Cast Iron Chocolate Cake: A Tale of Two Beans

Thanksgiving is coming!  'Tis the season to roast large birds and bake sweet treats with which to follow your tummy-distending feast.

This year, rather than stick with the traditional (and boring) pumpkin pie, I opted for something a little more interesting, a tad risqué, and exponentially more flavorful!

Who doesn't love a sweet, moist mouthful of chocolate cake?  What's that you say? Chocolate cake isn't an appropriate Thanksgiving dessert? To that I say, "Pshaw"! 


Don't get me wrong. Pumpkin pie is a great traditional dessert - and it makes perfect sense.  Pumpkins are an abundant fall crop.  But you know what else is abundant in the fall?  Beans!  Specifically, black beans. Okay, beans are abundant all year long due to the fact they keep really well.

But what does chocolate cake have to do with beans? Everything.

Black beans are used in lieu of flour in this recipe, and let's not forget about another important bean - cocoa!  (I'm using the term 'bean' loosely here...)  But why oh why would you put black beans in a cake? It seems ungodly!  Ah, don't be so quick to judge...

I immediately fell in love with the idea of replacing plain old wheat flour with nutritional black beans for several reasons (gluten-intolerant guests *cough*) and was excited to try a recipe for myself.  I'm so glad I did.

I was inspired to use these two very nutritional beans in this year's Thanksgiving dinner chaser because, living in Blythe, California, it was only appropriate to host a Mexican-themed fête. And which two beans are more perfect than the black- and cocoa bean? Traditional staples of South and Central America; relied upon for thousands upon thousands of years; nutritious, wholesome, and oh-so-beloved!!! It only seems right to introduce one to the other! And to kick it old school, we're marrying them in a cast iron pan.

Not exactly your traditional Thanksgiving-themed dessert. Are you willing to try something different this year? You'll be happy you did. And just wait until you taste it! Moist, decadent, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cake!

So, how does one make this kooky, crazy cake?  After perusing a few of my favorite baking blogs, I combined two my favorite recipes I found at Healthy Indulgences and A Tasty Love Story. 

Also, I'm a big fan of cream cheese frosting and I personally believe it accompanies a chocolate cake very well.  However, you can whip up any kind of frosting your heart desires!

So, without further adieu, here's the recipe:

For the cake:

• 1 1/2 cups cooked, unsalted organic black beans (I prepared my own)
• 5 tbsp organic, fair trade (if possible) cocoa powder
• 1 cup organic brown sugar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 3 large organic eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (I like Trader Joe's bourbon vanilla)
• 1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
• 1 shot strong coffee
• 1 shot organic orange juice

For the frosting:

• 1/2 cup organic butter (room temperature)
• 1 cup cream cheese (room temperature)
• 2 cups organic powdered sugar
• 2 tsp lemon juice

1. Preheat your oven to 325 F 
2. Place beans into a large mixing bowl (or blender, or food processor) with the maple syrup and blend (I used a hand-held blender).
3. In a separate, deep sided bowl, whisk your eggs until yolks are just blended.
4. Add egg, vanilla, & 1/2 cup butter to beans.
5. Blend until smooth. No lumps, please!
6. Now add your sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Mix mix mix. 
7. Time to add the cocoa powder.  This can be a tad messy so add one tablespoon at a time while you mix.
8. Blend in coffee and orange juice and set batter aside.
9.  Grease the cast iron pan (I like to use coconut oil). Dust with cocoa powder or regular flour to prevent cake from sticking.  If you don't have a cast iron pan any old cake pan should suffice. 
10. Pour-in your batter and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the center springs back when touched.
11. Allow your cake to cool for ten minutes before transferring to a large plate. (Place plate over the pan and flip gently. Cake should slide out. If you're having troubles, let the cake cool completely before trying again.

To prevent my cake from sticking I melted butter in the cast iron before adding batter. However, this didn't work perfectly. I would suggest parchment paper or the trusted oil and flour dusting method next time.

Nothing a little icing can't fix!

While your cake is cooling (about 2 hours), prepare your icing.

1. Using a fork or whisk, blend butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl
2. Add powdered sugar a few tablespoons at a time to avoid a mess
3. Mix in lemon juice 
4. Place in refrigerator for 10 minutes
5. Ice your cake!

This cake tastes best when left to sit overnight.

Enjoy... and give thanks to beans!

Oh, I also like to drizzle melted chocolate on things...