If I offered you a giant spoon of chocolate frosting, would you eat it?
I don’t know about you, but I would devour that frosting and continue to lick the spoon clean. No wasted frosting for me.
What if I told you this frosting was healthy?
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you would probably believe me. If you are new here, however, you might think I’m a wee bit crazy.
I promise I’m not crazy (well, maybe I’m just a little crazy…). I’m just a girl who loves chocolate frosting. Fudgy brownies with frosting. Chocolate cupcakes with frosting. Banana cookies with frosting. Chocolate cake layered with frosting. Chocolate frosting on a waffle. Chocolate frosting on a spoon.
Oh, and I’d still like this all to be healthy.
~This Chocolate Buttercream uses healthy, whole-food ingredients. Sugar-Free, Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Nut-Free (when using sunflower butter), Gluten-Free, Paleo, and Vegan.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup mashed sweet potato*
- 1/4-1/2 cup pitted dates
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 3 Tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 Tablespoons nutbutter of choice (I used sunflower seed butter. Tahini or almond will also work well)
- 1/2 cup dairy-free milk (coconut or almond work well)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- In a saucepan, melt the coconut oil. Whisk in the cocoa powder to create a chocolate syrup.
- In a blender or food processor, blend together the dates and milk to create a sweet milk. Blend until smooth. More dates will create a sweeter frosting, less dates will create a darker frosting.
- Add the sweet potato, nut butter, and vanilla to the blender and blend until smooth.
- Stir in chocolate-coconut syrup mix until well-incorporated and smooth.
- Use right away or keep in fridge until later use. The frosting will become more firm while in fridge.
Notes
*I used baked sweet potatoes and take the skin off before mashing.
The great thing about this frosting is that it holds its shape. I wanted to make a frosting used the Coconut Whipped Cream trick, but that melts easily when out of the fridge. So go ahead and pipe this onto cupcakes or use to decorate your favorite cake with squiggles, flowers, or poco dots.
Not only does this recipe contain no added dairy, sugar, or soy (no tofu frosting for me, please), but it is chock full of antioxidants and vitamin A from sweet potato! The sweet potato gives it a creamy texture and body, while the dates help sweeten it a bit more. If you are on a diet that limits intake of fruit-sugars (like anti-candida diets), then try substituting the pureed dates for alcohol-free liquid stevia.
Health Benefits:
- Sweet Potatoes: Full of fiber to keep you full. One of the best sources of Beta-Carotene. This pre-vitamin to vitamin A prevent night blindness and other eye problems, skin disorders, enhance immunity, protects against toxins and cancer formations, colds, flu, and infections. It is an antioxidant and protector of the cells while slowing the aging process.
- Coconut: Coconut is widely misunderstood because of it’s high fat content; however, coconut’s saturated fat is made up of medium-chain fatty acids. These medium-chains are easy to absorb and digest, and are converted quickly into energy. This means that the body is less likely to store the medium-chain as fat. Coconut is also a great source of dietary fiber with a whopping 5 grams per oz!
- Chocolate: Click Here for a post I wrote about the benefits of chocolate.
Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:
Would you eat a giant scoop of frosting? Or are you more of a cake person?
P.S. Even if you didn’t win the giveaway for the Sugar Free Challenge, CORE Foods wants to give you a chance to try CORE Meals too! SAVE 20% on a single sample pack of CORE Meals at www.corefoods.com. Use Coupon Code “sugarfree” after check out. This discount expires 7/18/2012!
Follow Me!