The baby is sleeping, Ted just left for a few hours, the dog is attempting to hide from the garbage truck, and we’re still in this period of Coronavirus isolation; seems like the perfect time to write another blog post. Hopefully I’ll make it all the way through before nap time is over.
Flour has been difficult to come by lately, which is super frustrating for people like myself who like to bake on the regular. I’m betting that the vast majority of flour hoarders will barely touch their stash before its shelf life has long passed. In fact, I need flour for the recipes in the next Good Eats episodes, so hopefully I can find some soon. Alas, I digress, as no flour was required for the avocado-based recipes in this episode. Now for a few avocado facts from this episode: 1) It takes 13 months for a seed to become fruit. 2) Avocados will never ripen while they are on the tree, so they can be “stored” on the tree for up to seven months. 3) All Hass avocado trees came from the same mother tree, which had died at the airing of this episode in 2005.
Avocado Compound Butter
You may recall that Alton made compound butter back in episode 35. I honestly don’t think I had made compound butter in the five years (!) since I wrote that post, so it was suitable that this episode led me to make an avocado compound butter. This one comes together in a snap by pulsing the following ingredients together in a food processor: 1 T lemon juice, 1 minced clove of garlic, 2 t cumin, 1 T chopped cilantro, 2 oz softened unsalted butter, and 6 oz of ripe avocado meat.
Ingredients for compound butter in food processor: lemon juice, garlic, cumin, cilantro, butter, and avocado.
Once combined, season the butter to taste with Kosher salt and pepper.
Pepper and Kosher salt added to butter.
Transfer the butter to the center of a sheet of parchment paper, folding the paper over the butter. Holding a sheet pan at a 45 degree angle to the counter, press the edge of the sheet pan against the mound of butter, pulling the parchment toward you with your other hand as you simultaneously push away with the sheet pan; this will form the butter into a perfect log shape within the parchment paper. Twist up the ends of the parchment paper and chill the butter until it is firm.
You can serve this butter with chicken, fish, corn, bread, or pretty much anything. We first ate ours with corn on the cob. Although the corn was pretty awful, the butter was fantastic.
Avocado compound butter on corn.
This butter is like a somewhat melty guacamole that you can serve on anything, and it is delicious. It is rich, yet savory, and has a slight tang from the lemon. The cumin, cilantro, and garlic give it layers of flavors. We often find ourselves with extra avocados when we buy the big bag from Costco, and this is a way I intend to use them in the future.
Avocado Ice Cream
Of the recipes in this episode I was most excited to try the avocado ice cream. To me, avocado ice cream just makes sense. Avocados are high in fat and have a super rich, creamy texture that seems like it would make a delectable ice cream base. Their flavor too is naturally on the sweeter/milder side. To make Alton’s avocado ice cream, place 12 oz of avocado meat in a blender with 1 T lemon juice, 1/2 C sugar, 1 C heavy cream, and 1 1/2 C whole milk. Blend the mixture until it is smooth and place it in the refrigerator until its temperature has dropped below 40 degrees (I chilled mine overnight).
Once suitably chilled, process the ice cream base in an ice cream maker. Alton claimed that this ice cream would only need 5-10 minutes of churning time, but it took a good half hour in my ice cream maker. For a soft-serve texture, you can enjoy the ice cream immediately, or you can place it in the freezer for a firmer texture.
Finished avocado ice cream.
Ted really didn’t care for this ice cream at all, saying it was too “vegetal” in flavor. I initially wasn’t sure what I thought of it. I’ve actually been eating a scoop of this ice cream as I’ve been writing this post. This ice cream becomes rock hard in the freezer – it’s hard to scoop even after sitting out for 15-20 minutes on the counter. The initial mouthfeel appears to be somewhat icy, but then melts into a rich, smooth consistency that coats the palate. There is no doubt that the flavor of this ice cream is avocado. I’ve been going back and forth on whether I like this ice cream or not, and I think the honest answer is that I really want to love this ice cream, but I don’t. From reading the online reviews of this recipe, this one is quite polarizing, with some true fans and some people who can’t stand it at all. I’m somewhere in the middle, I suppose. In any case, this ice cream is undeniably interesting, which is perhaps just reason enough to try it for yourself.
Avocado Buttercream Frosting
I have to agree with the title of this episode that the recipes therein are definitely experimental. I consider this final recipe for buttercream frosting to be the most experimental of the three. For avocado buttercream, use the whisk attachment of a stand mixer to beat 8 ounces of avocado meat with 2 t lemon juice for two to three minutes on medium speed.
Sift one pound of powdered sugar and slowly add the sugar to the avocado on low speed. The sugar does not incorporate easily, and I found I had to scrape the bowl quite often with a spatula. Once half of the sugar is incorporated, increase the speed and add the remaining sugar. Finally, add 1/2 t lemon extract.
Lemon extract.
Avocado frosting after adding powdered sugar.
Refrigerate the frosting for two hours before using to frost a cake. I used my avocado frosting on a vanilla cake that I confess I made from a mix. To make things comical, when I went to frost my cake, I discovered that my cat had licked the top off of a portion of the cake. Yes, we trimmed that portion off.
My cake, licked by my cat.
Alton’s avocado buttercream.
This frosting is kind of weird in its consistency, as it is very sticky and a bit glossy. It does not have the rich, buttery flavor and texture that are so typical of buttercream. It is also incredibly sweet. In fact, it is so sweet that it really has very little discernible flavor, other than a hint of citrus. I can’t say that I would know this frosting is made from avocado, especially if I tasted it without seeing the green color. Oh, and the color? Well, it’s different. This frosting could have a place on some type of cake for a little kid’s birthday, such as an alien or Shrek cake. Other than that, though, I thought this was sort of a dinger.
All in all, the recipes in this episode did make for quite the interesting kitchen experiment. I would definitely make the compound butter again. The frosting would be a no for me, unless I desperately needed green slimy frosting for a particular project. The ice cream? Although it wasn’t my favorite, I do think it was a fun one to make and try, and I think some people would really love it.
To the melted butter add 2 C chopped onions, 1 chopped Granny Smith apple, 1 t fresh thyme, and a heavy pinch of Kosher salt. Cover the pan and let it cook until the contents are golden.
Allison Cooks Alton's Good Eats 