Avocado Pistachio Butter Cake

My love affair with the avocado chiffon cake began two years ago, courtesy of two good friends, who were also colleagues and partners in crime as well, specifically when it came to food trips and recipes. They were raving about the cake, and naturally, I tried it myself. I have fallen in love with it since then.

That was the first and last time I ate the cake at the bakeshop, because months later, I would eventually be transferred to the Malacañang beat. Once in a while, I would bring up the idea of going back to the place to order the cake again, but we never quite got the chance to go again.

So, I decided to make my own version last Sunday. I wanted my own twist to the cake, so instead of baking a chiffon, I opted to use a butter cake recipe from epicurious.com as my base. I just added my own pistachio icing, more or less patterned after the avocado cake I first tasted.

I was very satisfied with the result. The cake came out very moist, and maintained its moisture even after days of refrigeration. No wonder why 100% of those who have baked the butter cake recipe say they would do it again! My avocado cake was an instant favorite in the house. There was even a clamor to make a new batch asap. So I made a new one.

I’m bringing some cake to the office, and to dinner with friends Thursday night. This second batch is much better, because I had more pistachio. So, I put sprinkles of it on the icing, which I wasn’t able to do during my first attempt.

AVOCADO PISTACHIO BUTTER CAKE

Butter Cake Recipe (originally from Epicurious.com — with modifications)

Cake
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 whole large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole milk
3 Avocados, crushed using the food processor
1 cup coarsely ground pistachios

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan, then line bottom with a round of parchment paper and butter parchment. Lightly dust with flour.

Whisk together flour (1 3/4 cups), baking powder, and salt.

Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add whole egg, yolk, zest, and vanilla and beat 1 minute. At low speed, mix in flour mixture, milk, avocado and pistachios alternately in batches.

Bake for 20-40 minutes at 375 F.

ICING
1 cup, chilled all-purpose cream
1 cup, crushed avocado
1 cup, coarsely ground pistachios

Using an electric mixer, combine cream and avocado until thick. Refrigerated or set aside. Using a metal spatula, spread onto cake. Sprinkle pistachios.