I was at home one weekend afternoon when I went into our bathroom to have a shower. I stripped off and climbed into the shower only to face the new neighbours who were on their balcony, just metres away. They looked at me wide eyed, I looked at them even more wide eyed, we both smiled at each other tentatively and I slowly, gingerly shut the window a frozen smile plastered on my face.
So my neighbours have seen me naked now…don’t you just love close quarter apartment living in Sydney?
That weekend afternoon it seemed as though every one of our neighbours were out on their balcony. I looked outside my kitchen window and three groups of neighbours faced me and of course I had my new “friends” (I think we’ve started dating after the flashing incident) across from the bathroom window and a group of kids were playing in the garden downstairs.
My first instinct was of course to close the window and pull down the blinds and have a bit of privacy and silence but I soon forgot about the neighbours once I set about making the avocado pound cake, a recipe I had been dying to try ever since I saw it on Leah’s site The Home Empress site. Not only did it sound delicious and simple but I had some perfect avocados brought back from Ticoba Berries on the mid north coast.
The recipe is scarcely more than a quick whizz in the food processor, a mix together and then pouring it in the tin. You can see how quick it is from the very simply instructions below with just two steps. And in about an hour’s time you will be rewarded with a beautifully moist cake. Here, the avocado takes place of the butter and gets some goodness from using some almond meal in place of a portion of the flour. I really liked it served with butter, but then I think everything on earth is better with some butter, and it was perfect with a cup of tea. The cake itself isn’t particularly sweet, in fact I thought it was about the right level of sweetness. But the texture is the star here-moist and juicy and worthy enough to let you forget noisy neighbours and apartment life.
So tell me Dear Reader, are you friendly with your neighbours? And do you have a sweet tooth or do you like cakes that are just moderately sweet?
I also wanted to share some more exciting news (this week has been very action packed!). My lovely blogging friend Linda from Bubble And Sweet has just released her new book Sweets on a Stick! She was kind enough to send me my very own copy autographed by Linda and when I opened up on the Acknowledgements page I was so touched to see that she had mentioned me which was such a sweet thing to do! If you want to buy a copy click on the link above to go to her story where she lists where you can buy copies xxx
Avocado Pound Cake
Adapted from the Home Empress
- 1 1/4 cups plain flour
- 1/4 cup cornflour/cornstarch
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/3 cup almond meal
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup light olive oil
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ripe medium avocados
- 1/2 cup milk soured with a tablespoon of lemon juice
- Good butter to serve
1. Preheat the oven 170C/340F and line a loaf tin with baking parchment. Blend the avocados, oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla and milk in a food processor until smooth. In another bowl mix the flours, baking powder, almond meal and salt well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a spatula. Pour the batter into the lined loaf tin.
2. Bake for about 55 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean. When slicing, turn upside down and slice into the smooth base with a serrated knife. Serve with a good room temperature butter that spreads easily and forget about your neighbours.
Red and white jug and bowl from Antitk in Surry Hills
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86 Comments | Add your own
Very unusual! That cake looks marvelously moist.
Cheers,
Rosa
Hahaha. I think you just pushed up property prices in your neighbourhood because of the views:) Some would say its better than sea view! Its good to know your neighbours, I just say hi to my neighbours and shower with the curtains shut:)
That’s hilarious! It has happened to me too! Argh, the horror!
I went crazy trying to avoid running into my neighbors for almost a week (like crazy making sure I leave to work at least half and hour earlier than they did and getting home really late too, crazy!) Until I had enough of it and decided to just confront them and said “ok awkward about what happened but let’s get over it! This is too tiring!”. And we had a good laugh and they then told me that they were also trying to avoid bumping into me by changing their routines too! Hahahha.
Avocado cake sounds amazing! Will definitely be trying this recipe out. And yes, I am a fan of the not too sweet cakes and desserts!
What a great idea to use avocado in a pound cake.And the colour is beautiful too!
I cannot imagine how it tastes… I like avocado but have not had it sweetened in a dessert. Can I please have a slice?:) Such a beautiful green colour! At first I thought that I couldnt make it because of lack of food processor, but looks like I could mix it by hand. But, so many things to bake, so little time
Yum! I had never thought of an avocado cake before but it sounds amazing! I will def have to try this one!
Im so excited you tried and loved this pound cake as much as I did Lorraine!!!!
I’m friendly with my neighbours, but not as friendly as you were hahha, I couldn’t stop laughing at your (I think we’ve started dating after the flashing incident)
I like sweet things for special occasions only, and prefer things not too sweet most of the time.
Thanks so much for trying my recipe, It really has just made my day….week actually xo
Wow… Looks very interesting! Love pound cake and love avocados. I’ll have to try this after Thanksgiving madness has died down!
Yum thanks for sharing
The best thing of use avocado instead of butter is the avoid of fat, so it’s makes the dessert more healthy. Maybe we can add some pecans for example, what do you think?
Some time ago I made cookies with avocado, it was a success, so I should try this one, looks very moist and if it not so sweet, it’s a must for me.
eeeeek I woudl have died if the neighbours saw me naked!!!! particularly as they are really good friends of ours – which I assume woudl only make it all the more awkward!!
Thanks so much for the link. Of course I had to mention you, you have been so supportive and inspirational.
How interesting with the avacado replacing the butter in this cake. I’ve never really cared for cooked avacado but I like this idea and it has me thinking of other baking opportunities.
What a beautiful cake. I like the idea of almond meal . Looking forward to making this one
Love the colour! Congrats on the acknowledgment.
Fantastically easy recipe! I love how it’s all cups and spoons. No need to weigh anything.
Can’t wait to try it for myself.
SSG xxx
Hi Lorraine. Yes, we are very friendly with our neighbours. we have been on a few holidays with them and during summer we have impromptu “lawn” parties, when our kids ride around the cul-de-sac and we enjoy the odd bevvie or 2!
I have a seriously sweet tooth, but I don’t like my cake too sweet, but I do like a bit of sugar in them!
Love the colour! what great way to use avocados. Congrats on the acknowledgment!
Sometimes it might be better to not know thy neighbours so you can do whatever you like such as prancing around naked at home to loud music
that looks delicious i love avo…i totally wouldnt mind some today.. so stressed ahhh
Might have to whip that one out next March to honor St Paddy! Looks yummo!
oh wow that looks heavenly – love the green tint
Wow! I grew up with my grandparents owning and living on an avocado farm – we used to spread it on toast, have it in salads, out of the skin with a bit of lemon juice and even in burger parties – but I’ve never tried (or even heard of!) Avo cake! I’ve got to try it! My neighbours are lovely, except one gentleman who, when he walks past, he looks in the Windows, and I mean, he really LOOKS ha ha.
I will definitely be making that…. hoping it could be the healthier option to banana bread(cake)!!!!
This sounds like a very strange combo but I have about 6 avos in the fridge and need a hostess gift for tonight. Looks like they’ll be getting avocado pound cake!
I’m friendly with some of the neighbours but not all of them. It’s one of the pros and cons of living in a unit.
Oh LOL yuo poor thing! I literally laughed outloud at my desk. You’re totally dating now
I’ve done the same in our apartment but I dont think (or hope!) they didnt see me.
I love avocados in desserts – will def try this one out
haha. i remember i had a handsome canadian bloke and a super model-esque russian gal living next door. we used to feed them with lots of chinese dessert soup ( red bean, mung bean, longan, barley, tea and pear) and the muffins made by my bakenista sister.
they love us to bits and probably were the only neighbours to experience true chinese dessert soups (this stuff is kinda rare/ bastardized in melbourne)
Wow- i did a double take – no, no streaking neighbour – the GREEN cake! Guess “it’s (not) easy being green” after all ..:-)
I like cakes, biscuits, most desserts not too sweet, I’m the same with chilli, not way too much or I fear I can’t taste the gorgeous food. Good organic butter is good for you and so is banana cake – Depends on how you make it, it’s the sugar that makes us unhealthy as well as hydrogenated oils/fats but, I do love sugary treats, especially chocolate – I loooveee avocadoes, I even put them in smoothies, great invention they are.
It’s good to be back reading you again… I’ve missed the visits for the last few weeks. The cake… well honestly with a color like that how can it be bad? I love avocados and their natural buttery goodness. The first avocado I ever had in Mexico was with sugar… Ican’t wait to try this baby!
Avocado pound cakes sounds interesting, and I love green pound cakes like the Vietnamese ones.
Up in Coffs at the present and as many avocados as bananas, so love all the links to avo recipes.
Not overly friendly with neighbours, but always wave & smile.
My only almost busted naked story happened on my honeymoon, when a south coast motel owner opened our unit door by mistake to let another couple in. I made a mad dash to the bathroom where my husband was showering.
In Mexico where I live most of the houses have walls around them, a practice the Moors took to Spain, then here. Walls are generally safe, but there was that one time when someone peeked over and caught me unawares sunbathing…
This cake looks fantastically simple and good. I can tell you now that I will share it and it will be insanely popular here in San Miguel de Allende.
Thanks for posting both a cute story and a terrific recipe.
Lorraine, I forget to ask…do you remember how much in cups or grams was the avocado?
I was just reading through your archives and found this little marvel! Will definitely give this a go in the next few weeks and let you know how I go. Very excited to try it out.
Oh I’m sorry I don’t think I weighed the avocados-they were medium sized ones. I don’t know if that helps!
We live in this weird 60s-throwback street, where we know *all* our neighbours by name. And they leave us presents – homemade jam, nasturtium seeds, plant cuttings… the only time I got a teensy bit weirded out was when the next door neighbour used the spare key we asked her to look after to stick some leftovers in our fridge before she left on holiday, and didn’t tell us. I was startled to open the fridge and find mystery food in there!
Its such a beautiful looking cake! I love the colour. Makes me want to put chilli jam on it though.
That’s so sweet about being the first blog comment. Lorraine, the shower scene is too funny. I think I would be mortified, but then again. Oh I have lots of neighbor stories.
i like avocado cakes =)
time to make one…hehehe
re your avocado cake when we lived in cairns & had an unlimited supply of avos i used to make a similar cake i used avocado oil a dash of cayenne pepper & a tablespoon or 2 of crushed walnuts
Like your blog
regards John
What a gorgeous colour the avo gives the cake. I like a moist not too sweet cake.
Even avocado bread has an interesting beginning with you! But a delightful recipe using one of my very favourite raw materials . . . and a new blog to explore: lovely of you to help, Lorraine! Well, both my current neighbours are quite elderly: one a total male introvert, one a quite impossible female extrovert – most days I kind’of know on which side I shall do my gardening . . . Bathroom windows: high and open to the park
!
Really never tried an avocado cake – it looks very good.
About my sweet tooth – you know the answer Lorraine
Cheers,
Gera
*laughs and laughs at the “dating” comment* Oh Lorraine. That’s exactly why I spent about ten years living at my parents’ place never opening my curtains. Getting no Vitamin D seemed a small price to pay for not accidentally flashing the poor children next door.
Also, neighbours now? Do you mean Mr Stinky Never Washes or the young [must resist using derogatory term] 20ish year old couple with the baby who have domestics that cause the police to be called?
In other words, I’ll take this cake over my neighbours anyday. And I got so excited at the idea of making this tonight, but only have one avocado at present. Sigh.
Looks lovely and healthy! I’m definitely trying this one. I need to be more adventurous with avocado. I still have to try that no cook vegan brownie of yours, Lorraine.
Oh and re: public nudity. I think you acted with remarkable grace. Just smile and slowly disappear.
I completely agree with you Lorraine – everything is better with butter (or chocolate). I suspect you may actually have become engaged with the new neighbours after your little incident!
Trust me I know the horrors of apartment living…
LOL……
B/W this cake looks luscious…
That green color just got me sold.
Beautiful!!!!
oops? I live in the opposite kind of circumstances – shoebox apartments where everything’s pretty much closed up and windowless, so no chance of my neighbors seeing any uncovered part of me heh. You did react pretty well though
And I do so love buttery pound cake, but I might literally give this a whirl and give it a go, seeing that it’s a ‘healthy cake’ ;p
Looks interestingly good – I do love a bit of avocado in a sweet dish.
I adore pound cake and avocados, but I never thought they’d go together in a single dish! This looks absolutely lush and scrummy!
I love the sound of this! And I love bubble and sweet, will have to check it out yay
OMG how embarrassing for you. An interesting recipe. Never seen an avocado cake before!
I’ve never baked with avocado and am completely fascinated by this recipe! The colour of your cake is amazing…bookmarked to make this weekend
The cake looks lovely and dense. I can almost taste it, almost reminds me of pandan chiffon cake. LOL about the flashing. How embarrassment. Good way to meet new people.
Hi Lorraine, looks lovely and moist. I’d love to try it but unfortunately I’m allergic to avocados. I like to say hi to my neighbours but don’t want to befriend them…..my concern is that if you befriend them and you have a falling out for some reason it’s a little awkward seeing them all the time!
If I didn’t read this, I would have assumed it was a Pandan Cake just by the vibrant green colour!
It looks gorgeous, perfect match for an avocado and coconut milk smoothie perhaps?
Looks amazing! Its so green inside! I’m going to have to try this
Hilarious story about the neighbours!
OH MY GOD, I would die if that happened to me! I’m not friendly with my neighbors at all, I’m totally not interested in getting to know them, lol. In regards to cake, I’d have to say not too sweet, so I think this would be great for me!
Before we got curtains in our new house I was undressing in the dark right in front of thr window, when my littlej switched on the light exposing me full frontal starkers to the street of new neighbours, so i share your pain Lorraine. At least you made quite an impression!
I’ll make this cake for middlec as she is a complete avocado freak, yumm…
Well i’m not THAT friendly with my neighbours!
To be honest I barely know my neighbours. Maybe I should bake them Christmas goodies!
Looks great — I remember how fanastic your last avocado cake looked too!
Wow I admire the colore u brought your avocado cake, its sucha pleasing green. sounds like a simple cake which will impress any guests. =)
You could have got a little more into the spirit of community-living by offering a slice of your delicious-looking cake to those neighbours, who, after all, were probably not spying or even trying to get a look at you in the nuddy!
I am lucky not to have too close but one set of neighbours has 2 dos that seem to spend most of their time barking.
Love your style sista. Your so dang cool, staying calm even though you’d just presented you and your bits to the neighbors. I’d have freaked. Lol. Great looking cake. Although will have to wait to try. Not allowed Avo or grains. Bummer!!!
Gotta love a two step recipe!!! The avocado pound cake sounds divine… would adding some condensed milk make it a little sweeter?? Hehehehe
And as for neighbours.. nah, I don’t know any of my neighbours but I know they are ALL guys… so if they saw me naked that would be a little awkward!
Hey, now that is a good idea for a cake! it just makes sense. I love sweet cakes and not so sweet cakes, there is always room for both
What a healthy treat! Looks deceivingly like pandan cake
Interesting idea, and makes a lot of sense…avo’s are moist, pound cake requires moisture…match made in heaven!
oh, that is quite an incident
I hope there will be no neighbours lurking around again.
The pound cake looks wonderful. I just love the colour. I will definitely be baking this soon.
What a crazy hue of green, very cool! We are the only family with children in our building so I am pretty sure they hate our guts…the walls are pretty thin. Then again, the lady downstairs has a pretty loud dog and the one upstairs is a musician and has jam sessions, shouting fights and much more late into the night.
I love love love the colour of that avocado cake!!!! It’s stunning!!!
the sweeter, the better, i say! i love avocados, though, and the color they provide this pound cake is terrific!
What a great cake! I love the green colour. I don’t know my neighbours at all. Cake – just say cake of almost any kind, sweet or not so sweet, and I am there.
What a great cake! I love the green colour. I don’t know my neighbours at all – and probably like it that way. Cake – just say cake of almost any kind, sweet or not so sweet, and I am there.
We always have avocados on hand because we love them so much. Thanks for a great recipe!
sounds fantastic – the cake – not the proximity to the neighbours! though you know you are settled into a neighbourhood when they have all seen you hop in the shower
The other day it was warm and I called to sylvia where she was playing out the front and my neighbour also had just her screen door shut and thought I was yelling at her – but we get along fine so it just made us laugh!
that sounds interesting ..the recipe of course !!
cheers Paris is sunny but freezing ! winter has really started !!pierre
This is a really intriguing cake recipe – I’m definitely one for the less sweet cakes. Despite our best efforts at being friendly with the neighbours, I’m pretty sure they avoid us as much as they can
What a gorgeous color! Would love to try this.
I’ve seen this recipe a few times but have never got round to making it. Definitely bookmarking to try. I’m glad it helped you take your mind off the neighbours!
Oh, I am jealous! Avocados are one of my most favorite things in the world and I’ve been longing to make a dessert with them. This looks divine!
oh, I know all about being seen in the nuddy by the neighbours. we live in a small block of flats and the neighbours in the house next door can see straight into my bedroom window. i forget every single day and am sure they have seen way too much boob and bum than they’d like. oh, the shame.
the avocado cake looks interesting, i think i’ll need to have a crack at it!
This cake is great! So yummy and such an interesting colour. I made it with gluten free plain flour and it turned out just fine, although I needed to add some extra milk (as I do in most recipes where I’m using gluten free flour). Thanks!
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[...] of hot avocado, in fact have turned my nose at it being used on pizza or in pasta. Last year Not Quite Nigella featured a recipe for avocado loaf cake. It technically fell under the cooked category but I was [...]
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