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Wholesome Chocolate Frosting

by Tansy Boggon

A homemade chocolate frosting that is low in sugars as it’s based on dates, and wait for it…wholesome sweet potato.

Can anything get any more delicious than chocolate frosting?

I love the creaminess of frosting. However, I’ve never been a fan of how sickly sweet some frostings taste.

For years, before studying nutrition at university, I believed that coconut oil was a health food and thus made toppings based on coconut oil. I’ve since learnt that it is not!

I still use coconut oil. However, not as liberally as I once did.

Not only this, the toppings I made with coconut oil were incredibly rich and ended up hard and crackly. Which, although great for caramel slice or ice cream topping, wasn’t so great for softer chocolate cakes and slices.

Chocolate frosting with the perfect balance of sweetness and creaminess

For this reason, I’ve been on a mission to find a balance between creaminess and sweetness to provide a delicious chocolatey hit without being overpowering or too rich. And now I have it!

Let me introduce my recipe for chocolate frosting.

I’ve called this recipe Wholesome Chocolate Frosting as it is based on the intrinsic sugars of fruit and vegetables rather than added sweeteners.

It only has two tablespoons of maple syrup! Thus, making it much lower in free sugars than other frosting recipes.

Spatula with scoop of chocolate frosting

The secret frosting ingredient? Sweet potato!

I know it sounds strange. However, if the sweet potato is cooked to the point of mush, it will cream up beautifully and lose its earthy potato flavour in this recipe.

Not convinced? I challenge you to give it a try for yourself.

Not that I’m suggesting that you can’t enjoy your other favourite frostings made more traditionally. However, if you’re looking for a more wholesome, fulfilling chocolate frosting, I recommend you give this a try. Let me know if you do in the comments below!

What will you try this chocolate frosting with?

I’ve paired this homemade chocolate frosting with Chocolate Beetroot Brownies and Sugar-Free Banana Bread. However, I’d love to hear what you think of it and what other recipes you try it with. Share in the comments below.

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Spatula with carving into chocolate frosting

Wholesome Chocolate Frosting

Prep Time10 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Course: Desserts & Sweet Snacks
Keyword: vegan, dairy-free, sugar-free, gluten-free
Author: Tansy Boggon

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup sweet potato, roasted and peeled ~1 medium sweet potato (245 g when cooked) (ensure it is very soft)
  • ¼ cup cocoa or cacao powder (20 g)
  • 4 tablespoon date paste or equivalent dates soaked in warm water
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted or cold pressed rapeseed or grapeseed oil
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Place sweet potato in a food processor and combine until smoothly mashed.
  • Then add remaining ingredients and process until the mixture is very smooth and glossy.
  • Use immediately while still at room temperature.

Notes

Ensure the sweet potato is well-cooked
The sweet potato needs to be very soft for this recipe to create a smooth frosting that doesn’t have a potato flavour or lumps.
To roast, scrub the sweet potato clean and pierce the skin multiple times with a fork. Place in oven heated to 220oC for 40-50 minutes, until the skin can easily be pressed in or sags around the potato. Peel before using in the recipe.
Choice of oils
The oils I’ve chosen in this recipe are for flavour reasons.
Rapeseed and grapeseed oil will not overpower the chocolate frosting, while coconut oil can add some flavour depending on the brand used.
Coconut oil will cause the frosting to gain firmness on refrigeration, while the rapeseed and grapeseed will provide a frosting that is spreadable after refrigeration.
So, choose your oil depending on what you have available and whether you want to refrigerate it before spreading over cakes or cupcakes.

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