There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.
Linda Grayson
Perfect for using up leftover avocados in the bottom of the fridge and preserving precious flour reserves…
I LOVE chocolate. I’m usually very well behaved and only have one square of good quality 90% chocolate in the evening. But as I write this, I’ve developed a penchant for those small Cadbury easter eggs – something about the chocolate wrapped in foil in egg form, seems to make it all the more delicious. Add to that that you can dunk it in your hot brew and let it melt…yeah it’s comfort food alright! I’ve still been limiting myself and making sure I’m not having chocolate every day, because I always say, you can’t exercise out a bad diet!
But after a workout is the perfect time to indulge. When I’m working towards important races, or trying to get down to race weight, one of the most important aspects is keeping an eye on what I’m eating; that means top class ingredients, food cooked from scratch and planning exactly when I can enjoy which foods to make sure I can be in optimum condition at exactly the right time to achieve my goals. But even when I’m getting ready for peak performance, I still like a little chocolate treat…
…which is why I like this cake! It’s gooey, chocolatey, doesn’t deprive you of a your sweet cake hit and doesn’t need to eat up your flour reserves – which right now, during UK lockdown, are dwindling fast! This cake is full of skin-healthy fats from avocado and almonds and also serves up a decent amount of protein for post-workout muscle repair when paired with an ice cold glass of milk. There’s also a nice helping of sugar and a little flour to help renew glycogen stores. The best part is it’s super easy to make (especially if you have a food processor) and the textures is AMAZING – this comes out as a gooey, chocolatey, nutty loaf, very moreish, so requires discipline when cutting yourself the right size slice! We love this cake after bike and run speed sessions when we deserve a reward for our efforts. It makes about 10 slices and lasts around a week in a decent storage container.
You Will Need:
- 1 standard size loaf tin
- 120g squashy ripe avocado (I use up leftover avocados, it’s usually about 3/4 of a small avocado – the mushier the better)
- 3 eggs
- 120mL buttermilk (or 60mL milk mixed with 60mL natural yoghurt)
- 100g ground almonds
- 30g self-raising flour
- 1.5tsp baking powder
- 50g cocoa
Now do this…
- Pre-heat oven to 180C for fan oven
- Line your loaf tin
- Puree the avocado (either mash with a fork and then press through a sieve to make sure it’s nice and smooth – the riper your avocado, the easier this will be!) – if you have a food processor, just chuck it in there and blitz til smooth-ish!
- Beat the eggs with the buttermilk (or milk and yoghurt) and then beat together with the avocaodo, or if you have a food processor, simply add to your avocado mash and whizz until you get a lurid green, smooth liquid…
- Mix the egg mixture with the pureed avocado if you’re not working with a food processor
- Sieve all the other ingredients into a big bowl and mix together
- Add the green slime to the dry ingredients and gently fold together until fully incorporated and looking more like chocolate cake batter.
- Pour into your loaf tin
- Bake for about 45 mins, until the cake is slightly springy and a skewer inserted to the middle, comes out clean
- Cool on a rack.
Et voila! This cake only gets gooier and lovelier with time so don’t rush eating it…Enjoy with a glass of milk after training and feel smug about your chocolate treat that’s doing your skin good too!