Vegan Chocolate Buttercream~GF, DF, NF

By Kathy C.

http://84thand3rd.com/2014/08/21/vegan-chocolate-buttercream-dairy-free-gluten-free-soy-free-nut-free-refined-sugar-free-probably-paleo-too/

Absolutely unbelievably luscious and creamy, and not a single drop of dairy or nut or soy purée in sight. While you can use it on pretty much any cake or spoon you wish I highly recommend it for frosting the best ever Gluten Free Chocolate Cake.

Makes approx 2 ½ c — enough to fill, crumb coat and frost a two layer cake. Make another half batch (or use Whipped Chocolate Coconut Cream between layers) to fill a four layer cake.

’m calling this Vegan Chocolate Buttercream however it may be more aptly named Vegan Chocolate Not-Buttercream due to the omission of the two main ingredients in buttercream — butter and an enormous amount of sugar.

Cauliflower puree forms the base of the frosting, replacing the volume from the butter and the sugar, a bit of coconut oil and avocado add to the creaminess. Cocoa and maple syrup become the hero flavours and a pinch of sea salt brings it all together. Yes, really.

The resulting substance is perfect as frosting, however you’ll be forgiven if you want to fill a pie crust with it (or layer it over Vegan Cheesecake Bars instead of Lemon Custard) or simply eat it with a spoon.

vegan // vegetarian // dairy-free // gluten-free // soy-free // nut-free // probably paleo

Ingredients

• 1 cup mashed steamed cauliflower
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice (KC: omit, add extra Tbsp syrup)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup mashed avocado
• 1/4 cup maple syrup, see notes (KC: we use xylitol + water, also stevia)
• 1/2 cup cocoa or raw cacao, sifted
• 1/4 tsp flakey sea salt

Preparation

Step 1

Cauliflower: steam a head of broken up florets for at least 25 mins until very soft. Remove from pan so excess water evaporates while cauliflower cools. Roughly mash what you need for recipe, reserve remainder for another use (like lunch).

Blend cauliflower and lemon juice to an impossibly smooth purée. Add coconut oil and blend again until you see the texture change and the mixture becomes silky smooth and thick. Add avocado and syrup and blend again. Stir in cocoa and salt then blend one final time and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight.

Before using whip, with a electric whisk or a hand whisk, to loosen slightly. Spread on cooled Gluten Free Chocolate Cake or pretty much anything else.

COOK’S NOTES

Syrup: I prefer using maple syrup for this. Honey is ok but can overwhelm the chocolate. A combo of maple and rice syrup or straight rice syrup would be ok but will be less sweet / more bitter chocolate. In a pinch mix ¼ c packed rapadura sugar with 2 Tbsp (30 ml) water. Feel free to add more syrup to taste however you may want to add an extra bit of coconut oil too to ensure the frosting firms up. (KC: we use xylitol + water)
Avocado: if you can’t use avocado for some reason replace it with an equal amount (½ cup for the standard recipe) of additional mashed cauliflower and an extra 2 Tbsp coconut oil.
Cauliflower: possible substitution: pumpkin or sweet potato puree?