Gluten Free Sugar Free Chocolate cake from black beans!!!

Healthy Flourless Chocolate Cake  (Cut into 18 slices 13pts per slice Weight Watchers)
Adapted from a recipe at LowCarbFriends
Makes a 9″ one layer cake
Ingredients:
1-15 ounce can of unseasoned black beans
OR 1 1/2 cup cooked beans, any color
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted organic butter OR coconut oil
3/4 cup erythritol + 1/2 teaspoon pure stevia extract
OR 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons honey + 1/2 teaspoon pure stevia extract

OR 1 1/4 cup Splenda (using Splenda is not recommended)
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon water (omit if using honey)

Mint Chocolate variation:
2 teaspoons mint extract (in place of 2 teaspoons vanilla)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9″ cake pan with extra virgin olive oil cooking spray, or just grease it with a thin layer of butter. Dust cocoa all over the inside of the pan, tapping to evenly distribute. Cut a round of parchment paper and line the bottom of the pan, then spray the parchment lightly.
Drain and rinse beans in a strainer or colander. Shake off excess water. Place beans, 3 of the eggs, vanilla, stevia (if using) and salt into blender. Blend on high until beans are completely liquefied. No lumps! Whisk together cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat butter with sweetener (erythritol or honey) until light and fluffy. Add remaining two eggs, beating for a minute after each addition. Pour bean batter into egg mixture and mix. Finally, stir in cocoa powder and water (if using), and beat the batter on high for one minute, until smooth. Scrape batter into pan and smooth the top. Grip pan firmly by the edges and rap it on the counter a few times to pop any air bubbles.
Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cake is done with the top is rounded and firm to the touch. After 10 minutes, turn out cake from pan, and flip over again on to a cooling rack. Let cool until cake reaches room temperature, then cover in plastic wrap or with cake dome (I use an overturned plastic chip bowl). For BEST flavor, let cake sit over night. I promise this cake will not have a hint of beaniness after letting it sit for eight hours! If you are stacking this cake, level the top with a long serrated knife, shaving off layers until it is flat and even. Frost immediately before serving
~58g net carbs for the whole cake using erythritol/stevia.
~6g net carbs per 1/10th
~126g net carbs for the whole cake using honey/stevia.
~13g net carbs per 1/10th


Refined Sugar Free REAL Buttercream frosting
Ingredients:

• ¾ c. sucanat or organic cane sugar (you could use honey or maple syrup too — just follow the directions but skip the water)
• ¼ c. filtered water
• 2 whole eggs + 2 egg yolks (room temperature)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 lb. unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract

You will need:

• Large glass bowl (or stainless steel bowl from a stand mixer)
• Stand mixer or hand-held mixer with whisk attachment
• Small saucepan
• Candy thermometer

Directions:
Gather up all your supplies now, because you won’t have time to do it as this is happening.  The temperature of the eggs and butter is very important, so set them out ahead of time.  A stand mixer will make this quite a bit easier, but it is possible to do it with a hand mixer — I did.
In your saucepan, add your sugar and your water.  I wanted a “pure” vanilla flavor, so I’m using organic cane sugar.  I have used sucanat before too and it is yummy, it just adds a definite “flavor” to it.  Attach your candy thermometer to the pot so that it is in the sugar but not touching the bottom.  Turn it on medium high.  Do not stir.

Meanwhile, add your eggs and yolks to a large glass bowl and add a pinch of salt, maybe 1/8 tsp. if you like measuring.  I don’t.

While your sugar syrup is cooking, whip your eggs until they are thick, quadrupled in volume, and almost gelatinous — they should form very soft peaks, though because of the yolks they will never be a “meringue.”  This is okay.

You are waiting for your syrup to reach 240 degrees, the “softball” stage.  Watch the thermometer.  Mine’s not quite there in the picture below, but almost.  This process took 15 – 20 minutes.

When your sugar syrup reaches 240, remove the candy thermometer.  If using a stand mixer, turn it on low so it’s constantly beating the eggs.  If not, then grab your hand mixer in one hand and turn it on (in the eggs, please, so there’s not a mess!) and grab the pot handle in the other hand.  You are going to pour the hot sugar syrup down the side of the bowl.

Notice how close to the edge I am.  This is important.  Running it down the side lets it cool off slightly before hitting the eggs, making it less likely to cook them.  It prevents it from splashing up and burning you.  It also allows it to incorporate slowly.
Beat the egg mixture constantly as you add the sugar syrup.  It is cooking the egg proteins gently, making them fluffy.  Once the sugar syrup is all in, the mixture should resemble marshmallow in taste and texture.

I stopped my mixer just to taste it and play with it for a minute.  Keep beating it, though, until the mixture is cooled down to room temperature — this should take less than five minutes.  And it is important.

Now, it’s time to add your butter.  It’s important that it be room temperature and very soft (like mine above).  We are creating an emulsion here, and if the ingredients are vastly different temperatures, it will not happen.  It will fall apart into a soupy mess (which is possible, though annoying, to fix).  If the egg mixture is too hot, it melts the butter and separates — put it in the fridge for a few minutes and resume beating.  If the butter is too cold, it doesn’t incorporate well and you have the same issue — place it over a pot of simmering water to heat it up and then keep beating.  Or, make sure your ingredients are the right temperature and skip all that.

Start adding butter, a couple tablespoons at a time.  Your mixture will deflate and become very runny and strange looking — that is normal.  It will stay thin and odd-looking until you are adding the last 1/2 cup of butter.  Then, suddenly, it will thicken and whip up nicely.  Frosting!

At this point, add your vanilla and mix again, briefly.  It’s done!  Transfer to a glass storage dish and keep in the fridge for a week or so, or in the freezer for a month or more.  You will need to let it soften before you can frost a cake with it.
Store frosted cakes in the fridge or freezer.  Try the chocolate cake I posted last week.  I covered the outside of mine with sliced almonds!