BLACK BEAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

Prep 30 min | Total 2 hours 30 min Serves: 16

1 cup all-purpose flour

■ 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa ■ powder, preferably Fry’s

1 1/2 tsp baking soda ■

1 tsp baking powder ■

1/2 tsp salt ■

3/4 cup unsalted butter, ■ at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar ■ 3/4 cup lightly packed brown ■ sugar

540-ml can black beans ■ 2 eggs ■

2 tsp vanilla ■

1 1/2 cups buttermilk ■ Icing sugar, optional ■

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly spray two 9-in. round cake pans with oil and line bottoms with parchment.

2. Sift flour with cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a medium-sized bowl. Stir until mixed.

3. Rinse and drain black beans well. Pour over kitchen towels into an even layer and pat beans until very dry. Transfer to a food processor. Whirl until very finely chopped. Add eggs and whirl until mixture is smooth. (There will be bits of bean skin in the mixture.)

4. Beat butter with sugars in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium, for 3 minutes. Scrape in bean mixture and vanilla. Beat until combined. Reduce speed and beat one-third of flour mixture into butter mixture, then add half the buttermilk. Repeat additions, scraping down sides until well mixed. Divide batter evenly between pans and smooth tops.

5. Bake in centre of oven until a cake tester inserted in centre of cakes comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. (Don’t worry if cake falls a little bit.) Run a knife around the inside edge of each pan, then turn cakes out onto rack. Remove parchment. Let cool completely, about 1 hour.

6. Sprinkle cakes with icing sugar before serving.