A cake with avocado in it? Yep! This Chocolate Avocado Cake recipe is made with almond flour and uses avocado to add moisture to the batter, along with some healthy fats, but I pinky promise you can’t taste it! This cake is rich, fudgy and will leave you wanting to go back for seconds. 

This chocolate avocado cake might just be my new favorite cake recipe. Similar to my avocado brownies, I made it more than once and gave some to my neighbors to try, and everyone gave it two thumbs up.

Recipe features

• It’s fudgy, moist, rich, chocolatey, and you’ll never believe that it’s gluten free
• The cake AND the icing have avocado in it
• It’s naked on the outside with icing on top and in between, making it faster to prep!

Ingredient notes:

Almond flour: Bold statement, but almond flour might be my favorite gluten free flour (besides gluten free all purpose flour). It has a mild flavor and it doesn’t alter the texture much, which can be tricky in gluten free baking.

Coconut sugar: You can sub cane sugar, but if you want to keep this a little bit healthier, I recommend coconut sugar. It adds the right amount of sweetness and you won’t be able to tell the difference between this and regular sugar.

Cocoa powder: You can’t make a chocolate cake without cocoa powder! Look for unsweetened cocoa powder, or better yet, raw cacao.

Eggs: The eggs are very important in this recipe. I tested it with flax eggs instead to try to make it vegan, and the texture just wasn’t the same (i.e. not as good!).

Avocado: No, you can’t taste the avocado, but it adds moisture to the cake similarly as to when you add banana/applesauce/pumpkin to recipes. The chocolate masks the taste of the avocado, but you’re still getting a dose of healthy fats!

Maple syrup: I love adding syrup to cake recipes (like these apple cupcakes) because it keeps the cake moist while adding a bit of sweetness to the batter.

Almond milk: In an effort to not add too much syrup, I decided to add a little bit of milk as well. You can use any dairy free milk, but my go-to’s tend to be almond, oat or coconut.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Line your cake pans. Don’t skip this step — lining your cake pans with parchment rounds ensures that the cake won’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Step 2: Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, stir the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together.

Step 3: Stir wet ingredients. Whisk the eggs, maple syrup and vanilla together, then add the mashed avocado to that same bowl and stir to combine.

Step 4: Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients, then gently fold them together. There WILL be some lumps and that’s ok! Bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean, and wait for them to cool completely before icing them.

Chocolate avocado icing

As much as I love the cake, a cake is nothing without the icing! All you need to make this icing is:

• Avocado (make sure it’s ripe!)
• Grass-fed butter
• Dark chocolate (I used 85% dark)
• Coconut oil
• Powdered sugar

Start by mashing the avocado really well in a bowl, then add the butter to that same bowl. You don’t have to soften the butter–just grab it right from the refrigerator, slice it thinly and add it to the bowl.

Next, melt the chocolate and coconut oil together either over the stove or in a microwave-safe dish. If you go the stovetop route, make sure to whisk frequently so the chocolate doesn’t burn. If you choose the microwave, stir the chocolate every 30 seconds. Then, pour the melted chocolate over the butter and avocado and let it rest for 3-5 minutes, which should allow the butter to soften. Use a spatula to stir the mixture until it’s smooth and the butter has melted.

Note: the butter might not completely melt, and that’s ok! You want it to be mostly melted, but it will smooth out once you add in the powdered sugar (see next step).

Last, add the powdered sugar and use an electric mixer to stir everything together. The icing should be *thick* but still spreadable. If it seems too thick, add 1 tablespoon of milk.

FAQs and Tips

• Mash the avocado really well. This might seem like a no-brainer, but the more you mash the avocado, the smoother it’ll be, and therefore the less likely there is to be lumps in the batter.
• Line the cake pans with parchment paper. This is SO important–do not skip this step! There’s nothing worse than putting in the effort to bake a cake only to realize that your cake is stuck to the bottom of the pan. You can often find parchment paper rounds at baking stores, or you can create your own. Simply place your cake pan on top of parchment paper, trace it with a pencil, then cut it out. It only takes a few minutes and it makes a huge difference.
• Pack the almond flour. When measuring almond flour, make sure to pack it tight in the measuring cups. That way, the cake doesn’t fall apart once it’s baked. 
• Cool the cakes. Once the cakes are baked, wait 10 minutes before carefully inverting them onto a wire rack to cool completely. Always wait for the cakes to come to room temperature before adding the icing; otherwise, they may fall apart, especially since they’re gluten free.

What size cake pans should I use?

You have two size options for this cake. You can either make a 6″ 3-tier cake like I did, or a 8″ 2-tier cake.

How should I store this?

You should store this cake in a covered container or on a plate wrapped in foil at room temperature for up to 24 hours. After that, place it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Note: the texture of the icing will change when it’s refrigerated, so you may want to let it come to room temperature before serving

More gluten free desserts

• The Best Paleo Brownies
• Almond Flour Chocolate Cake
• Flourless Sweet Potato Brownies

If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!