If there’s one food that makes me stop in my tracks it’s avocado. No, not chocolate, or wine or cheese. Ok so maybe wine and the occasional wheel of brie cheese….Avocado is such a versatile food and each day I’m finding more and more ways to use this tasty fruit (yes, it is a fruit).
The one thing I never considering doing with it was baking…until I stumbled on this recipe from Chatelaine magazine. O.M.G. avocado in a cake?! Well, yes, I think I would like to try that and so I did.
The recipe is adapted from Chatelaine’s Avocado Pound Cake. I substituted coconut oil for butter, which is a healthier fat. You can substitute coconut oil for butter in a one to one ratio in most of your baking recipes. It should be added at the same temperature as butter.
The fatty acid responsible in coconut is lauric acid which may help improve your blood cholesterol profile and promote the use of fat for energy. It still is a saturated fat so you’ll want to be responsible about consumption.
Come to think of it avocado is also a healthy fat. They are loaded with heart healthy monounsaturated fatty acids and have more potassium than bananas.
You can thank me later for a baked recipe that will gives you a healthier heart and give you a lil pep in yo step.
I also added ½ teaspoon almond extract, and topped with sweetened shredded coconut. I love raspberries and coconut together.
While tasting it I must admit that although very tasty it didn’t have a bit hit of avocado flavour. I guess I was expecting it to taste like guacamole?? I dunno. All that to say that it was still delicious. I definitely recommend adding the coconut because it bumps up the flavour a bit. Enjoy!
Avocado Pound Cake with Raspberry Glaze
Ingredients
Pound Cake
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg separated
- 1 egg white
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup puréed avocado
- 1/3 cup coconut oil (solid and at room temperature)
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract optional
Raspberry Glaze
- 1/2 cup frozen raspberries thawed
- 3/4 cup icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons sweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Spray a loaf pan lightly with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl beat egg whites with an electric mixer or beaters until frothy, about 1-2 minutes. Slowly add in 2 tablespoons of sugar. After adding sugar, continue to beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl sift flour and whisk with baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside as well.
- In a large bowl beat avocado with coconut oil until very smooth. Add in remaining sugar and beat until very fluffy, about 3 min. Add in egg yolk, milk and vanilla and almond extract.
- Add half of flour mixture with a rubber spatula. Fold in half the egg whites gently until combined. Gently fold in remaining flour mixture and egg whites.
- Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until loaf is golden brown. Loosely cover with foil and continue baking until a toothpick inserted in centre of loaf comes out clean, 20 to 25 more min. Cool in pan on a rack for 10 min, then turn loaf out onto rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, use the back of a large spoon to push raspberries through a sieve into a bowl. Purée should measure 2 to 3 tablespoons. Discard seeds and pulp. Sift icing sugar and whisk with juice until smooth. Drizzle glaze over pound cake. Top with shredded coconut.