Avocado Pound Cake with Blood Orange Glaze Recipe

I started the New Year off with a sense of adventure. After a long break from blogging due to our move, I was ready to jump right into some baking experiments. 

I did. And I failed. 

For a few weeks our apartment was filled with dry, gritty donuts and collapsed cakes. So I claimed 2013 the year of cooking, not baking. 

But then I got the bug again. The kind of bug that sees an avocado sitting on the counter and wonders if I can use it in place of butter or oil in a recipe. Not that I don’t fully embrace butter. I was simply up for a challenge. 

The first challenge was getting the right consistency. After blending the avocado and mixing it with sugar, eggs and flour I seemed to be on the right track. It even looked pretty when I took it out of the oven.

The next challenge was getting it out of the pan. Even though the avocado has a good amount of fat, I was using a non-stick pan and I greased it, given my track record, I wasn’t hopeful. I’m pretty sure I cheered when it slid right out of the pan.

The final result? You can replace the butter or oil with avocado. At least with this recipe you can. I ended up with a dense, sweet pound cake, with a tiny hint of avocado flavor and a burst of citrus from the glaze. 

Avocado Pound Cake with Blood Orange Glaze

1 avocado, pureed

1 cup raw sugar (turbinado or Demerara)

¼  cup mascavo sugar (you might be able to substitute brown sugar)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

Glaze

1 tbsp blood orange juice

½ tsp orange zest

5 tbsp confectioners’ sugar 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a small loaf pan. I used a mini loaf pan, the size that comes with a 4 piece set. The cake expands so this was easily enough for 6 to 8 slices once it was baked. 

Add the pureed avocado, the raw sugar and the mascavo sugar to the bowl of a mixer. Beat on medium for about 45 seconds. Add the eggs and beat for about 30 seconds. Mix in the vanilla. 

Add the baking powder and salt. Slowly mix in the flour just until all ingredients are combined. 

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

This is a dense pound cake so make sure to use the knife test to ensure it is baked through. The top of the bread will darken quite a bit.

Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and allow to cool completely.

In a small dish, mix together the glaze ingredients, adding the powdered sugar one tablespoon at a time. You might decide you like a thinner or thicker consistency, so add more or less sugar to your liking. 

Poor the glaze over the cooled pound cake and let set before slicing and serving. Makes 6 to 8 slices.