Dairy-Free Vanilla Bean Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut a piece of parchment fitted to the bottom of 10” round cake pan or 9” square cake pan. Spray the pan with nonstick spray, line the bottom of the pan with the parchment and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with a handheld mixer on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at time, mixing them in completely. Add the vanilla bean scrapings and mix.

In a small bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add half the flour mixture to the butter, then half the milk, followed by the second half of the flour and milk, mixing on low in between each addition.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake until cake springs under light touch and is starting to turn a little golden, about 25-30 minutes.
Let cool before removing cake from pan.

Make the ganache: Place the chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Heat the milk in the microwave until hot but not boiling, about 20-30 seconds. Pour the hot milk over the chocolate, and cover with a piece of foil or a small plate (to keep the heat in) and let sit for 3-4 minutes. Whisk the mixture into a smooth creamy chocolate sauce;If needed, heat in 10 second increments until desired thickness.

To serve: place a slice of cake on a small serving plate, drizzle with chocolate ganache.  Top with three or four raspberries, a sprinkle of powdered sugar and a tiny bit of mint.