You know you're cake-obsessed when you find an avocado and a wedge of fresh ricotta in your fridge and the first thing you think to make is cake rather than dip.
Avocado Ricotta Olive Oil Cake with Dark Chocolate Chunks
200g (1 1/2 cups) plain flour (I used cake flour)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoons fine sea salt
200g (1 cup) fresh ricotta, well drained
200g avocado flesh, (about 1 large avocado)
55g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
300g (1 1/4 cups) caster sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
100g (3.5 ounces) dark chocolate, roughly chopped into small chunks
Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Line a 23 cm x 13 cm (9 x 5 inch) loaf pan with baking paper and set aside.
Place the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and whisk to get rid of any lumps and combine. Set aside.
Put the ricotta and avocado flesh into a blender and blitz until smooth.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the ricotta-avocado mixture with the butter, sugar, olive oil, vanilla and eggs. Beat on medium speed for 3 - 4 minutes. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and gradually add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix. Stir in the chocolate chunks.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about an hour, or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Leave the cake in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
I love the idea, the colour, the cake.gosh, I love it all!! Seriously, you're maybe a cake-obsessed but you created beautiful things!
ReplyDeleteThanks Gabrielle. Being cake obsessed has it's benefits.
DeleteI love the way your brain works! Avocado, ricotta and chocolate chunks definitely make the world a better place :) Thanks for the inspiration Jennifer - also, that colour!
ReplyDeleteThat colour is shagadelic, isn't it?
DeleteSuch a beautiful cake, I'll have two slices to go, thank you xo
ReplyDeleteIf only I could share it with you.
DeleteThis. looks. incredible.
ReplyDeleteThanks Marie. I know you're as crazy about avocado as I am.
DeleteI actually have ricotta in the fridge begging for this cake. Gorgeous and it looks delicious, moist and perfect with coffee.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jamie. It's a great cake with coffee... and chat with a friend.
DeleteThe ingredients of this cake are very appealing. I've tried avocado, ricotta and olive oil in desserts but never at the same time! It must be so perfumed and moist!
ReplyDeleteYou said it. It's got a great texture and is even better the next day. I love cakes that do that.
DeleteI love this recipe, I'm such a fan of avocado though I've never used it in a cake recipe. I will definitely try your recipe it looks so delicious, oh, and I love dark chocolate also. Thanks for sharing. I've pinned/shared.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Joanne. The avocado gives the cake great texture.
DeleteOh I LOVE this idea!/ilva
ReplyDeleteThanks. It's one of those cakes that gets better the next day, if it lasts that long.
DeleteJennifer, this is absolute gorgeousness. Who would have thought I now wish to make a cake with avocados in it?! :) Baking one with olive oil is way overdue so saving this to kill two birds in one.
ReplyDeleteThanks Shulie. I hope you enjoy it. I'm sure you will.
DeleteThis looks very intriguing. How does is taste? I like the idea of avocado in a cake, and I love the colour. Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteIt taste like a pound cake. The avocado and ricotta is very subtle, but adds great body to the cake.
DeleteI LOVE avocados in desserts!! This cake looks so moist and just plain delicious! I will have to give it a go! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Manu. I think you'll love it.
DeleteThis cake was so moist and delicious. Will def be making it again
ReplyDeleteJust made this and it is absolutely delicious. I didn't have any ricotta so used cottage cheese. Not sure if the taste would be that different and either way it is very tasty and the whole family enjoying. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI'll just add protein powder and make it a complete meal for me. Thanks for sharing, can't wait to do it this weekend.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy!
DeleteCan I use almond flour in place of plain flour and coconut sugar instead of caster sugar or will that totally change the texture of this pound cake? Please let me know.
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried the cake with these substitutions. I'm sure the coconut sugar would be fine, but the almond flour may make the cake more dense. If you are avoiding gluten, you could sub a gluten free flour instead.
DeleteYou lost me at "grams" .... :(
ReplyDeleteI've provided imperial measurements.
DeleteI'm not sure of the amounts that are in grams. What are they in cups?
ReplyDeleteI've amended the recipe to give you cup measurements.
DeleteThank you!
DeleteExcellent!!
ReplyDeleteI don't have a blender. Would a hand mixer be sufficient?
ReplyDeleteYes. A hand mixer will do the job just as well.
DeleteCan I use coconut oil instead of olive oil? What is the ( f ° ) for 180c?
ReplyDeleteYes. You can use coconut oil. 180C is 350F.
Deletecan i use a bread flour instead of cake flour?
ReplyDeleteCake four is lower in protein than bread flour. You get a lighter crumb when using cake flour, but you could use bread flour.
DeleteI have tried to make this twice. The first time I tried to navigate through the recipe before you converted it to cups. *note to myself, I must learn to properly measure using grams* Sadly I didn't put enough flour in. I cooked it for an hour and a half because it wouldn't set. I had to throw it away. Second time I followed the recipe correctly (thank you again for converting the measurements). Again it wouldn't set. I put a toothpick in it after an hour and a half and it still didn't come out clean. Help what am I doing wrong?
ReplyDeleteHi Kristin. I (and others) have made this cake on numerous occasions and it always turns out correctly. Here are a few suggestion to help you troubleshoot. Is your ricotta really wet? If it is, it may make your batter too wet, knocking the recipe out of whack and requiring a longer baking time. The third photo gives you an idea of what the batter should look like. If it's really wet, you should leave it in a colander to drain overnight. Check your oven temperature with an internal thermometer. This is a moist cake, but it should be cooked after an hour, give or take a few minutes. I used a standard loaf pan. Standard here is (23 cm x 13 cm (9 x 5 inch)). I hope that helps.
Delete*Update* I finally got it right! The ricotta was very wet. I substituted it for a different type of cheese. I just wasn't cooking it long enough. It took about 2 hours and oh my gosh was it worth it! It was a hit, thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe :)
ReplyDeleteThat's great to hear. I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
DeleteCan I mix the avacado and ricotta without a blender or electric mixer? I don't have either of these items...Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteYou could mash the ricotta and avocado with a fork then push it through a sieve.
DeleteHonestly, my Kitchenaid successfully whipped the avocado and ricotta beautifully, then I added (slowly) the wet, then dry ingredients--I am a fan of less work and this recipe is super easy and came out great.
DeleteWish me luck! I have this in my oven as we speak!
ReplyDeleteSo I had it in the oven for almost two hours. I kept putting a skewer in it and it would come out clean but when I cut a piece (while it was still hot) it look raw. The ricotta was pretty dry (I read earlier comments). Any thoughts or advice?
ReplyDeleteThank you!
The only thing I can guess is that your ricotta is wetter than mine. Are you in Australia? May be the ricotta you have is a different consistency to the one I use. You'll see in the second photo how dry the one use is. There's no liquid coming out of it. Was yours that dry?
DeleteI was impressed with this recipe, and it came out perfectly--I have two teen boys who devoured it (and I admit I helped) ---however--it did take twenty minutes longer to bake, and after reading comments, could not help but wonder if i used "wet" ricotta--I used organic whole milk ricotta, but at any rate--it did bake with a nice moist crumb, just took a bit longer. I do not see a need to use a separate blender, threw the ripe mashed avocado in with the ricotta, and let it whip to a fine creaminess before slowly incorporating the wet, then dry ingredients. So, a one bowl situation is all I think you need. Thanks for this great recipe!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the recipe. Your recipe is taking avocado to the whole new level. I made this last night and it came out perfectly.
ReplyDeleteMade it last night & used my Gluten-Free flour mix (recipe from Cooks Illustrated's How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook). Since the GF flour excluded it, I had to guess the amount of xanthan gum (without it, the cake will not hold up, as it acts as a binder), about 1/4 tsp. After removing it from the oven, impatient me, I couldn't wait, so I cut a slice, while it was at the 'yo, I'm still cooling off, back-off' stage. My taste buds wasn't appreciating the taste. The next morning I touched it, it looked a lot firmer. Cut a big piece to take to work. This time, I was liking...no, loving the taste. Thumbs up from my co-workers too, whom I shared it with. Will make more and try a regular cake flour next. Thanks for a new deliciousness, Milk & Honey!
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