Avocado Replaces Butter in Banana Avocado Coffee Cake

  

 Avocado Banana Choco-Chip Coffee Cake

As if Avocados didn't have enough incredible things about them, they can also replace the fat in some of our favorite baked goods.

Recently, I was invited to visit an Avocado Grove, enjoy some inventive brunch items using Avocados and even experience picking my own early green Hass right off the tree.

 

Jan DeLyser of the California Avocado Commission was our tour guide and the Farm we visited was Dan and Sue Pinkerton's.

Dan is a scientist, a farmer, a story teller and claims that Sue is the one who keeps it all together.  The trees were heavy with beautiful green orbs and buds (Avocado trees bear fruit for one season and buds for the next year.)

        

After touring the farm, we visited Mission Packing Plant in Oxnard. There the Avocados (900lbs per bin) are cooled, washed, sorted, labeled, temperature ripened and sent out to the stores and distribution centers.  

 

It's important to remember we have choices with all foods and we don't have to just take the first thing placed on a bin in front of us.  California Avocados are worth the extra moment it takes to read the label.  The season is long (March thru October), the fruit is consistent (buttery texture and smooth greens) and the standards are high (to match our own.)

At any point in any day, I am more than happy to eat a California Avocado straight out of the shell with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Being inspired by the tour and the education, I wanted to develop a recipe that used California Avocados in baked goods.

This Avocado Banana Choco-Chip Coffee cake became the recipe that was made 2 times in one week.  After my teen son and friends devoured the one I left out to cool, I made another one for my post.

 

Since then, I've made a couple more and found they freeze well, too.  That makes a rushed morning even easier; I just pull out a slice and heat in the toaster oven.  Enjoy and look for California Avocados when you shop.

Recipe:  Avocado Banana Choco-Chip Coffee Cake

1/3 cup Walnuts (chopped)

1/3 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1/3 cup Choco Chips

1/2 cup (mashed) California Avocado

1/2 cup Honey

1 Egg

1 cup (mashed) ripe Banana

1 tsp. Vanilla

1/3 cup nonfat Yogurt

1 1/2 cup AP Flour

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 tsp. Salt

1)  Combine nuts, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and hold for later.

2)  Cream together the Avocado, Honey, Egg, Banana, Vanilla and Yogurt.

3)  In another bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients (Flour, Baking Powder and Soda, salt), then stir this into the creamed ingredients until blended well.

4)  Oil and dust with flour an 8x8 inch baking pan.  Sprinkle half of the nut mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan, then spoon half of the batter on top of that.

5)  Sprinkle the remainder of the nut mixture over the batter and then spoon the remainder of the batter over that.

6)  Bake in a preheated 350F oven 40-45 minutes or until cake tests done.  Cool in the pan for a few minutes.  

 

This can be served in the pan, or inverted onto a plate for cutting, serving or freezing. 

Click here to see more Avocado information and recipes from the California Avocado Commission

When Good Bananas Go Bad - Make Banana Salted Caramel Muffins

Is it just me, or do bananas go from perfect to over-ripe in 5 minutes? Here's what to do when Good Bananas Go Bad.Sometimes, I feel like bananas are jerking me around. If I buy them a bit green and sit them out gently and wait patiently for the peel to yellow (and the fruit to be sweet yet have a soft snap), I will still somehow miss the moment. I swear it feels like they are unripe in the morning and before I get home in the afternoon, the whole bunch have been in a big banana brawl and left each other black and streaked.I take great pride in using every morsel of my ingredients to the best of my ability. So, I have made Banana Ice Cream, Banana Cake, Banana Mousse, and even Banana Face Cream just to use up those bad boys. When time is tight and good bananas go bad, this is my Go-To "Bad Banana" Muffin Recipe. It's fast, simple, moist and freezes well (for that teenager who likes to grab something on the go for later.)

These muffins are great all alone, but can be enhanced with a dollop of cream cheese, Earl Grey Tea Milk Jam, Honey Butter or the following recipe for Salted Caramel Drizzle.Bananas are so good, but like all of us, they have their bad days.


RECIPE: "Bad Banana" Muffins

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
Pinch of each: Ground Cardamom, Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Salt
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Butter (room temperature)
1 Egg
2 Bananas (over ripe)
1/4 cup Sour Cream
1 teaspoon Vanilla


1) In one bowl, mix together the dry ingredients of flour, baking soda, and spices. Hold.
2) In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar til smooth. Add the egg and continue beating until fully incorporated.
3) In a small bowl, using a fork, mash together the over-ripe bananas, sour-cream and vanilla.
4) Add the banana mash to the butter/sugar mixture and stir together with the fork.
5) Add in the dry ingredients and continue to stir with the fork until the whole batter is fully mixed in, but just a bit lumpy.
4) Fill each muffin container about 3/4 full. Bake in pre-heated 350F oven for about 20-25 minutes.


Salted Caramel Drizzle:

1/3 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 Teaspoon (plus more for garnish) Sea Salt (course grain)

1) In a saucepan over med/high heat, add the butter and sugar together stirring constantly until it reaches a dark caramel color (about 3-5 minutes.)

2) Carefully pour in the cream and stir vigorously until mixed together. Add the salt and continue to stir while it dissolves. If it's too thick for a drizzle, add a bit more cream.

3) While the caramel is hot, very carefully drizzle with a teaspoonful over the muffins, then garnish with a few grains of Sea Salt.