Wow, judging by the last month or so of posts, you'd think that I don't bake anymore! Or eat anything sweet! I guess that's justified, since I didn't really use a lot of sugar during sugar-free January, but now I'm off the bandwagon! (Not that I was ever really on it for more than a few days at a time...) To be honest, the first day of February started with a breakfast of York Peppermint Patties and ended with half a bag of mint m&m's. Not pretty. But anyway, this recipe really is amazing, not to mention gorgeous.
You know how pound cake is kind of boring? If you won't admit it, you're lying to yourself. To be really good, it needs some fruit compote, or glaze, or really good ice cream. And that just makes it even less healthy than it already is! Well. This pound cake is different. Don't let the title throw you - it doesn't taste like avocado. However, it is a beautiful light green. It has an amazing texture from the cornmeal in the batter, and it hass just the right amount of sweetness. (I know, I'm hilarious).
It's perfect plain - eat it out of the oven or, if you're like me, straight out of the freezer. It freezes wonderfully, by the way. You can serve it like you would any other pound cake, but it has a lighter and sweeter flavor, almost fruity. The avocado replaces more than half of the "pound" of butter in pound cake, making it even healthier. In short, it's perfect!
Avocado Pound Cake
From Joy the Baker
Makes 2 loaves
3 cups flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature* (or sub. salted butter and cut the salt down to 1/4 tsp.)
3 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature*
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
1-1 1/2 cup mashed ripe avocado (1 1/2 to 2 1/2 avocados)
Preheat oven to 325.
Combine flour, cornmeal, salt, soda, and powder in a medium bowl. Beat butter with a mixer until it is softened, ~1 minute. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2-4 minutes more. Add avocado and beat another minute.
Add the eggs one at a time while beating, then pour in the vanilla extract. Add half the flour mixture, all the buttermilk, and the other half of the flour. Beat just until combined.
Pour batter into two greased and floured loaf pans. Bake 40-45 minutes**, or until they pass the toothpick test. Let cool before taking out of the pans and cutting. Eat!
*Tip: to get cold eggs to room temperature more quickly, dunk them in a bowl of warm water. For butter, defrost in the microwave at intervals of 10 seconds until the butter just yields to a finger poke, but doesn't have any liquid pooling at the bottom.
**My mini-loaves took about 30-35 minutes. I would probably check every 5 minutes after 25, though.
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| You see what I mean? Perfect for St. Patrick's day. Or any other day, for that matter... |
You know how pound cake is kind of boring? If you won't admit it, you're lying to yourself. To be really good, it needs some fruit compote, or glaze, or really good ice cream. And that just makes it even less healthy than it already is! Well. This pound cake is different. Don't let the title throw you - it doesn't taste like avocado. However, it is a beautiful light green. It has an amazing texture from the cornmeal in the batter, and it hass just the right amount of sweetness. (I know, I'm hilarious).
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| This picture doesn't do justice to the beautiful green color that the batter really is, but still. |
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| Delicious? Oh, I think so. |
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| Green bread!! (From a mini loaf pan) |
Avocado Pound Cake
From Joy the Baker
Makes 2 loaves
3 cups flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature* (or sub. salted butter and cut the salt down to 1/4 tsp.)
3 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature*
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
1-1 1/2 cup mashed ripe avocado (1 1/2 to 2 1/2 avocados)
Preheat oven to 325.
Combine flour, cornmeal, salt, soda, and powder in a medium bowl. Beat butter with a mixer until it is softened, ~1 minute. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2-4 minutes more. Add avocado and beat another minute.
Add the eggs one at a time while beating, then pour in the vanilla extract. Add half the flour mixture, all the buttermilk, and the other half of the flour. Beat just until combined.
Pour batter into two greased and floured loaf pans. Bake 40-45 minutes**, or until they pass the toothpick test. Let cool before taking out of the pans and cutting. Eat!
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| This picture does not need a caption. |
*Tip: to get cold eggs to room temperature more quickly, dunk them in a bowl of warm water. For butter, defrost in the microwave at intervals of 10 seconds until the butter just yields to a finger poke, but doesn't have any liquid pooling at the bottom.
**My mini-loaves took about 30-35 minutes. I would probably check every 5 minutes after 25, though.
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