Come summer the market is loaded with summer seasonal fruits. Avocado is one such fruit, commonly known as butter-fruit in southern India owing to it's creamy-buttery-soft pulp. It is a pear shaped dark green fruit with parrot green pulp and a large seed. It has almost no taste, almost. Mash it a little and you might notice a subtle flavour.
So 'What's with the good fat?' you may ask. Fats and good-fats are a common running topic of discussion in our household. Arguments range from 'no fat is good' to 'some fats are good' to 'little amounts are essential'.
Apart from being loaded with potassium vitamin K and folic acid, avocado contains large amounts of good fat. So why not use it to substitute butter in a cake?!
I recalled coming across a vegan Chocolate Avocado Cake. Joy, the author of the blog, mentions it to be a moist and chocolatey cake. Bang on target on both accounts.
You wouldn't miss the egg or the butter. And definitely won't be able to make out presence of a fruit. You might smell the oil though. It was fun to see the expressions on faces when the ingredients of the cake were disclosed.
The original recipe includes a avocado based frosting. For me it had to be Ganache. Just two ingredients, chocolate and cream, some stirring and you get one of the simplest and quickest of frostings/fillings. You'll love to make and eat it if you are a chocolate lover. Check here for more info on how to make it.
I made sourcream ganache with coffee flavour. I added some icing sugar to reduce the tang lent by sourcream. I used it as a filling and for frosting the top of cake. I left the sides bare.
What was intended to be an experiment turned out to be a great party cake! Here's the recipe:
3-4 Tbsps cocoa powder
2 pinches of salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 Cups granulated sugar
2 Tbsps vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
1/4 Cup soft avocado, well mashed, about 1/4 medium avocado
1 Cup water
1 Tbsps white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
150 gm chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
2 tsp instant coffee powder
1 tsp hot water
4 Tbsp icing sugar, sifted
*For making ganache, among Indian chocolate brands, I suggest using Cadbury Bournville.
Sift together all of the dry ingredients except the sugar. Set aside.
Mash the avocado. Mix it with remaining wet ingredients in a bowl.
Add sugar into the wet mix and stir.
Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ones all at once. Stir until smooth.
Pour batter into a the prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool the cake in cake pan for 10 minutes. Turn it out onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.
Preparing Ganache:
Dissolve the coffee in the hot water, set aside.
Heat the sourcream in a heavy bottom pan. Once small bubbles appear around the edges of the cream, remove from heat and add the chocolate chips.
Stir every 2 minutes, to ensure all the chocolate is melted. If you find unmelted chocolate chips, reheat cream-chocolate mixture on double boiler for about 10-15 seconds.
Once the chocolate is completely melted, add sifted icing sugar and mix. Ensure that no lumps remain.
Add the coffee once the ganache is warm to touch.
You can use the ganache right away by pouring it as a glaze on the cake. It thickens as it cools. Once thickened, you can spread it on the cake with a spatula. I kept the ganache in refrigerator for about 2 hours and whipped it to get a lighter fluffier texture. On whipping, it lightens in color too, this gave a good contrast to the dark rich chocolate cake.
Assembly:
Slice the cake horizontally in two layers. Spread about half the ganache on bottom layer, leaving about 1/4 inch around the border. The filling gets pushed towards the edges once you place the top layer.
Lightly lay the top cake layer on the ganache filling. Dump remaining ganache on the top layer and spread evenly. You can make swirls using the spatula.
Try baking this cake while the avocado season lasts. As Rose says 'You won't regret it'.
Happy Baking!
Shwe
So 'What's with the good fat?' you may ask. Fats and good-fats are a common running topic of discussion in our household. Arguments range from 'no fat is good' to 'some fats are good' to 'little amounts are essential'.
Apart from being loaded with potassium vitamin K and folic acid, avocado contains large amounts of good fat. So why not use it to substitute butter in a cake?!
I recalled coming across a vegan Chocolate Avocado Cake. Joy, the author of the blog, mentions it to be a moist and chocolatey cake. Bang on target on both accounts.
You wouldn't miss the egg or the butter. And definitely won't be able to make out presence of a fruit. You might smell the oil though. It was fun to see the expressions on faces when the ingredients of the cake were disclosed.
The original recipe includes a avocado based frosting. For me it had to be Ganache. Just two ingredients, chocolate and cream, some stirring and you get one of the simplest and quickest of frostings/fillings. You'll love to make and eat it if you are a chocolate lover. Check here for more info on how to make it.
I made sourcream ganache with coffee flavour. I added some icing sugar to reduce the tang lent by sourcream. I used it as a filling and for frosting the top of cake. I left the sides bare.
What was intended to be an experiment turned out to be a great party cake! Here's the recipe:
Eggless Chocolate Avocado Cake with Sourcream Ganache
Ingredients:
Cake
1 1/2 Cups All-purpose flour3-4 Tbsps cocoa powder
2 pinches of salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 Cups granulated sugar
2 Tbsps vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
1/4 Cup soft avocado, well mashed, about 1/4 medium avocado
1 Cup water
1 Tbsps white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Ganache
200 ml sourcream150 gm chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
2 tsp instant coffee powder
1 tsp hot water
4 Tbsp icing sugar, sifted
*For making ganache, among Indian chocolate brands, I suggest using Cadbury Bournville.
Steps:
Preheat oven to 180° C. Grease and dust an 8" round pan.Sift together all of the dry ingredients except the sugar. Set aside.
Mash the avocado. Mix it with remaining wet ingredients in a bowl.
Add sugar into the wet mix and stir.
Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ones all at once. Stir until smooth.
Pour batter into a the prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool the cake in cake pan for 10 minutes. Turn it out onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.
Preparing Ganache:
Dissolve the coffee in the hot water, set aside.
Heat the sourcream in a heavy bottom pan. Once small bubbles appear around the edges of the cream, remove from heat and add the chocolate chips.
Stir every 2 minutes, to ensure all the chocolate is melted. If you find unmelted chocolate chips, reheat cream-chocolate mixture on double boiler for about 10-15 seconds.
Once the chocolate is completely melted, add sifted icing sugar and mix. Ensure that no lumps remain.
Add the coffee once the ganache is warm to touch.
You can use the ganache right away by pouring it as a glaze on the cake. It thickens as it cools. Once thickened, you can spread it on the cake with a spatula. I kept the ganache in refrigerator for about 2 hours and whipped it to get a lighter fluffier texture. On whipping, it lightens in color too, this gave a good contrast to the dark rich chocolate cake.
Assembly:
Slice the cake horizontally in two layers. Spread about half the ganache on bottom layer, leaving about 1/4 inch around the border. The filling gets pushed towards the edges once you place the top layer.
Lightly lay the top cake layer on the ganache filling. Dump remaining ganache on the top layer and spread evenly. You can make swirls using the spatula.
Try baking this cake while the avocado season lasts. As Rose says 'You won't regret it'.
Happy Baking!
Shwe
