Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Avocado Bread


It’s not everyday you wonder what to do with a stash of avocado that’s slowly gathering dust in the fridge. It’s even more uncommon that you consider baking with them. After making some guacamole with one avocado and taking three days to finish it, I decided that there must be a quicker way to use up avocado. But of course: mash it up into a bread! People do it with ripe bananas and zucchinis all the time; using avocado must be no different. To my delight, I actually found avocado bread recipes on the Internet (well what can’t you find on the Internet these days huh?).


This quick bread has no oil or butter at all. The avocado eliminates the necessity to add any extra fat (apart from the fat in the eggs). The texture of this bread was perfect: soft, moist, and crumbly. It’s beautiful too, especially when you cut into the cake and unleash its fresh green color. This bread is not too sweet and would pair well with a cup of coffee. I expected the sugar to cover the flavor of the avocado, but you can definitely taste the creamy avocado in each bite.

Avocados are one of the best sources to get your good fats. It’s no wonder that articles on eating healthy fats are commonly accompanied by a picture of an avocado. They are full of healthy mono and poly unsaturated fats and contain very little saturated fat. In addition, avocados are a good source of fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Folate. Need I say any more for you to try this unique recipe?

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 large egg
1/2 cup mashed avocado (1 medium avocado)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to blend thoroughly.
3. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg and avocado. Stir in the buttermilk.
4. Add to the dry ingredients and blend well. Stir in the pecans.
5. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.



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