You can make this batter into brownies, cakes, muffins - whatever suits your occasion. I usually go for a square or rectangle tin so it's easier to cut for lunch boxes or to serve many people. The best thing is that the food processor does all the work. Thanks Rachel Khoo for a winning free-from recipe from The Little Swedish Kitchen (Michael Joseph, 2018).

250g pitted dates
90ml hot espresso coffee
80g ground flaxseed
180ml vegetable oil
1 x 400g can black beans, drained (reserve 1/2 c of the liquid)
80g cocoa powder
2 tbsp vanilla bean paste or extract
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt

Icing:
1 ripe avocado
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2-4 tbsp maple or rice syrup

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a cake or brownie tin with baking paper.
Roughly chop dates and soak in a small bowl with the hot coffee for a few minutes.
Pour into a food processor and whiz until forms a sticky paste. Add the rest of the ingredients and blitz until smooth.
Spoon into your cake tin and smooth out with a spatula or palette knife.
Bake for 30 min until cooked through but still slightly wet in the centre. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the icing scoop out the avocado flesh and mash with a fork or put in a food processor with the cacao and maple syrup. Add sweetener to taste. I mixed by hand then put the icing through a fine sieve to take out any lumps of avocado.
Place your cake on a serving dish and spread icing over evenly. Decorate as you wish - sprinkles, fresh berries, coconut flakes, grated chocolate...
If you're using muffin cases then you only need to bake for around 10 min.