Gluten-Free Moist Chocolate Cake Squares with Chocolate Peanut Butter Glaze

Did you scream with joy when you saw the word "Gluten-free"? Well, if you have celiac disease, it should be exciting for you because many of the delicious sweets all contain gluten. Although there has been an ongoing gluten-free fad going on, those are very selective.
Let me tell you something about my opinion about Gluten-Free products. Gluten are referred as proteins that are found in wheat. It is often found in our common breads, barley, and rye. Gluten is actually good for you because it's a form of protein that is good for your body. The reason why many people are pointing gluten as the "enemy" is because they feel "fatigued" or it promotes "weight-gain" but that's only because you are over-consuming gluten. In fact, this is not just about gluten - if you overeat anything, you will gain weight. The only people should not eat gluten is those who have celiac disease, which means that you are allergic to gluten which causes intestinal damage. Click here for more information about celiac disease.

Like many of my friends, I am obsessed with Buzzfeed.. especially their Food section. My coworker showed me a link to this and I came across one recipe that I really wanted to try. It was Top With Cinnamon's Healthy Sticky Chocolate Fudge Cake. Since I did not have all of the ingredients in this recipe, I decided to modify it a little and they still turned out absolutely amazing!

Servings: 15 squares

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed 
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• pinch of salt 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 3 Tablespoon Agave (my modification) 
• 1 egg 
• 1/2 cup plain European style yogurt (my modification) 
• 2 Tablespoon unsweetened/unsalted peanut butter (my modification) 
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (my modification) 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Glaze: 

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar 
• 2 teaspoon unsweetened soy milk (or add as needed) 
• 1 Tablespoon unsweetened/unsalted peanut butter 

Instructions: 

• Preheat oven 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• In a large bowl, mix the ground flax seed, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. 
• In a medium bowl, whisk the vanilla, agave, egg, yogurt, and peanut butter. 
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until well combined. 
• Gently fold in the chocolate chips and pour it in a baking pan that is either greased, or lined with a parchment paper (I used the parchment paper). 
• Bake for about 30-40 minutes and do the toothpick poke-the-whole rule until the inside of the batter is fully baked. 
• Cool in a cooling rack. 

Glaze: 

• In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar, soy milk, and peanut butter. If needed, add more soy milk to make it more liquidy because sometimes it gets too thick where it will be difficult to spread the glaze on the cake. 

So you may be wondering, why on earth does this taste like a regular cake when there's not flour? Well, the ground flax seed plays a very important role in this. Not only does the ground flax seed give that alternatives to flour but also creates that moist consistency... YUM! 

Just a reminder that this recipe has less sugar compared to other baked goods; however, just because it is gluten-free, it does not mean that it is healthy. My baked goods are "healthier" than other gluten-free baked goods because of the ingredients that I decide to use - such as no butter, agave syrup instead of sugar, and yogurt instead of oil! But it still tastes delicious and satisfying when you eat it ((┌|o^▽^o|┘))♪

What I really like about this recipe is that I can finally give it to my friend who has celiac disease! (You're welcome my friend ٩(^ᴗ^)۶ ) 

I think I want to continue exploring gluten-free recipe that are not misleading like other food products out there... this will be a fun journey... 

With that being said, from my kitchen to yours, Happy Baking! 

Smiles, 

Mei