Name: Fudgy Chocolate Cake
Prep time: 16 min
Cook time: 38 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients: 75 g banana (ripe, mashed); 125 ml almond milk (unsweetened); 5 tbsp vegetable oil (plus extra for greasing); 300 g golden caster sugar; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 1 tsp white wine vinegar; 50 g cocoa powder; 125 ml water; 400 g self raising flour (sifted); 1 tbsp baking powder (sifted); 75 ml maple syrup; 3 null avocado (ripe, stoned and roughly chopped); 8 tbsp cocoa powder (sifted); 200 g icing sugar (plus extra for dusting); 2 tbsp maple syrup; 2 tbsp roasted hazelnuts (chopped)

Instructions

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1

Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan). Grease and line two 20cm sandwich tins.
2

Whisk the banana (75 g), almond milk (125 ml), vegetable oil (5 tbsp), golden caster sugar (300 g), vanilla extract (2 tsp), and white wine vinegar (1 tsp) in a large bowl. In a separate container, mix cocoa powder (50 g) with water (125 ml) until smooth.
3

Whisk in the self raising flour (400 g), baking powder (1 tbsp), maple syrup (75 ml), and the cocoa mixture. Divide into tins and bake for 20-25 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in tins for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
4

Make the icing by blending the avocado (3) flesh, cocoa powder (8 tbsp), icing sugar (200 g), and maple syrup (2 tbsp) until smooth using a stick blender or food processor.
5

Level the base sponge with a serrated knife. Spread 0.33 of the icing on the first layer, stack the second cake, and frost the top and sides with the remaining icing.
6

Scatter roasted hazelnuts (2 tbsp) around the edges or dust with additional icing sugar (200 g) before serving.