It's been a good year so far to be at Trader Joe's if you are gluten-free. Now, I'm not gluten-free, but I do like to see how things taste. And if desserts are where you feel like gluten is missing the most then they have you covered with Trader Joe's Fudgy Chocolate Quinoa Loaf and Cake Mix.
Taste and review
I like to pick things apart step by step. So here we go.
First, all you need to make this is 4 eggs, water, and oil. So in terms of adding things you are good. Having made this, you can totally add in other things to supplement this like chocolate chips or candy to make this more delicious.
Second, when mixing these items you get a chocolate mix in this box plus some chocolate syrup. So there are actually two additional plastic bags in this box. No big deal in my world. Just more packaging that I can't really see a way around.
After mixing all the required items together I made this in a loaf pan. After making the Bourbon Cake Mix this past winter, I wanted to use a more standard shape. Plus that mix didn't even come half way up the side of the pan making it hard to gaze into the oven to see how things were progressing.
Well, if you are going the route of the loaf pan, be warned: this nearly fills an entire loaf pan. Which in my case caused me to panic and put a cookie sheet under it should anything go wrong. And in my world, I don't like cleaning the oven.
I'm happy to report that while it did rise past the top of the loaf pan, nothing spilled. ::Phew::
Now, I don't know if the addition of the extra cookie sheet added cooking time, but according to the box, this needs just about an hour. Well, I was at an hour and 14 minutes when my cake tester came out clean.
I do hate it when they don't mention whether or not it needs to sit in the pan for a bit. So I gave it a 10-minute rest in the pan before removing it.
It still needed quite a while to cool down, but what I was rewarded with was delicious chocolate cake. It doesn't rise to brownie fudge level. Nope. It's cake. It's relatively light in texture, just not in calories.
My loaf is apparently 15 servings. However, to be fair, the cake is pretty rich tasting, so that will slow you down.
Had I not known that this mix was gluten-free, it would be hard to tell. With one exception: the edges and top. They didn't quite get the right. The edges aren't pillowy soft the way a flour-based cake would be. But otherwise, they really did nail this.
Overall
And if you find yourself saying: "It's Quinoa, it must be healthy." Sorry to break this to you. Most of the fiber that is found in quinoa has clearly been stripped away here. Perhaps this is a touch nuttier than a regular chocolate cake, but otherwise for $3.49, this is really well done.
This is sold at Trader Joe's but is also available on Amazon.com.
Did you try it? Let me know what you think in the comments section!
Product photos
The box of Trader Joe's Fudgy Chocolate Quinoa Loaf and Cake Mix:
Calories
Ingredients
Directions
After being cooked you get:
Want to see more items I've reviewed from Trader Joe's? Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe’s for a searchable list.
Trader Joe's Fudgy Chocolate Quinoa Loaf and Cake Mix
Product Name: Trader Joe's Fudgy Chocolate Quinoa Loaf and Cake Mix
Product Description: A gluten free chocolate cake mix from Trader Joe's.
Price: $3.49
Summary
Trader Joe's Fudgy Chocolate Quinoa Loaf and Cake Mix is gluten free chocolate cake.
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Taste
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Value
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Worthy of Repurchasing
Pros
- Very moist chocolate cake
- Hard to tell that it was gluten free.
Cons
- If you make it in a loaf pan, you might need a few more minutes than the directions suggest. Mine took almost another 15.
- It also filled the loaf pan to the top, so just be aware of that.
Unfortunately, the instructions say 'loaf pan' with no details as to the measurements (there are numerous variations) and how that might affect timing. Calling them was of no help.
Thanks for sharing!