Avocado Pound Cake

From the kitchen of Carly

Creamy avocado brings unexpected richness to this cornmeal-studded pound cake. Butter and sugar create the classic tender crumb, while mashed avocado keeps every slice moist without any green hue or vegetal taste. Simple enough for weekday baking, elegant enough for company.

Avocado Pound Cake

Avocado in a pound cake sounds like health-washing until you taste it. The fruit melts into the crumb, adding moisture and a subtle richness that makes you reach for another slice. Cornmeal gives it a tender, slightly sandy bite. It's not green, it's not weird, and it stays fresh for days.

Prep
n/a
Cook
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Total
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Servings
4
Difficulty
medium

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 3 cupall-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cupyellow cornmeal
  • 1/2 tspsalt
  • 1 1/2 tspbaking powder
  • 1 1/2 tspbaking soda
  • 3/4 cupunsalted butter, softened
  • 3 cupgranulated sugar
  • 1 cupplus 2 tablespoons ripe mashed avocados
  • 4 largeeggs
  • 2 tsppure vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cupbuttermilk

Instructions

  1. Position racks in the center and upper third of the oven, then preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9x5-inch loaf pans and set them aside.

  2. Whisk the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a medium bowl, then set it aside.

  3. Fit a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the avocado and keep beating for another 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

  4. With the mixer still on medium, add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Scrape down the bowl to make sure everything is evenly combined, then beat in the vanilla.

  5. Drop the mixer to low and add half the flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Pour in the buttermilk followed by the remaining flour mixture and beat again until just incorporated. Lift the bowl off the stand and finish bringing the batter together with a spatula.

  6. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and slide them onto alternating racks. Bake for 30 minutes, then rotate the pans between racks and continue baking for another 15 to 25 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center pulls out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans for 20 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

  7. Stored well wrapped at room temperature, the cake keeps for up to 4 days.

Tips from the kitchen

  • Mash your avocado really well, almost to a baby-food consistency, so it breaks down fully into the batter and doesn't leave chunks.
  • Don't skip the scraping step after adding eggs. Butter that hasn't incorporated fully won't cream properly, and your cake will be dense.
  • Use the skewer test seriously: a few moist crumbs are fine, but wet batter means more time. These loaves bake unevenly, so rotate pans halfway through.

Variations

  • Add lime zest and juice (1 tablespoon zest, 2 tablespoons juice) to the avocado mixture for brightness.
  • Swap half the buttermilk for sour cream for a tangier crumb.
  • Toast the cornmeal in a dry pan for 2 minutes before whisking in with flour for a deeper, nuttier flavor.
  • Fold dark chocolate chips into the batter just before dividing between pans for richness that won't fight the avocado.

Make ahead and storage

Wrap cooled cake tightly in plastic wrap or foil and keep at room temperature for up to 4 days. Freezing works well for up to 3 months, wrapped tightly, thaw at room temperature before serving.