Avocado Pound Cake

I got a new cookbook. Joy the Baker's debut, and man is it awesome. Full of those recipes where you say - "Wow! I never would have thought of that, but boy does it look good."

The first thing I had to try was the avocado pound cake. It's super easy, and definitely fun to make. I mean, come on - the batter is GREEN. 

My only major problem came in keeping the page open to the recipe I needed. Since most of my recipes come from the internet or an ancient cookbook from my shelf, keeping the recipe visible hasn't been a problem. But with a bit of ingenuity, I managed to make do.

I just had to make sure I had everything I needed out of the cabinet first....

Start with the avocado - mush mush mush

It took me 3 avocados to get the 1 c. plus that the recipe called for.

Next, butter and sugar. Cream it till fluffy. Be sure to use the largest bowl you own - Joy suggests using the KitchenAid instead of an electric beater, and I'm now certain that's more to do with bowl size than anything else.

Add the avocado, and the fun begins!

Perhaps I'll make this cake again around Christmas. The little cousins will love helping to make it! Maybe add some strawberries. Or something else red.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

Then mix in the vanilla.

Next, in a separate bowl, mix up the dry ingredients. 

Add half the drys to the green batter, mix them in, and then add the buttermilk. 

Mix it all up, and add the last half of the drys.  Beat until just incorporated. Enjoy the green now, friends, cause it will soon be gone. 

Pour into 2 greased loaf pans and place on separate racks in the oven. 

Bake until golden and no longer gooey in the center (use a knife or straw to test). Remember to rotate pans halfway through...

Let them sit for 20 minutes in their pans to cool, then attack with the zealousness of a 3 year old...

A 3 year old with good knife skills.

Avocado Pound Cake

Makes 2 loaves

Adapted (barely) from Joy the Baker

1 c. plus a couple tbsp avocado (I used 3 avocados and got around that amount. It all went in.)

3/4 c. butter, softened

3 c. sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

3/4 c. buttermilk

3 c. flour

1/2 c. cornmeal

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Have your oven racks in the middle and the top third. 

In a medium bowl, smoosh the avocado. In a humongous bowl (or a KitchenAid if you've got one), beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in the avocado and mix for several minutes. Be sure to scrape down the bowl so it's all mixed in. 

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in the vanilla with the last egg. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt, powder, and soda. Add half of that to the avocado mixture, and beat it in well. Pour in the buttermilk, mix it in with the beater. Then mix in the last of the flour mixture, beating until it's just incorporated. Scrape down the bowl as necessary. 

Pour the batter into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake on separate racks for 30 minutes, then switch the pans and bake for another 30 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Let sit in the pans for 20 minutes to cool before moving the cakes to a cooking rack. 

Serving suggestion - grill the cake slices and serve with fruit and cream.... I would have done it myself but the plain cake just disappeared too quickly!