Vegan Banana Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Preheat oven to 350ºF and lightly grease four 6-inch cake pans with oil. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas, coconut sugar, and neutral oil. Use a stand mixer or hand-mixer to beat on medium-high speed for 1–2 minutes. Whisk flaxseed meal and filtered water and let this sit to thicken for 4–5 minutes. Stir in almond milk, flax egg, and apple cider vinegar. Set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, and sea salt in a medium bowl and stir until incorporated. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet, mixing after each addition. Make sure no clumps of flour remain and then stop mixing. It’s important to not over-mix the batter here, so stop when everything is just combined.

Divide batter amongst the four cake pans and bake for 22–25 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and a toothpick poked through the center comes out clean. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans. Then,carefully remove cakes and lay on a cooling rack until completely cool.

In the meantime, prepare the ganache. Using a stand-mixer or hand-mixer, mash avocados with almond butter until smooth. In small batches, add cacao powder and mix slowly to avoid making a cacao-powder mess. Add coconut sugar and almond milk and continue mixing until smooth, about 7–8 minutes.

When cakes have cooled, place one layer on a cake dish and cover with a thin layer of ganache, about 1/2 inch thick. Repeat this process with the remaining layers of cake until the cake is covered in ganache. Use a spoon to create swirls on the top layer, and a knife to smooth out the sides of the cake for a sleek finish. Place dark chocolate chips around the bottom of the cake.

Slice and serve immediately. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!