How to Make Chocolate Cake With Avocado Instead of Eggs and Butter

Who is not a fan of chocolate cake? After frosting one of these works of art, nothing tastes quite as good as licking the spatula; everything else just tastes like sugar. To be honest, when this recipe was offered to me, I was pretty dubious. I mean, it doesn't seem all that decadent to think of a chocolate cake without eggs or butter.

To be honest, this is one of the first times I've made a serious culinary mistake!

I jumped at the chance to test my baking abilities by attempting the "baking with avocado" trend. Could I really produce such a rich chocolate cake with chocolate frosting made with avocado rather than butter and eggs?

The recipe called for a very strange method, using my hands quite a bit. For once, I wasn’t worried about licking my fingers as surprise, there’s no raw egg to worry about. The rich smell of chocolate was so pleasant and it baked so easily.

The real test was when I served it to my two very smart kids.

Well I have to say, they LOVED it!

When they tried the frosting, they were begging for more, with it’s smooth, almost pudding like consistency. Literally licking the plate when done, I knew we had a winner.

On it’s own, the frosting is rather rich for my palate, literally being only avocado, sugar and cocoa powder, but combined with the cake which was quite moist, it was the perfect pairing. This is a great recipe when one has that guilty feeling, especially when serving to family and friends and of course, a great way to make use of those overripe avocados!

 

And just in case you were not sure how healthy avocados are for you take a peak…

Avocados are often referred to as the healthiest food due to its impressive nutritional value.

 

An avocado contains these vitamins and minerals:

Vitamin B1
Vitamin B2
Vitamin B3
Vitamin B5
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B9
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Vitamin K
Calcium
Iron
Magnesium
Manganese
Phosphorus
Sodium
Zinc

•An avocado contains more potassium than a banana. Avocados have 14% and a banana contains 10% potassium.

 

Ingredients

CAKE

• 3 cups all-purpose flour (HC recommends converting to coconut flour or rice flour)
• 5 tablespoons dark chocolate cocao powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 ripe avocado, mashed until smooth
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups sucanat sugar

 

FROSTING

• 2 ripe avocados, mashed until smooth
• 1 cups sugar (HC recommends 1/3 cup of Monk fruit sugar)
• 5 tablespoons dark chocolate cocao powder

 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9” round cake pans.

In a large bowl, whisk first five ingredients.

In another bowl, whisk olive oil and next four ingredients. Once combined, add sugar.

Pour wet avocado mixture into flour mixture and mix well until smooth. Divide batter evenly between cake pans. Bake cake in two 9” round cake pans, checking for doneness after 30 minutes.

To frost, allow cakes to cool in pans, then turn out after 15 minutes to cool completely. Add a layer of frosting on first cake layer, then top with second cake layer. Add remaining frosting to the top of cake.

Healthy Pumpkin Spice Cake

The pumpkin season is just beginning! So of course we had to bring you a healthy pumpkin cake recipe! If you and your kids are going to enjoy some pumpkin desserts, it might as well be just a little bit healthier. There seems to be two crowds – those you love pumpkin and those who don’t. Which team do you side with? 

Why is this Pumpkin Spice Cake healthier?

I swapped out the butter for coconut oil and we use maple syrup instead of sugar. It’s not a sweet cake anyways and with a cup of pumpkin it’s basically a vegetable cake… right? The frosting is also made with low fat cream cheese, greek yogurt and just a liiiittle bit of sugar. Usually frosting is more than half sugar, but we took a different approach with our Healthy Pumpkin Spice Cake.

Pumpkin itself is actually a nutrition powerhouse. Here are a few reasons why you should add pumpkin to your food:

• Vitamin A. Pumpkin is packed full of vitamin A which promotes good vision and also helps form and maintain healthy skin.
• Fiber. Pumpkin is an often-overlooked source of fiber, but with three grams per one-cup serving and only 49 calories, it can keep you feeling full for longer on fewer calories.
• Potassium. You might have heard of bananas being called nature’s energy bar? That is because potassium refuels your body. Turns out, a cup of cooked pumpkin has more of the refueling nutrient potassium, with 564 milligrams compared with banana’s 422.
• Vitamin C.

The Perfect Size

This recipe makes an 8X8 inch pan which is perfect for your family! everyone gets a piece tonight and a piece tomorrow and then it’s gone! I don’t know about you, but when I make a cake in a casserole dish and there are so many leftovers I end up eating cake for days! It’s so terrible! So just make the perfect amount instead!


Tips for Baking our Healthy Pumpkin Spice Cake

The only thing to really watch out for is your coconut oil! Make sure you melt it before you use it and mix it with your room temperature pumpkin puree first. This way, the coconut oil has a better chance to incorporate evenly into the cake! If you add a cold egg to the coconut oil it will make the oil solidify and then you’ll get chunks of coconut oil in your cake. If that happens, it’s not the worst thing! Your cake will just look very…bumpy when you pull it out of the oven. Once you frost it, it will look and taste great!

Healthy Pumpkin Spice Cake

Serves: 12
Serving Size = 1 piece
Prep Time: 7 m
Cook Time: 20 m

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup – flour, whole wheat
• 1 teaspoon – cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoon – pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/2 teaspoon – baking powder
• 1 teaspoon – baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon – salt
• 1 tablespoon – coconut oil
• 1 cup – pumpkin, canned
• 1 large – egg
• 1 tbsp – vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup – maple syrup, pureFrosting
• 4 ounce – cream cheese, low fat
• 1/2 cup (8 fl oz) – Greek yogurt, vanilla
• 1/4 cup unsifted – powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line an 8X8 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a separate bowl combine your melted coconut oil and pumpkin puree. Do this first so the coconut oil is evenly dispersed. Add you room temperature egg, vanilla and maple syrup. Stir until combined.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir just until combined. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
5. Frosting: Combine cold cream cheese, greek yogurt, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Frost cake. The frosting won't be as stiff as normal frosting because there's less sugar to thicken it. So I refrigerated my cake to thicken the frosting.

 

 

sources