Cat’s chocolate hazelnut & banana cake

At one of our most recent events I was asked (again) about the recipe for the delicious GF chocolate cake for sale.  I have to say its my prouded recipe (yes, I created it!!) I bake it for pretty much every PF event and every one of my kids birthdays, and we still are not sick of it!  Its not too sweet but its oh so chocolatey. I used my thermomix to make this and so the thermomix instructions are in brackets but you can try just with a food processor/mixer if you don’t have a thermomix.

Ingredients:
120g good quality dark chocolate
100g almonds
150g hazelnuts
80g brown sugar or coconut sugar
150g butter or oil
4 eggs
1 ripe banana
1 ts vanilla essence
1 heaped ts baking powder
1ts cinnamon
2 tbs cocoa

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Grate or mill chocolate and set aside (6 secs, speed 8). Process almonds and hazelnuts to a course meal (6 secs, speed 6). Add to chocolate, set aside.  Place remaining wet ingredients in mixing bowl or food processor and mix (20 secs, speed 7). Add remaining dry ingredients plus choc and nut mix. Continue to mix to form a smooth batter (30 secs, speed 6). Pour mixture into greased pan lined with baking paper.  Bake in preheated oven for approximately 45min.

Ganache icing
80g dark chocolate
80g cream

Place chunks of chocolate in double boiler and melt over gentle heat, adding cream and stirring to combine. If using thermomix grate chocolate (30 secs, speed 8).  Then add cream and heat (2 mins at 50C on speed 5).
Pour the ganache over the cooled cake and leave to set in the fridge.

ENJOY!