Avocado Dessert Recipes

Healthy It Up with Avocados!
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com

Click here to watch the video.

It seems that when I need ripe avocados, they're nowhere to be found. And when I don't, they're everywhere. Are you bored of making guacamole? Don't know what else to make with avocados? Keep reading, because these recipes might surprise you! 

What is an avocado? Is it a fruit, or a vegetable? That doesn't really matter. What matters is that it's a little bundle of vegetable fat - but it's healthy fat! Which means that you can add it to other fatty dishes to lower the calories. They will also add a layer of taste and color which will delight your palate. 

Avocado Tiramisu Recipe:

If I have ever provided you with my private dining services, it's likely that you've had my cream cheese tiramisu. My customers love it! So, in thinking, "What dessert can I improve with avocado?" This one came to mind. 

I was able to add color and depth of flavor, and shave 400 calories off this recipe by using avocados. 

Ingredients:
- 6oz Whipped cream cheese
- 3/4 cup of sugar
- 2 avocados, diced
- 3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tbsp of vanilla extract
- 2 lady finger cookies
- Cocoa powder for garnish

Instructions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, avocados, vanilla extract and whipping cream. 

2. With an electric mixer, mix all the ingredients until you have a smooth, thick mousse (it may take anywhere from 3 to 7 minutes of mixing to do this)

3. Place two lady finger cookies in a bowl or martini glass, add a couple of dollops of the mousse mixture on top of the lady fingers, and sprinkle some cocoa powder for garnish. Enjoy!


Avocado Milkshake Recipe:

This is a very popular recipe in Vietnamese and Phillipino restaurants - but since the Tampa bay area is seriously lacking in good Asian cuisine, it has probably come as a shock to you! 

I would also like to mention that I was able to shave off 270 calories off the regular milkshake recipe. 

Ingredients:
- 2 avocados, diced
- 2 cups of French vanilla ice cream
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 1 cup of whole milk (or milk substitute)
- Whipped cream

Instructions:

1.  Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor, and make a shake! Pour into a glass and top with whipped cream. Enjoy!


Avocado Soup Recipe:

Not all of these recipes are dessert recipes. You can also make a really smooth, velvety soup with avocados. I like to make this when I offer my customers my Mexican cooking class, along with ribeye steak burritos, roast corn salsa, salsa verde, spicy pico de gallo, and... well, you get the idea. 

Ingredients:

- 4 avocados (ripe hass avocados)

- 1 cup of diced onion

- 1/2 cup of heavy cream (optional)

- 2 to 3 cups of chicken stock (or just enough to cover the avacados)

- 3 cloves of garlic minced

- 1/2 tbsp of diced jalapeño pepper

- 1 lemon

- fresh chopped cilantro

- sour cream

- salt and pepper

- olive oil

Equipment:

- Immersion blender, or regular blender

Instructions:

1. Cook the diced onions in a medium sauce pot with a little olive oil for about 7 minutes until the onions start to become translucent.

2. Add the avocado flesh, jalapeño pepper, and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes.

3. Add hot chicken stock and cream and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Puree with the immersion blender until velvety smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender - go buy one! But if you can't, just put the soup in a blender and blend until smooth.

4. Serve with a pinch of fresh cilantro, a spoonful of sour cream and you can squeeze some fresh lemon juice to kick up the taste!


Now, go out there and squeeze yourself some ripe avocados, and make yourself a healthy treat - well, healthy-ER!

What do I do with this avocado?

What do I do with this avocado?
by: Chef Cristian

www.tampabaychef.com

You were walking down the produce isle and spotted a mob of people busily squeezing a case of avocados. So naturally, you got in there and started squeezing some yourself. You noticed that some were rock-hard, and you put them back. Others were way too soft and smelled a little rank. Those went back too. But this one, oh yes! This one! Glorious leathery skin, nice heavy weight, and its semi-soft flesh gave in reluctantly to your gentle squeeze. So you whisked it away and gave it a good home on your kitchen table. Now what?

I could tell you many things about the avocado. I could tell you that the ancient Aztecs called it ahuacatl (testicle). I could tell you that the Jamaicans call it the Alligator Pear due to it's tough reptilian-like skin. I could also tell you that the Berkley Campus of the University of California claims to have the oldest avocado tree dated back to 1879. But I'm sure you're hungry, and that avocado is strutting around your kitchen making you look weak in front of the other food! So let's get down to business.

I'm going to give you four quick ways to enjoy that avocado. And I will also give you a couple of tips that you may find helpful!

To ripen an avocado faster, place it in a paper bag. When an avocado is ripe, place it in the fridge to slow down the ripening process. If you have too many, you can mash them and freeze them, adding one tbsp of lemon juice per avocado so they don't turn brown. A zip lock bag works perfectly for this. Thaw it out in the fridge, or run the bag under warm water if you're in hurry.

Avocado Guacamole:
The ingredients can be minced with a knife, but you can do it faster with a food processor. Mash a couple of avocados in a bowl with a fork, and add some minced parsley, garlic (2 cloves), and half a red pepper (minced). Add salt and pepper to taste and mix a couple of swirls of extra virgin olive oil in there. A squirt of lemon juice keeps it from turning brown. Add minced hot chilies if you like it spicy!

Avocado Toast:
Toast your favourite piece of bread, spread butter on it, spread a generous amount of ripe avocado, and sprinkle some sea salt and fresh ground pepper. This brings back memories of breakfast in Tobago!

Avocado with Mary-Rose Sauce:
Slice some avocado and arrange the slices on a plate along with slices of fresh tomato. Mix one part Mayonnaise, and one part Tomato Ketchup with a squirt of hot sauce. Pour sauce over the avocado and tomato and you're done. You can also reward yourself for being such a good avocado picker by adding freshly boiled Tiger Shrimp!

Avocado Milk Shake:
Yes, that's right. Avocados are used in many countries as part of delicious sweet drinks and desserts. And this one is one of my favourite summer recipes. In a blender, pour 2 cups of milk, 2 large scoops of vanilla ice cream, and 2 large avocados and 3 Tbsp of Cane Sugar. Blend and serve in tall glass. Top with whipped cream and chopped mint (optional) and enjoy! If it's not sweet enough for you, add a couple of tbsp of sugar or condensed milk to taste.

Now, go show that avocado who's the boss! And invite some friends (they might bring you more avocados).