Chocolate Cake with a Twist (Secret Ingredient!)

In my eyes (and stomach), there's nothing better than discovering 'secret' key ingredients that can be substituted in for all the bad stuff in classic baking recipes. And, on this occasion, I'm talking about the classic chocolate cake, no less. Guys and girls, take note - I can guarantee you'll be wanting a taste of this good stuff by the end of my chit-chat (not by my skills in the power of written persuasion, either - solely by the mere irresistibility of this cake. Trust me).

The secret power ingredient of this cake is the simple black bean. Well, many simple black beans - 240 grams, to be exact. Now, don't be put-off! The beauty of the black bean is down to their rather bland taste (no offence, black beans. We know you're out to cause no harm) - and yet, they're packed full with fibre and protein, all the while being fairly low-cal and nutrient-dense.



Who'd have thought it, eh? At last, we're appreciating beans in their original, sauceless form (Heinz, begone with you). And, before I get too carried away, the credit for this recipe goes out to Josephine of A Tasty Love Story. This is a brilliant blog with an array of similarly delicious recipes to try out - all masterfully photographed, too - definitely one worth adding to the reading list!

So, without further ado, along with the beans (I repeat: 240 grams, cooked beans - the italics are just there to clarify for those worst at baking than myself, not to seem massively patronising or anything), this recipe calls for:

3 medium/large eggs,
3 heaped tablespoons unsweetened cacao powder,
1 tablespoon instant coffee (optional, but a good one - especially for the coffee-fanatics among us),
the teeny beans of half a vanilla pod,
1 teaspoon baking soda (NOT to be confused with baking powder! A difference partially understood after a lot of confusion and a phone call to Mum being made),
the juice and zest of 1/2 orange (or 1 clementine, in my case),
a pinch of salt,
100g demerara sugar (I guess you could say this is the 'worst' ingredient in the recipe. If you dare, you could sub it for agave nectar, honey, or any other kind of natural sweetener you can think of. However, in my opinion, I think this cake calls for the sugar, plain and simple. It's not an awful lot if you divide it by portion size, either).
PLUS! Not forgetting 30 grams of dark 90% Lindt chocolate (my preference).

Another new discovery as a result of this recipe was the use of the blender in place of the (practically ancient, now I come to think about it) technique of hard-graft and a wooden spoon. It saved me a whole lot of hassle, needless to say. The hardest part of the making of this was in fact, the beans - which required tender loving care and attention in the form of 12+ hours of soaking, bath time (overnight), a good rinse over, then 10 minutes boiling time, followed by a whopping 40 minutes on the simmer! Divas or what?

Whiz (or whaz, in the words of Jamie Oliver. A phrase that, might I add, does tend to grate on me somewhat) up the eggs, cacao powder, beans, baking soda, coffee, vanilla beans, orange zest and juice, salt and sugar - and you're so almost there.

Pre-heat your oven to gas mark 4 (175C? I hate looking up conversion rates. Seriously. You'll have to double-check me if you're really worried) and line a loaf tin with greased parchment paper. I used coconut oil to grease mine as I'm super cool and healthy and the like (I seem to be getting more sarcastic as I go, here. For that I'm really sorry. These are not my true colours. I'm just tired).

Nearly there. Chop up your dark chocolate however you like. I went for a scraping approach that called for a fair few spectators, and a very furrowed brow - the latter mainly down to pure concentration, because I tend to hover on the cautious side of events wherever knives are involved. You wouldn't blame me if you knew how clumsy I can be (my boyfriend can concur with that one).

Pour your lovely chocolatey liquid blend into the lined tin and sprinkle your dark chocolate on top. If you like, you can poke the chocolate into the mixture a bit, but I left it as it was on the top. Delicious. Cook for 35 minutes, and leave to cool. This makes a smashing Saturday night pudding combined with a dollop of greek yoghurt and blueberries - yum. It was still slightly warm when we had it, but as the original recipe goes, it tastes just as good (if not better - time will tell) eaten straight from the fridge.



Moral of the story? One: don't judge beans unfairly. And two: this cake will make your life approximately 23% more complete. Which is a fairly worthy percentage increase, wouldn't you agree? PS. When divided into ten slices, each slice is 100 calories - and seriously low-fat.

Seriously, though - please let me know your opinions if (or should I say when?) you try this. I'd love to hear your thoughts! Alternatively, has anyone any other 'secret' baking ingredients worthy of hollering about?