Chocolate Fudge Truffle Cake

(gluten free, dairy free, egg free)

adapted by Ellen Allard from My New Roots blog's Chocolate Fudge Cake with a Secret
www.Iamglutenfree.blogspot.com
 
8 oz. 226 gram dark chocolate, melted, preferably organic
3 tbsp organic cocoa powder, preferably organic (I used cacao powder)
1 1/3 c. garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 c. applesauce, unsweetened
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 large date, pitted
1 tsp Grand Marnier, optional
1/4 c. hot water

Preheat oven to 350F r 175C  degrees. Lightly grease an 8" round cake pan.
Melt chocolate either in microwave or in a pan that is set over a pan of gently boiling water.
In a blender, mix the cocoa powder, garbanzo beans, applesauce, maple syrup, baking powder, date,
Grand Marnier, and hot water until thoroughly blended and smooth.
Add the melted chocolate and blend until incorporated.

Pour into your prepared baking pan and bake for one hour.
The original recipe called for baking it for 35 - 50 minutes. I tested it at 45 minutes and it was still wiggly.
I preferred giving it another 15 minutes, which I did in five minute increments.
And even after an hour, the cake tester still came out a bit wet.
Remove from oven and place on cooling rack.
Once the cake reaches room temperature, cover with foil and place in freezer until frozen.

To serve, remove from freezer and allow to sit on counter for about 10 minutes. T
hen slice and serve either with a sprinkling of confectionary sugar or strawberry sauce. Or both
For the strawberry sauce, blend a bunch of strawberries in a blender with sweetener of choice and fresh squeezed lemon juice, if desired add some Grand Marnier.