A Study in Avocados

So, avocados. The super-food that millennial's are putting on anything and everything. But they're not just a hipster food fad, avocados are incredibly versatile for healthy fat substitutions in baking! 

My brother and sister-in-law eat very clean and don't really eat sweets, so for her birthday I knew I had to find a healthier alternative to traditional cake. After a bit of googling, I found a recipe that used raw sweet potato instead of flour, avocado in place of butter or oil, and dates and a little maple syrup as a natural sweetener. It was definitely a very dense cake, almost fudge like in consistency, which is usually the sacrifice you make when using fruits and vegetables as healthier alternative in baking. The flavor was still amazing (I used dutch processed cocoa powder) and the avocado made it perfectly moist. It was a big hit with my family!

The frosting was equally as healthy and tasty, made with mashed sweet potato,dates, avocado and cocoa powder. I ended up adding an extra whole avocado to make it a bit creamier and stiffer for decorating, and it worked beautifully! I did have to cheat a tiny bit and use Italian meringue buttercream to make the green flesh part of the avocado, but it was a very thin layer. 

Overall, this cake turned out wonderfully and tasted great as well. For a long time there was a lot of misconception that "healthy" baked goods tasted terrible, but that certainly isn't true! There are many healthy substitutes you can use in baking that taste amazing, so don't be afraid to test them out!

Recipe link: https://paleoglutenfree.com/recipes/best-paleo-avocado-chocolate-cake/