Chocolate Avocado Cake
Are you a fan of avocados and cake? Then you’re in for a treat with this delicious and healthy chocolate avocado cake recipe! Made with ripe avocados, whole wheat flour, and sweetened with honey, this cake is a guilt-free indulgence that you can enjoy any time of day.
It may sound surprising, but avocados in a cake is quite delicious. I’ve shared with you before my lemon avocado cake.
Using avocados as one of the main ingredients creates a healthier alternative to traditional cakes, because avocados are a good source of healthy fats and nutrients. And the avocado helps to create a moist and dense texture in the cake.
Key Ingredients
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:
- Flour — I recommend using all-purpose flour, but you can substitute whole wheat pastry flour or a high-quality gluten-free flour designed for baking.
- Sugar — You can use granulated sugar or substitute coconut sugar for a healthier option. You can also experiment with different quantities of sugar to make the cake exactly the way you want it.
- Cocoa powder — I recommend natural cocoa powder.
- Vegetable oil — You can leave this out, but I find adding a bit of vegetable oil creates the best texture.
- Avocado — You’ll need 1 ripe avocado for the cake and 2 ripe avocados for the frosting (or substitute Vegan Chocolate Frosting).
- Apple Cider Vinegar — Use apple cider vinegar or substitute white vinegar or even lemon juice.
- Maple Syrup — You can use either maple syrup or agave nectar.
Why This Recipe is a Winner
- HEALTHY — Adding mashed avocado adds healthy plant-based fats to this recipe, making it a rich and delicious cake
- EASY — The process of making this cake is not much different than a regular cake, making it an easy option to serve any time!
- PERFECT TEXTURE — Adding mashed avocados creates the perfect texture for your cake!
Benefits of Avocado in a Cake
I think we’re all paying a little more attention to the food we eat these days, particularly when it comes to fats. I know it can be confusing, understanding nutrition and its role in our health, but one thing we can say for sure, getting healthy fats from plant-based sources is a good idea. And that’s where the avocado comes in.
I once read that eating an avocado is better than taking a vitamin. Let’s talk about the nutrition of Avocados:
- Vitamin K
- Folate
- Potassium
- Vitamin E
- Monounsaturated Fats.
This vegan chocolate avocado cake is moist, rich, and a perfect indulgence any day of the week.
Storage Tips
Store the cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. It can be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
Chocolate Cake Favorites
If you love this chocolate avocado cake, you will want to try these tasty chocolate cake recipes:
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Avocado Cake
Ingredients
Avocado Cake
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (substitute whole-wheat pastry flour or gluten-free baking flour)
- ½ cup almond flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar (substitute coconut sugar or zero sugar sweetener such as monkfruit)
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup mashed avocado (ripe)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cups water
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoons vanilla extract
Chocolate Avocado Frosting
- 1 cup mashed avocado (ripe avocados)
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoons vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Avocado Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Spray two round cake pans with vegetable spray.
- Pour the flours, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda/powder into a mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
- Peel the avocado and remove the pit. Roughly chop it into large chunks and add it to a food processor along with the vegetable oil, water, vinegar, and vanilla. Pulse until smooth.
- Add the avocado mixture to the flour mixture. Stir to combine. Pour into prepared cake pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle, comes out clean.
- When done, remove the cakes from the oven. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes, and then invert each cake on a plate or wire rack to cool completely.
For the Chocolate Avocado Frosting:
- Peel the avocados and remove the pits. Chop them roughly into large chunks and add them to the food processor along with the cocoa powder and maple syrup.
- Pulse until smooth, stopping to wipe down the bowl as needed. Taste a bit of the frosting and add 2 to 4 tablespoons of additional syrup if necessary.
- Once the cakes are cooled, spread half of the frosting on the top side of one of the cakes. Place the second cake on top of the bottom, frosted cake. Then add the remaining frosting to the top cake and spread evenly across the top.
(The products above contain sponsored links to products we use and recommend)
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally published in 2017 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2023.
This avocado cake is so good!
I’m so glad you like this cake, Renee!
Never would have thought of this combination! I’m sure it’s delicious though.
Hi! I tried the recipe today and I wonder if I overmixed the batter or put too much oil, but it turned out raw on the inside. So it needed more than 40min in the oven (180 C). Also, I wonder if 2 tsp baking powder is enough for all that batter (~800ml flour). I’ll try again, nevertheless. 🙂
Hi Linda. Thanks for your comment. I find ovens can vary in temperature, so I would recommend baking it a little longer until you can insert a toothpick or piece of spaghetti in the middle and it comes out clean. I’ve made this cake several times and have seen a nice loft from the baking powder, and also the gluten in this recipe serves as a great binder. Hope this is helpful!