Chocolate Avocado Cake

So why the cake?  April 1st is a dear friend's birthday.  Very cool right?  It was my older son's due date, although he couldn't wait that long.  And for other reasons April first is a day that we celebrate fondly.  Thus a cake was needed.

Chocolate avocado cake

This idea of avocados and chocolate comes from Joy the Baker's blog. She uses avocados in wonderful ways and I'm sure more of her recipes will be spring boards for some gluten free goodies here too.  I know you're thinking "Weird" right?  Actually "Yum!" is the word for this rich moist chocolate cake.




The next time you have a day that is special to you or just in the mood for a chocolate cake I hope you'll give this a try.  The avocado gives the cake some healthy fats and the quinoa flour provides a little extra protein punch.  It isn't health food but it is healthier... sort of.  If you eat one piece and quit- which may be tough.  This one didn't last 24 hours.  It was one of those goodies that called you to come take a taste, and it had a loud voice.

This cake doesn't rise to the heavens but it does rise so it isn't a chocolate brick.  Chocolate cakes can be difficult to get to rise.  Gluten free flours obviously have difficulty rising, as gluten is what makes wheat flour so good at rising.  Egg free baking has it's own challenges with rising and this doesn't even have any egg-replacer in it.  Lastly, lots of cakes use creamed butter and sugar to provide some lift too.  Dairy free cakes don't have that option.

Also it isn't dry as chocolate cakes have a tendency to be.  The avocado provides the fat that are usually provided by eggs and butter.  Also a trick I learned from the Hershey company years ago was to add boiling water to the cake batter.  This does several things: it warms the cocoa butter and allows it to moisten the crumb of the cake, it kicks the baking powder and soda into high gear, and in our case it warms the gluten free flours.  (Gluten free flours rise better when they are warm.) 

Chocolate avocado cake
1 1/2 cup sorghum flour
1 cup quinoa flour ( you can substitute1/2 coconut flour, 1/2 sorghum flour)
6 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar  (I use sucanat, if you are vegan make sure your sugar is too)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium avocado
1 cup cold water
1 cup boiling water
2 Tablespoons white vinegar (lemon juice or apple cider vinegar if you prefer)
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Set aside. 
Combine the avocado, cold water, vinegar and vanilla in a blender and puree until smooth.  Add to the dry ingredients and stir.  Then add the boiling water and stir completely by hand or electric mixer until everything is incorporated and quit.  Don't over mix.

Pour into two prepared 8 or 9 inch round pans, or a prepared 9x13 pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.  The cake will have pulled away from the sides slightly at this point.   Let cake cool in the pan(s) for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire baking rack.  Cool completely before frosting.
(This one starts whispering "Eat me.  Just a nibble or a crumb.... Try me. Come on."  before it is out of the oven.  So waiting to frost could be hard.  ;)  )


 Let me know what you think!


Enjoy!
Michelle