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Chocolate Avocado Cake

When my initial avocado frosting recipe was a success, I naturally progress to adding avocados to my cake recipe. That’s how this chocolate avocado cake came to be.

I couldn’t quite picture vanilla avocado cake layers. It just seemed too creepy. Instead, I ended up incorporating them into my go-to chocolate layer cake recipe.

I decided to use the same strategy as before, swapping the butter for avocado, using a 1:1 ratio.

The chocolate cake batter ended up having a similar consistency and baked up very nicely!

I leveled the fully cooled layers and then tackled my next challenge.

Filling This Avocado Chocolate Cake

While I loved the way the avocado frosting tasted, I wanted it to be a bit stiffer, so that it would be easier to frost with.

I decided to use some of my American buttercream to act as a dam. This helps keep all the wonderful avocado frosting in place.

Even with the normal buttercream, each bite of cake still had a faint (and refreshing taste) of avocado.

base layer

Begin by baking four, seven-inch chocolate avocado cake layers, and preparing the avocado frosting and American buttercream.

Assembling This Chocolate Avocado Cake

Once the layers are fully cooled, stack and frosting them.

Spread an even layer of vanilla buttercream on each cake layer as you stack them. Chill the cake in the freezer for a couple minutes.

image of adding avocado frosting onto chocolate cake layer

Once it has started to firm up, pipe a second layer of avocado frosting on top of the first layer of frosting, leaving a 1-inch border.

Then pipe a ring of vanilla buttercream around the avocado buttercream to ensure it doesn’t seep out the sides of the cake.

piping around avo bc

Repeat this process with the remaining cake layers, until they are all stacked. 

Cover the cake in a thin crumb coat of vanilla buttercream.

Chill in the freezer for about 5 minutes, until the frosting is firm to the touch.

image of crumb coated chocolate avocado cake

Next, I went a little rouge, and decided to just cover the whole cake in avocado buttercream!

Decorating This Avocado Cake

To really get the avocado point across, I decided to place an avocado rose on top!

avocado thinly sliced

Before this avocado-inspired baking streak, I’d never purchased an avocado. I also had never attempted an avocado rose!!

But YouTube is a beautiful thing. After watching a quick tutorial, I tried my hand at making my first avocado rose.

The most important things to keep in mind as you make an avocado rose? Try to cut the avocado as thinly and uniformly as possible.

I don’t really cook, so my knife skills are far from perfect. Please note the destroyed avocado I tried to quickly cut on the left side of the cutting board.

sliced avocado

But if you take your time, you’d be surprised at what you’re capable of 🙂

making an avocado rose

I think my avocado may have been slightly overripe, but it still came together pretty well!

I was very gentle as I shaped my avocado slices into a tall U shape, and then rolled the whole thing into itself, to create a swirl.

chocolate avocado cake with avocado frosting

Once it was fully shaped, I fanned out the edges of the avocado rose to give it a bit more life. I sprinkled some lemon juice over it to prevent it from browning.

And that was it! Nothing to crazy on this cake! Just a lot of avocado and a bit of chocolate 🙂

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you try this chocolate avocado cake recipe, please tag me @chelsweets and leave a rating and comment below!

Yield: 16

Avocado Chocolate Layer Cake Recipe

image of avocado chocolate cake with avocado frosting

This avocado chocolate layer cake is made w/ moist chocolate cake layers and avocado frosting. It's a unique and delicious combination!!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Additional Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

6-Inch Chocolate Cake

  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (167g)
  • 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar (266g)
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (50g)
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder (6g)
  • 1 tsp baking soda (6g)
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt (3g)
  • 2/3 cup warm water (160g)
  • 1 tsp instant espresso of coffee (3g)
  • 2/3 cup buttermilk (160g)
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil (75g)
  • 1 large egg + 1 egg white, room temperature (85g)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract (4g)

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (226g)
  • 3 cups powdered sugar (375g)
  • 2 Tbsp heavy cream or whipping cream (30ml)
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract (12ml)
  • 1/2 tsp salt (3g)

Avocado Frosting

  • 1 cup ripe avocado meat, about 2 small avocados (8 oz)
  • 4 cups powdered sugar (450 grams)
  • 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (15g)

Instructions

Chocolate Cake Layers

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F/ 175 C. Line and grease three, six-inch cake pans.
  2. Combine 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/3 cups sugar, 1/2 cup baking cocoa, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp of salt in a large bowl. Whisk together until combined.
  3. In a separate, large bowl, add 2/3 cup of hot water and 1 tsp instant espresso or coffee. Stir until dissolved.
  4. Add in 2/3 cup buttermilk, 1/3 cup oil, 1 egg + 1 egg white, and 1 tsp vanilla extract into the instant espresso mixture. Give the mixture a quick stir to combine the ingredients.
  5. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix by hand until fully incorporated. The batter will be on the thin side, but that’s the consistency you're after!
  6. Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake for about 23-26 minutes. I like to use a kitchen scale to weigh the pans. It ensures each pan has the exact same amount of batter and helps the cake layers bake up to be the same height.
  7. Remove the cake layers from the oven and let them cool in the pans for about 10 minutes. Gently run an offset spatula around the rim of the cake pans to loosen them, then flip them onto wire racks to finish cooling.
  8. Once cooled, use a serrated knife to level the top of each cake layer. If you make these in advance, wrap and freeze them at this point.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

  1. While the cake layers bake and cool, make the vanilla buttercream frosting.
  2. Beat 1 cup of unsalted butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a paddle attachment or hand mixer until smooth.
  3. Slowly mix in 3 cups of powdered sugar and 2 Tbsp of heavy cream on a low speed.
  4. Scrape the sides and bottom of of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.
  5. Once the frosting is fully mixed and smooth, add in 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix on the lowest speed for a couple minutes to help make the frosting silky smooth.
  6. If the frosting seems too thick, add in additional cream (1 Tbsp at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (quarter of a cup at a time). If you're unsure how thick your frosting should be, you can learn what consistency you're looking for in my frosting consistency post.

Avocado Frosting

  1. Next, make the avocado buttercream frosting.
  2. Slice and remove pit from avocados. Place into mixing bowl, and beat on a low speed using the whisk attachment until relatively smooth.
  3. Mix in lemon juice. This will prevent the avocados from browning.
  4. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Scrap down the sides of the bowl after each addition, to ensure the ingredients are fully incorporated.
  5. This frosting can be made in advance, and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Assembling this Avocado Chocolate Layer Cake

  1. Add a dab of avocado frosting onto your cake board or cake plate. This will help keep your cake layers in place as you frost and stack the layers.
  2. Use a large offset spatula to spread an even layer of vanilla frosting onto each cake layer.
  3. Pipe a ring around the edge of the cake layer, then spread a thick layer of avocado frosting inside the ring.
  4. Repeat until all the cake layers are stacked. Next, cover the cake in a thin layer of vanilla frosting.
  5. Use a bench scraper to make the frosting smooth, then chill the cake in the fridge (20 minutes) or freezer (10 minutes) until the frosting is firm to the touch.
  6. Cover the cake in a second layer of avocado frosting to the cake, and top with an avocado rose. Then enjoy!

Notes

Make your cake layers in advance and freeze them. It breaks the process up and make it more approachable.

Make your vanilla frosting ahead of time too, or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Be sure to give it a good stir once it thaws to get the consistency nice and smooth again.

A frosted cake can last in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month. The buttercream locks in all the moisture, keeping the cake fresh and delicious!

If you cut into the cake and have leftovers, use any remaining frosting to cover the cut section to keep it moist and store in the fridge for up to a week.

Nutrition Information

Yield

16

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 541Total Fat 24gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 13gCholesterol 53mgSodium 310mgCarbohydrates 78gFiber 3gSugar 65gProtein 5g

Rachel

Thursday 2nd of January 2020

Am I blind? I don’t see avocados in the chocolate cake recipe...But sounds cool!

Sol

Wednesday 17th of April 2019

Do you have any tips for writing short articles? That's where I constantly struggle and I just wind up gazing empty display for long period of time.

Chelsweets

Sunday 21st of April 2019

1 American cup = 8 oz

Shelby Green

Wednesday 31st of October 2018

Hi Chelsey- When making a multi layered cake, how do you keep the buttercream frosting from slouching or buckling at the base of the cake? Thank you for your help!!

Chelsweets

Wednesday 7th of November 2018

Hi Shelby! it's all about making sure the cake is supported properly! I have a full video tutorial showing how to do this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRRQEY_Kl7k

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