Fudgy Flourless Chocolate Cake

I have a couple of dinner guests tonight--sweet missionaries from my church--and there is some gluten and dairy intolerance.  Makes for a lot of fun figuring out something to prepare for dinner. Fortunately (or not) the world seems to be going gluten- and dairy-free so there is a plethora of recipes out there.  I found this one via Facebook and thought I would give it a whirl.  It's a little bitter for my taste, but I am going to use a berry compote to sweeten it up.  Hope it works!  By the way, that is not a giant fork on the plate, but I did serve small wedges of the cake.

Ingredients:

1 15-oz. can black beans, drained & rinsed

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 c. (about 4-5 large) egg whites

1/3 c. unsweetened applesauce (I used regular Cinnamon applesauce because that is what I had in my pantry)

1/3 c. canned pure pumpkin (I used fresh from my freezer)

1/4 c. Truvia spoonable calorie-free sweetener

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1 t. vanilla extract

1/4 t. salt

3 T. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. line a 9" round cake pan with foil and generously spray with nonstick spray.
2. Place all ingredients, except chocolate chips, in a food processor.  Puree until completely smooth and uniform.
3. Fold in 1 T. chocolate chips (hmm...this could be why mine wasn't sweet enough.  I dumped 2 T. before I looked back at my recipe.)
4. Spread mixture into the baking pan and smooth out the top.
5. Evenly distribute the remaining chocolate chips over the top and lightly press into the batter.
6. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes.  I used convection bake for about 28 minutes.
7. Let cool completely, about 1 hour.
8. Makes 8 servings.  Top with fresh fruit, compote, whipped cream--use your imagination.
9. Refrigerate leftover cake.  I will be serving mine chilled.  I think it will taste better.

SOURCE:  Hungry Girl via Facebook.