Apple and Garbanzo Cake

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Yup you read the title right - this is a recipe for a cake made with chickpeas!  Not garbanzo bean flour either but actual garbanzo beans.  Cool right?  I thought so too and that's why even though it's been weeks since I posted (sorry about that) and I have a ton of photos and recipes that are in the queue I bumped this cake up to the front of the line.  I made it last night after coming across the recipe in a Latin American cookbook a couple of weeks ago and being highly intrigued.  There are only a few ingredients and it was very easy to make so I thought why not give it a try.  An added bonus is that it contained no flour so is naturally gluten free.  Interestingly there is no added fat either but this is one of the moistest (is that a word?) cakes I have ever made and you don't taste the chickpeas at all.  The original recipe called for the grated rind and juice of an orange which I didn't have.  So in honor of the fall season I replaced the orange with one grated apple and a teaspoon of lemon zest as well as adding 1/2 teaspoon of cloves to the 2 tsp of cinnamon already called for.  The original recipe also calls for sprinkling cinnamon sugar over the top of the cake but it was so sweet and cinnamony (definitely NOT a word!) already that I think it might be too much.  I tried to think of what else to frost this with or add as a complement for the photos but it was so delicious on it's own I really don't think it needs anything!  Maybe a crunchy topping or a little vanilla ice cream but I can't say enough that it's ridiculously good with no adornment!  


Ingredients:

1 19-ounce can of chickpeas (I used Cento brand)
4 eggs beaten
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 medium apple grated through a fine grater
1 tsp grated lemon rind

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Drain and rinse chickpeas and process them until smooth in a blender or food processor.  Spoon the puree into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients stirring until fully combined.  The mixture will be runny, this is normal.  Grease an 8x8 cake pan.  Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely before cutting into squares.  Enjoy and don't give the secret away until after your family/guests have eaten it!  They'll never guess what the secret ingredient is and that it's actually good for them!  A word of caution, some people are allergic to the protein in various beans and legumes so do be up front about it if you aren't sure about potential allergy issues!