Avocado Chocolate Cake with Strawberries

This single layer Avocado Chocolate Cake with Strawberries is a rich and elegant experience made more interesting by the unexpected luxury of ripe and buttery California Grown avocados. Smooth and creamy avocado replaces the butter and eggs in the dark chocolate cake, making for an ultra moist and decadent base. Then, ripe avocado shows up again, swapping in for the butter in the luscious, honey sweetened, creamy and supremely fudgy dark chocolate frosting. The neutral flavor of the avocado blends seamlessly with the deep cocoa and coffee notes. In a welcome contrast, jammy, sweet seasonal strawberries crown the top of this uniquely sophisticated yet simple cake.

Think carrot cake or zucchini bread

Before you freak out, hear me out. We've all been cool with carrot cake forever, zucchini bread is the best and if you've been following my recipes for a while, you may have seen or even tried my Artichoke Olive Oil with Cream Cheese Frosting. All of these brilliant and beloved desserts have snuck some surprising ingredients into the mix and we accept and love them for exactly who they are.

So don't harsh my avocado vibe without trying this plush and unexpected Avocado Chocolate Cake with Strawberries. You wouldn't even know there was avocado in this cake if I didn't tell you. But you will likely fall hard once you taste this creative cake.

California Avocados are the secret weapon in this ultra moist Chocolate Cake recipe

Nobody wants a dry, crumbly cake. The ideal cake is moist and tender. And in the case of this Avocado Chocolate Cake it's a bit fudgy and decadent as all get out. Fresh, ripe California Avocados are the moist maker that gives this cake it's lavish depth of character.

Avocado is used in 3 surprising ways in this cake recipe

• Ripe California avocado is blended into the cake batter. The rich buttery fats of the avocado replace the butter and eggs in the cake and impart an ultra moist and velvety crumb when baked.
• Avocado oil adds a silky depth and glossy richness to the cake batter.
• The Avocado Chocolate Frosting is as smooth as a chocolate buttercream without the butter! By blending a ripe avocado with melted dark chocolate, cocoa powder, honey, vanilla and a pinch of salt you end up with a silky smooth frosting that isn't cloyingly sweet. Once you taste Avocado Chocolate Frosting, I'm afraid there is no going back.

Two great tastes that go great together, avocados and chocolate

The neutral flavor and naturally buttery characteristics of avocados make them a stand up partner to the bitter, richness of dark chocolate. The harmony between them is a tasty note that makes desserts sing. I even use avocados in my chocolate based smoothies to establish a creamy base.

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Ingredients for Avocado Chocolate Cake with Strawberries

There are 3 separate components that combine to create this fruit topped and frosted single layer chocolate avocado cake. Which makes it sound more complicated than it is. In fact, this is a quick and easy cake recipe that has the stature of sophistication thanks to the blend of unexpected yet highly compatible ingredients.

Avocado Chocolate Cake

• California Avocados - large
• avocado oil from California
• bittersweet or dark baking chocolate, at least 60% cocoa
• very hot coffee, strongly brewed
• baking cocoa powder
• all purpose flour
• baking soda
• baking powder
• fine sea salt
• avocado oil
• granulated sugar
• vanilla

Avocado Chocolate Frosting

• California Avocados - larve
• bittersweet or dark baking chocolate, at least 60% cocoa
• cocoa powder
• honey from California
• vanilla
• fine sea salt

Fruit Topping

• Fresh California Grown strawberries

Rich > Sweet

So often chocolate cakes are combated with a sugar load to balance the bitterness of the cocoa. Rather than leaning into the sugary sweetness, this chocolate cake with strawberries is a complex and layered flavor experience.

The deep chocolate and warm coffee notes are balanced by the naturally buttery flavor of ripe avocados. The sugar in the cake gives it structure and a gently sweet backbone that works with the coffee and cocoa. Then that fudgy and smooth as butter Avocado Chocolate Frosting crowns the Avocado Chocolate Cake in a luxuriously rich and softly sweet swoop. Fresh and jammy seasonal strawberries taste even strawberry-ier against the dark chocolate backdrop. That natural sweetness elegantly ties the flavor balance bow on this picture perfect cake package.

An avocado farm and u-pick strawberries inspired this cake recipe

Another spring, another farm tour with my freshest produce pals, California Grown. In the past we have tasted olive oil and wine in San Luis Obispo county, my backyard. We picked blueberries and harvested protea flowers from the jagged hills in Temecula Valley. We visited an organic farm that uses a a giant bug vacuum to safely remove pests and we witnessed the quick and deft skills of artichoke harvesters in Monterey county. This year, we visited an avocado farm and picked our own strawberries in Ventura county. Which led me to develop this beautiful and bountiful Avocado Chocolate Cake with Strawberries recipe.

Kimball Avocados

Nestled in the Heritage Valley outside of Santa Paula, California in the rocky hills of Ventura County, Kimball Avocados is a verdant landscape of bucolic views. Which just so happens to be the perfect conditions for growing Hass avocados the natural way. At Kimball, their avocados ripen naturally, then get picked and shipped the same day. This allows the fruit, yes avocados are botanically a fruit, to develop it's full flavor, which would otherwise be muted when held in cold storage.

Prancer's Farm

I am a sucker for a wholesome day spent visiting a family friendly farm stop. Prancer's Farm in Santa Paula, CA originated as a Christmas tree lot (hence the name) and evolved into an idyllic roadside family farm with U-pick strawberries, a farmers market and the sweetest crew of adorable farm animals in all of the land. The Robledo family welcomed us with open arms and empty berry baskets. We picked, we snacked, we explored and I even got to ride a gentle and majestic horse named Paco. This place is what farm dreams are made of. While picking the sweetest strawberries in this sweet setting, I was already scheming recipes while in the strawberry fields.

If it grows together, it goes together

After these farm visits, avocados and strawberries were at the forefront of my mind. We left Ventura county with a basket full of strawberries and a bag of fresh picked avocados. The climate, time of year and terrain of the region is ideal for growing both strawberries and avocados. So naturally, I had to come up with some kind of dessert featuring this combo.

Combining the new knowledge and delicious inspiration I picked up on this Ventura county agri-tour, I crafted the chocolate cake recipe of my dreams. The secret is, this Avocado Chocolate Cake with Strawberries allows the ingredients to shine their brightest lights.

How do you add avocado to chocolate cake?

Adding avocado to this chocolate cake could not be easier. Simply slice the avocado in half, remove the pit and squish the filling into a bowl. Then mash the avocado with a fork until it's smooth and chunk free. It should resemble a silky paste.

How do you make the creamiest chocolate frosting without butter or sugar?

Holy guacamole, this Avocado Chocolate Frosting will blow your mind. I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that there is no butter or added sugar in this smooth as butter frosting. In fact, it's just a blend of avocado, honey, melted dark chocolate, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt. It all blends together in a food processor in seconds. When I say it's life altering, I am putting it mildly. Then when you spread the Chocolate Avocado Frosting on top of the Avocado Chocolate Cake and throw some fresh strawberries on top, you may never go back to traditional chocolate buttercream again.

Decorating the Avocado Chocolate Cake with Strawberries is a breeze

Bake and cool the cake. Swirl on the creamy frosting. Top surround the cake with strawberries. No piping bags necessary, no sprinkles needed. Just quality ingredients and a few moments are all it takes to assemble this Avocado Chocolate Cake with Strawberries. If you're feeling fancy, you can pipe the frosting into a beautiful design. And if you do, send me a picture, please!

This Avocado Chocolate Cake with Strawberries is all about effortless elegance

I am a bit of a lazy cake maker. While I appreciate the intricate, pro-level piping of a Lambeth cake, I often don't have the energy for it. That's why I love the simple sophisticated style of this Avocado Chocolate Cake with Strawberries. The contrast of colors, movement of the frosting and the natural ease of the fresh strawberries piled on top is showstopping without time stealing.

But really what matters most is how it tastes. Speechless. This Avocado Chocolate Cake with Strawberries left me at a loss for words, in the best way possible. The plush and moist deeply chocolatey cake, smooth as butter butter free, rich chocolate frosting and a bounty of berries is the kind of effortless elegance we all need in our lives. I hope you will bake it while the California grown avocados and strawberries are ripe and ready for ya.

This post was proudly made in partnership with California Grown. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting me and the brands that I love. Follow @cagrownofficial on Instagram to learn more about the incredible produce grown in California, farm practices, and discover new recipes!

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