Blackberry hazelnut fudge cake with surprise black beans.

Little sticky fingers! I can’t really blame her though, this little treat of a cake is the perfect treat for those special times. Like today. Monday. That’s special right? Take heart in the fact that it is dairy and gluten free, can be vegan if you like, and has lots of nutty and fruity goodness. And….black beans! How exciting is that! A sneaky little addition of a lovely amount of protein and fibre to help balance out the blood sugar spikes, and some extra magnesium and B vitamins on the side.

This cake also uses coconut sugar, which manages to maintain quite a decent nutritional profile when compared to other sweeteners, including vitamin C, zinc and magnesium. It is also quite low GI (35), and is sustainable.

Other than that, this post is a little bit of pure wholefood indulgence. This cake is the perfect blend of fudge and cakey for me, and is amazing served chilled from the fridge.

Blackberry hazelnut fudge cake

Adapted, barely, from Golubka

2 small oranges
2/3 cup coconut sugar
3 tbs chia seeds
1/2 tbs pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1/4 cup good quality dark chocolate/dairy free/carob etc
1 cup cooked black beans
2 tbs tahini
1/2 tbs coconut oil
1/4 cup raw cacao powder
1/4 cup brown rice flour or oat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
blackberries and passion fruit to decorate

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius/350 degrees F.

Pop the hazelnuts on a baking tray, roast for 8-10 minutes and allow to cool. Once they are cool, rub with a clean tea towel to remove the skins, and blitz them up in a food processor – keep them slightly chunky. Set aside.

Next, add the peeled oranges, 1/3 cup of the coconut sugar, chia seeds and vanilla extract to a high speed blender, and blend until smooth.

Back to the food processor, pulse the chocolate into fine pieces.

Add the black beans, cacao, tahini, coconut oil and the other 1/3 cup coconut sugar to the food processor and combine. Add the orange mixture while the food processor is running and mix to combine.
Add the flour, baking powder and soda, and mix.

Stir though the hazelnuts so they remain chunky, and then transfer the mix to a lined baking tin. Press the blackberries (or other chosen fruit, orange or sliced pear perhaps) gently into the top.

Bake at 180 degrees C for 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before slicing. As I mentioned above, it’s super delicious straight from the fridge.

I am passionfruit obsessed at the moment, hence the extra topping.

Happy Monday all! x