A decadent dessert in under an hour? You don’t have to ask us twice! This delicious butter bean chocolate cake works well as a gluten-free option or as an interesting healthy alternative.

SERVES 4 // COOKING TIME 55 min

INGREDIENTS
400 g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed
5 eggs
85 g butter
80 g dates, soaked in 1 cup boiling water, drained
30 g cocoa, plus extra to dust
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp salt

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 20 cm cake tin.
2. Mix all the ingredients with a hand blender. Pour into the cake tin.
3. Bake for 40–45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
4. Decorate with a dusting of cocoa powder.

Recipe & styling: Caro Alberts
Photography: Juliette Bisset // HMimages.co.za