A couple weeks ago, I asked all you awesome readers if you had any recipes you’d like to see veganized. I’m always looking for a challenge and boy did I get one! This Avocado Cake request came from David and I hope it matches the non-vegan version at least a little bit.
The timing was also perfect for this month’s Recipe Redux challenge which is to “pick a new ingredient that you’ve been wanting to try… and cook or bake up a new recipe in the new year….Show us how you’re cooking with something new (to you!) in 2016.” This definitely qualifies!
You see, I’ve never had an Avocado Cake before so the flavor profile is all new to me. But, I asked for a challenge, right?! The original recipe comes from the California Avocado Commission and the cake is paired with a white cream cheese frosting. I was going to do the same frosting, since it is pretty easy to veganize, just subbing out the cream cheese, butter and milk for a non-dairy alternatives, but when I went to get some vegan cream cheese, the store was sold out. Argh! So, I opted for a chocolate frosting instead.
The cake itself was a bit more of a struggle. The original recipe called for 2 eggs and buttermilk, which in general are relatively easy to replace, but my first go at it was pretty much a disaster. The cakes came out super thin, flat really, and were kind of oily. Not good. I played around with the whole thing some more and ended up doing 1 1/2X the recipe to make 2 rounds and I changed the method a bit too because the way the original says to add the buttermilk all at once did not seem right to me.
The flavor is very interesting. It’s a vanilla cake, really, with a slight hint of avocado but it certainly doesn’t taste like an avocado. The color is what makes it fun. A light greenish that really stands out against the chocolate frosting. You could make it even more pronounced green with some food coloring if you’d like as well.
The frosting is based on the one from Coffee & Quinoa and is super easy to whip up. A couple minutes in the food processor and you’ve got frosting :-). I did change the original as it states that the frosting doesn’t taste like avocados and I don’t know if it’s my taste buds or if I was using weak cocoa powder, but I could definitely taste the avocado and it wasn’t really a good thing. So, I added some melted chocolate chips and that made the chocolate shine through and hide any avocado-iness.
- 3 cups + 2 tablespoons cake flour, sifted before measuring
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1¼ teaspoons baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt (omit if aquafaba is salted)
- 1½ ripe avocados, pureed (equal to 1 cup)
- 3 tablespoons non-dairy margarine, room temperature
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup aquafaba*
- 1½ cups non-dairy milk + 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Chocolate Avocado Frosting (adapted from Coffee & Quinoa's recipe):
- 2 ripe avocados, pitted and flesh scooped out
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup melted chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 325F. Line two 8" round cake pans with parchment rounds or lightly spray with oil.
- Combine the non-dairy milk with the vinegar and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- With a mixer, beat the non-dairy margarine, pureed avocado and sugar together until smooth and creamy.
- Add in the vanilla.
- Beat in the aquafaba in 3 additions, mixing well after each one.
- Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the non-dairy milk, mixing well after each addition.
- When the final flour has been added, beat for an additional 30 seconds until batter is smooth and uniform.
- Divide batter between prepared cake pans and bake for 30- 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove and cool completely on wire cooling racks.
- To make the frosting:
- In a food processor or blender, puree the avocado until it is completely smooth. Add in the remainder of the ingredients and puree until smooth and creamy.
To see the other awesome Recipe Redux-er recipes click the blue frog below :-).
