Chocolate Valentine Cake

Chickpeas? Relax. It’s delicious. Using legumes instead of flour adds fiber and protein and reduces unhealthful spikes in blood sugar

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups (19 ounce can) cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
4 eggs, or 1 cup egg substitute (I used the equivalent of 2 eggs – it still worked, but was more dense)
1/2 C sweetener – sucanat, honey, maple syrup. Not white sugar – it’s bleached. Nor brown sugar, which is white sugar with molasses mixed into it to make it brown.
1/2 tsp. baking powder

melt chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. In blender or food processor, combine beans and eggs. Add sugar, baking powder and chocolate; process until smooth. Pour batter into non-stick 9-inch heart-shaped or round cake pan (I used a spring-form pan with a piece of parchment paper at the bottom). Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Cool.

Spread with jam – raspberry is great, marmalade would work well too.

Experiment with less sweetener and add interesting spices like 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, a 1/2 teaspoon of lavender flowers, or a drop or two of lavendar essential oil if you don’t want the flowers in the mix. You could decorate the top of the cake with a scattering or spray of lavender flowers.