What To Do With Overripe Avocados? Have them for Tea!

A friend gave me two avocados.    Fresh avocados from his brother's tree in California.   Yes, that fresh, picked off the tree, boxed up and sent to Kansas!     What a treasure!     And what did I do?    I was cleaning for company and put them on the shelf of the island.    And forgot about them!    They languished there.     And then when I was cleaning the shelf . . . there they were.      Really ripe!   Really really ripe!    I thought they were ruined.    Until I found a recipe for avocado banana bread!   The recipe called for two avocados (really ripe ones) -- check!     And one banana (a really ripe one) -- check (for that was my sole banana!), some dates (half a package in the larder from Christmas) -- check! And nuts (which are always in the freezer at Linderhof!)

So I made it.    Skeptical, of course.     Would the bread be green?    Would it taste funny?    It made one big loaf but I rarely do that with tea bread -- preferring either a recipe big enough to make two loaves or make four small ones.

And I chose the four small ones.    It's always nice to have one for now and one for the freezer and one or two to give as gifts.

Baked, of course, for less time because the loaves were smaller.   I start watching at the 30 minute mark.

It turned out --

Perfect!

And, no, it's not green and no, it doesn't take like avocados (but actually, they don't really have much flavor -- it's more texture -- creamy and buttery!

It made a great tea bread and I enjoyed it as I do most of my teas in the winter in the breakfast room with a book as my companion.    An Irish cookbook for between my annual St. Patrick's Day lunch and the Cookbook Club's Irish theme for March, I need recipes!

My workhorse everyday teapot, the green Emile Henry one.    I like it even better than my Brown Betty, but my Betty is on the big side and this size is much better!     Spode Blue Italian for bread and tea.    It's my usual afternoon tea ware.    And the book -- a favorite by Darina Allen.    In fact, last week, I used that book for my roast chicken and it was simple and amazingly good.

Try the bread.    With avocado in the ingredients it's right up there with sauerkraut cake and beet cake for unusual ingredients.    Will I make it again.    Yes, if I forget some avocados again and have overripe avocados.     Would I buy avocados just to make the cake -- probably not.

AVOCADO AND BANANA BREAD

3/4 c. butter

3/4 c. light brown sugar

1 medium egg

1/3 c. canola oil

1 ripe banana

2 ripe avocados

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. pitted dates

1/2 c. pecan pieces

2 cups self-rising flour*

pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350

Grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan and sprinkle with flour.    (I also line the bottom of the pan with parchment and butter and flour that).    

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the butter and the brown sugar until light and creamy.    In a separate bowl beat the egg and oil.    Add the banana, avocados and vanilla and mash together.    Add to the butter mixture and mix on medium speed.     Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix for another minute.

Coarsely chop the dates (mine were already chopped — that’s the way I always buy them!) and pecan pieces.     Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the chopped pecans and dates.

Change the attachment on the stand mixer to the paddle attachment.    Add the flour mixture and combine on slow speed for about 30 seconds until no dry flour is visible.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, soothing the top with a knife.    Arrange pecan halves in a line along the top.

Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes.  (My 4 mini loaves took about 30 minutes — just watch).    Cool on a wire rack before turning out and slicing.   

*Lacking self rising flour, use 2 cups regular flour mixed with 2 t. baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

It is Tuesday and I'm joining Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage for Tea Time Tuesday and Bernideen for Friends Sharing Tea.