I posted a comment about the strawberry layer cake, but this one is even better!!!! I even forgot the xanthan gum, and it worked out just fine. Not crumbly at all. What is your secret? Everything that I make gluten free turns out a crumbly mess. (not always, but most of the time).
I’ll definitely make this one again.
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