Avocado Pound Cake with Raspberry Glaze

I'm obsessed with avocados. They're so damn good. I've tempered my addiction somewhat, but there was a while there where I was eating at least half an avocado every day. On toast, in pasta sauce, on pizza... but I never realized you could bake with them. 

When I was home for Christmas in December, my mom (knowing that I have an avocado dependency) gave me a recipe from her Chatelaine magazine for a pound cake that uses ripe avocado as a substitute for about half of the butter. So, I mean, I don't know about healthy, but it's definitely healthier than a regular pound cake. Plus it's kind of quirky and colourful and delicious, and that counts for a lot.



Avocado Pound Cake with Raspberry Glaze
Recipe from Chatelaine's January 2013 Issue
Makes 1-8x4 inch loaf

1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup ripe avocado, mashed
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, separated
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
[Full disclosure: because I knew I would be photographing this cake, I added 2 drops of green food colouring to the batter. You may also want to do this but it's not necessary; without it, the batter has very soft tinge of green.]
1/2 cup frozen raspberries, thawed
3/4 cup icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 325°F/162°C and lightly grease a loaf tin. In a small bowl, use electric beaters to whisk the egg white until frothy - slowly start adding 2 tablespoons of the sugar. After the sugar is added, continue beating on high for 3-4 minutes, until thick and glossy. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt together. Set this aside too.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and avocado until totally smooth. Add the rest of the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and blend thoroughly. Add half of the flour mixture and combine using a rubber spatula. Add half of the beaten egg white and fold in gently. Fold in the rest of the flour mixture, then the rest of the egg white, gently folding until just combined.

Smooth the batter into your loaf tin and bake for 40 minutes - after 40 minutes, loosely cover the tin with foil, then bake a further 20 minutes. Test the cake with a toothpick to make sure it's done. Allow to cool for a while and then tip it out of the loaf tin and onto a rack or plate; let it cool completely before glazing.

To make the glaze, use the back of a spoon to push the raspberries through a seive into a bowl. You should get 2-3 tablespoons of juice; discard the pulp/seeds. Add the icing sugar and mix until smooth. Drizzle over your loaf and enjoy!