Easy Ginger Avocado Cake with Lemon Drizzle

The other day I found myself with 3 very ripe black avocados (another bargain buy) that needed using up and after some deliberation I came up with this recipe for Easy Ginger Avocado Cake with Lemon Drizzle. I took Sophie Dahl’s Spelt Banana Bread recipe, adapted it to use avocado instead of banana, added crystallised ginger and decided a lemon drizzle icing would go well.

I have to admit it’s the most hipster cake I’ve ever made! Packed with nutrients and fibre from the avocados and wholemeal spelt flour this avocado cake is almost in the realms of health food! It’s the healthiest cake I’ve ever made and even the icing is rich in Vitamin C from the lemon juice.

It was a bit too healthy for my hubby’s liking and my daughter wouldn’t even try it as she doesn’t like ginger cake, so needing more taste testers I put out an SOS on my neighbourhood WhatsApp group and found 2 households free to step into the breach! I gave very clear instruction that I was only interested in honest feedback. If I was the only person who liked my Easy Ginger Avocado Cake with Lemon Drizzle then it would hit the cutting room floor!

What did my taste testers think of my Easy Ginger Avocado Cake with Lemon Drizzle?

I needn’t have worried, the first household said the avocado cake was “gorgeous, texture, flavour, icing just scrummy. Love the ginger with the lemon. 10 out of 10”! The other household said “The cake was truly delicious. So much so that I would like the recipe. Son thoroughly enjoyed his slice too. Both of us were very impressed!” I breathed a huge sigh of relief and had another slice of cake to celebrate!

Can you taste the avocado in Easy Ginger Avocado Cake with Lemon Drizzle?

No, the avocado flavour is masked by the crystallised ginger in the cake and the lemon drizzle icing. The avocado makes the cake beautifully moist.

How long can you store this avocado cake for?

I had the last slice on day 4 and it was still good so this is definitely a cake you can eat over a few days!

What’s the best way to store avocados?

Avocados are best stored at room temperature if you want to ripen them with 1 – 3 days and can then be stored in the fridge. Or you can prolong the life of avocados by storing in the fridge for up to 2 weeks which will slow down the ripening process. Avocados can also be frozen by skinning and removing the stones and frozen in halves which can then be thawed and used as needed. Once fresh avocado is cut the oxidation process will make it go brown so a sprinkling of lemon juice will slow this down.

Which nutrients are avocados a good source of?

Avocados have been called a super food and no wonder! Rich in monounsaturated fat plus a great source of vitamins and minerals such as B vitamins, vitamin K, potassium, copper, vitamin E and vitamin C avocados have a lot to offer!

Why have avocados become a victim of their own success?

You may have read recently about cafes banning avocados from their menus in a bid to curb the environmental damage that has been caused by our insatiable appetite for the fruit. Deforestation, climate change and the air miles involved getting them from Mexico and California are amongst the concerns. So I think we all have a moral duty to eat avocados responsibly and consume them occasionally and most definitely not every day.

33 Recipes to use up ripe avocados

There are so many innovative ways to use up avocados from appetisers main courses to desserts. I asked some fellow food bloggers for their best avocado recipes and here is what they came up with!

Avocado Appetisers

• Garlic Shrimp & Avocado Crostini 
• Avocado with Prawns & Balsamic Dressing
• Avocado Horseradish Devilled Eggs
• Gluten-free Chip and Guacamole Bites
• Orange Avocado Salsa

Avocado Salads & Dressings

• Quick Nicoise Style Salad 
• Avocado Cucumber Tomato Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette
• Egg Salad with Bacon served in avocado halves
• Avocado, Bacon & Chickpea Salad
• Avocado Chicken Salad
• The Classic Power Bowl
• 5 Minute Avocado Cilantro Dressing

Avocado Mains

• Avocado Stuffed French Toast with Poached Egg – Gluten Free 
• Golden Beet & Avocado Toast with Lemon Dill Dressing
• Avocado White Bean Wrap
• Avocado Enchiladas 
• Avocado Mac & Cheese
• Egg Pasta with Avocado and Cherry Tomatoes
• Jerk Salmon with Mango and Avocado Salsa
• BBQ Chilli Burgers with Spicy Guacamole 

Avocado Sweet Treats, Desserts & Bakes

• Cherry Avocado Chocolate Mousse
• Chocolate Avocado Brownies
• Vegan Mexican Chocolate Avocado Cake
• Chocolate Chip Avocado Cookies 
• Steamed Avocado & Chocolate Pudding (Christmas Pudding)
• Key Lime Avocado Cheesecake Pie 
• Easy No-churn Avocado Ice Cream
• Chocolate Avocado Ice Lollies
• Easy Avocado Truffles

Avocado Drinks

• Kiwi Avocado Smoothie 
• Moroccan Avocado Smoothie
• Avocado Smoothie with Hemp Seeds
• Creamy Avocado Vanilla Drink

I do hope you try my Easy Ginger Avocado Cake with Lemon Drizzle the next time you have a glut of ripe avocados that need using up!

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Easy Spelt Ginger Avocado Cake with Lemon Drizzle

Easy Ginger Avocado Cake with Lemon Drizzle is a beautifully moist and delicious cake packed full of nutrients and fibre which is helped by the inclusion of spelt wholemeal flour and 3 avocados.

Course Snack, teatime

Cuisine British

Keyword Avocado, cake, healthy

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 12 slices

Author Camilla Hawkins

Ingredients

• 3 small very ripe avocados 400 g unpeeled weight
• 75 g soft butter or buttery spread
• 200 g soft brown sugar
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 30 g crystallised ginger minced in a herb chopper or very finely chopped
• 1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
• 1 pinch of salt
• 170 g wholemeal spelt flour

For drizzle

• 175 g icing sugar
• 1 lemon juiced

Decoration

• lemon jelly slices optional

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas 4.
• Grease a 11 x 21 cm loaf tin (1.3 L capacity).
• Mash the avocados (a blender works well).
• Place mashed avocado into a mixing bowl and beat in the butter, sugar, egg, crystallised ginger and vanilla extract. (I used an electric whisk).
• Add the bicarbonate of soda and salt and mix in the flour last.
• Pour into the prepared tin.
• Bake for 55 minutes to 60 minutes until springs back to the touch.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.
• Prepare drizzle by adding stirring enough lemon juice into the icing sugar to form a thick glossy icing.
• Pour drizzle over the cooled cake and decorate with lemon jelly slices if using.
• Allow icing to set, slice and serve.