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.