Cookies and Candids

When I made about a zillion cupcakes for the Vegan Cupcake Competition (as posted about previously, here), I made about a zillion batches of Lime Buttercream Frosting as well. I thought I would need that much…But in the end I didn’t even use half of it! I had a ton left over, and a birthday party to attend, so what better idea than to bake a birthday cake and frost it with Lime Buttercream?! The birthday girl approved, and I began brainstorming about what kind of cake I should make. Forming the idea primarily around the frosting was exciting. So many flavor combinations could go well with lime…But what would be best? I settled on the most unusual that I could think of. It turned out to be by far the best idea I’ve had recently, and incorporated all the fruity flavors of lime, avocado, and apricot.

In October, I made an Orange Chocolate Cake that had avocado as a central ingredient. However, it was a secret ingredient, because you could not see or taste any evidence of it in the baked cake! My friend Rachel made a version of the cake for her own birthday, leaving out the orange flavor, and radically leaving out the chocolate as well! The cake was tinted a very slight green, and retained a hint of the avocado flavor. This seemed like a brilliant idea, and I decided to make Zoe’s birthday cake this way too.

In between the three layers of avocado cake, I spread a thick layer of apricot jam and drizzled a dark chocolate ganache (melted semi-sweet chocolate, mixed with a little bit of unsweetened almond milk to keep it soft and creamy). I slathered the whole cake with Lime Buttercream Frosting (recipe here) and topped it with a heavy pile of sliced fresh strawberries. This was an incredible and zesty cake, and all the flavors worked together perfectly.

Happy Birthday, Zoe!

Green Avocado Cake Ingredients:
Makes 3 thick 9-inch rounds

4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 Tblsp. cornstarch
3/4 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. baking soda
3 cups granulated sugar
3/8 cup canola oil
3/4 cup soft avocado, well mashed, about 1 1/2 medium avocados
3 cups water
3 Tblsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tblsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

Add all the wet ingredients into a blender (oil, avocado, water, apple cider vinegar, vanilla). Blend until smooth. Add sugar into the wet mix and stir until it is incorporated.

Make a well in the dry mix, and pour all of the wet mix into it. Beat by hand with a whisk until smooth – be careful not to overmix.

Pour batter into your greased and floured cake pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let cakes cool in pans for about 15 minutes, then turn out onto cooling racks to cool completely before filling with apricot jam and chocolate ganache, and slathering with Lime Buttercream Frosting. Top with sliced fresh strawberries.