Chocolate Cherry Cake (gluten free)

Ever heard of garbanzo chocolate cake? In order to do justice to my blogversary tradition we'll throw in some dark cherries. Frankly, who needs sour ones?

The recipe is based on this one here that I found on Allrecipes.com

Here's what you'll need:

• 4 eggs, divided
• 1 can (19 ounce) chickpeas, drained, rinsed and pulsed or grated very finely in a food processor
• 0.75 cups of sugar (you may use half the amount of stevia if you want to save calories)
• 1.5 cups (250g) dark chocolate melted (I tried using cocoa powder, but I prefer the real chocolate!)
• 1 cup  black coffee, hot
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 - 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup dark cherries, washed and pitted

Instructions (coincidence - or not - has it that it's a list of ten steps):

1. Start by pre-heating our oven to 350°F (175°C) and greasing or lining a 9 inch round pan.
2. Grind the rinsed chickpeas, set aside. 
3. Brew the coffee and put chunks of the chocolate in it, the heat should help to (almost) melt the chocolate.
4. Beat the egg whites until peaks form, set aside.
5. Mix egg yolks and sugar together until frothy, add chickpea "flour" and chocolate / coffee mixture. Mix well until everything is well incorporated. 
6. Add salt, baking powder and cinnamon.
7. Gently fold in egg whites.
8. Pour cake batter in your pan, distribute the cherries, give it a few taps and bake for 30 - 40 minutes, depending on your oven. Check for doneness with a skewer.
9. Let cool, if you like dust with some confectioner's sugar. 
10. Serve and enjoy!

Even if you thought "what??? Chickpeas? REALLY?" I bet you are surprised. I think it's really, really, REALLY yummy! And if you divide your cake by 12, one piece is only 260 calories (210 if you use Stevia instead of sugar).

If you're giving this recipe a try, please let me know what you think!