Dark Chocolate Banana Cake With Delicate Lime Toffee Sauce

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 55 mins

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 1 cup black coffee
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 bananas (the closer to being rotten the better)
• 50 g dark chocolate (lindt 70% dark is best)
• 50 g dark chocolate (lindt chilli chocolate)
• 1 lime (juiced)
• 1 teaspoon lime (zest of)
• 1/4 cup sugar (extra)
• 2 tablespoons water
• ice cream (for serving)

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
• 2 grease and place grease-proof paper in one 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
• 3 melt the chocolate in a double boiler or use a small dish standing in a saucepan of boiling water that comes half way up the sides on low heat.
• 4 mash the bananas on a plate.
• 5 in a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, salt and baking powder.
• 6 in a separate bowl mix together milk, eggs, coffee (2 tsps to one measuring cup of boiling water, don't use your favourite coffee cup !), oil, vanilla and cider vinegar.
• 7 add the milk mixture, the mashed banana and the melted chocolate to the flour mixuture stirring thouroughly with a wooden spoon until combined. the batter will be thin.
• 8 pour into prepared pan.
• 9 bake until top of cake springs back when pressed and cake tester inserted comes out clean. (about 35 - 40 minutes.).
• 10 let cool then turn out onto wire rack.
• 11 delicate lime toffee sauce.
• 12 put water and extra sugar in saucepan and melt on a low heat.
• 13 turn heat up to medium and cook until sugar reaches soft crack stage. (drip a little of syrup into cold water, if it sets firmly but doesn't quite break with a snap its ready) (about 5 - 6 minutes).
• 14 stir in the lime juice and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute then remove from heat.
• 15 to serve cut cake into 4 inch squares, one per person. place on dessert plate with one rolled scoop of vanilla icecream. pour a little lime sauce over icecream and half of the slice of cake. decorate with lime zest to garnish.