Avocado Pound Cake - Natalie Paramore

I did it! I made Avocado Pound Cake, and it tasted good!

Now, that being said, there were a few bumps along the way. Bumps in the road are nothing new around here. Anyone remember the Snickers cake ball debacle? How about the powdered sugar mess with the Almond Joy cupcakes Those still turned out delicious, and this Avocado Pound Cake did too!

My fear of baking is lessening. I’m learning more about the importance of ratios, like flour to sugar and eggs to liquids, that sort of thing. It reminds me of life sometimes– the balance between work and play, lovers and friends. Sometimes the balance gets thrown off because you get overzealous with the buttermilk, and the cake is entirely too gooey. You taste the gooey mess. It is not what you had planned, but you learn an important lesson. A bit of buttermilk goes a long way. Then the next time you bake, the cake is moist and not too gooey. Your confidence will be restored and you will feel you can be more adventurous in baking again.

Onto the pound cake and how I didn’t completely ruin it by not beating the eggs and sugar until fluffy.

This recipe is adapted from Joy the Baker‘s version. I halved it and only made one loaf of this tempting avocado pound cake.

You’ll need:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 cup of butter
1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of buttermilk
3/4 cup of mashed up avocado

Right off the bat, I made my first mistake. Mixing the flour and the sugar. You’re totally not supposed to do that. Oops. You are supposed to mix all the dry ingredients EXCEPT the sugar. Oh well, moving on.

Add in the cornmeal.

And the salt.

A bit of baking powder.

Now add baking soda. Note to novice bakers: There is a difference between baking soda and baking powder!

Whisk all that together with a fork.

Add the mashed up avocado to a mixing bowl. You want to use ripe avocados. They will feel soft in your hand when you squeeze them. It’s ok if they are slightly brown on the inside.

This is where I realized my mistake: I was supposed to beat the eggs and the sugar until fluffy. But the sugar was already mixed up with all the ingredients! I didn’t want to throw everything away, so I decided to improvise. I beat the mashed up avocados with the eggs until they were as close to fluffy as they were going to get.

I used a stand mixer and mixed on medium for about 3 minutes using the paddle attachment.

Then I added the vanilla extract and mixed until incorporated.

Add in half of the dry mixture and mix for about 1 minute.

Pour in the buttermilk and mix for another minute.

Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until everything is just barely incorporated.

Transfer the batter to a mixing bowl and finish incorporating by hand.

I’ve noticed many bakers advise against working the dough or batter too much. Head their advice and be careful!

Transfer the batter to a bread pan. I didn’t spray mine with non-stick spray. It turned out ok, but I recommend spraying it. I will use non-stick spray on mine next time.