Mix all ingredients with a hand mixer or food processor.
Cake
In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa and water. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat [keep covered!] and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Once complete, fluff with fork and set aside.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F
Lightly grease two 9 inch round pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper [believe me, it’s worth the effort. Just DO it!]. Set aside.
Combine milk, eggs, and vanilla in blender. Blend until smooth.
Add 2¼ cup of the cooked quinoa, and the coconut oil. Blend until smooth [may be challenging to do, just blend it as best you can]
In a large bowl, whisk together coconut sugar, cacao powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the contents of the blender to the bowl and mix well with a hand mixer.
Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake on the middle rack of your oven for 40-50 minutes [my cake was perfectly cooked at 48 minutes]. You can test to determine if the cake is done by inserting a toothpick in the middle.
Allow cakes to cool for a couple of hours before removing from the pans and topping with icing.
Notes
I used 2 cans of organic coconut milk, chilled overnight. Pierced a hole in the bottom of each can and drained out the coconut water. Allowed the coconut cream to soften on the counter for an hour before I began the recipe.
Recipe could be made vegan if maple syrup is used instead of unpasteurized honey. If the frosting is too soft to spread on the cake, place in the fridge for 20 minutes and retry.
Recipe by Healthful Pursuit at https://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2011/06/rich-chocolate-quinoa-cake-with-vanilla-buttercream-frosting/