Frosting is one of my favorite foods; in fact, I consider it an actual food group. After all, what is a cupcake without frosting? It’s nothing!
Lately I have been stymied when it comes to the frosting creation process. Yes, I have my delicious Vegan Chocolate Frosting recipe, however, I have been lacking in the white frosting department. For me this has presented hardship because chocolate frosting just doesn’t work with Carrot Cake and lemon cake. Besides, who wants to use just one frosting recipe on top of all of their baked delicacies?!
Yes, I do admit, making frosting without butter and sugar is quite a challenge. Though for me challenge is the name of the game. So lately, I have been on a conquest for white frosting.
Sixteen batches later, I have a delicious coconut frosting that my many taste testers approve of. Unfortunately, my most important taster is traveling this week, so I confess, I don’t have the ultimate seal of approval. However, I think it is still good enough to share with all of you.
Coconut Cream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1 cup agave nectar or honey
- pinch celtic sea salt
- 5 teaspoons arrowroot powder
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1¼ cup coconut oil
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, heat coconut milk, agave and salt, simmer for 10 minutes
- In a small bowl, combine arrowroot and water to form a smooth paste
- Pour arrowroot mixture into saucepan
- Whisk vigorously to combine, then bring to a boil, briefly, until shiny
- Remove pot from heat and very gradually blend in coconut oil with a hand blender
- Allow pot to cool for 10 minutes
- Place pot in refrigerator for 45-120 minutes, until frosting solidifies and turns white
- Remove from refrigerator and blend again with a hand blender, until fluffy
- Spread over cake or cupcakes
Equipment
This frosting will be great on the carrot cake which I am in the process of creating for ~M, one of my favorite readers. She finished school this month and I will post the recipe in honor of her graduation.
On another note, you may have noticed that I recently added a feature to the side bar of this site. It is a survey which polls readers as to which recipe they would like me to whip up next. Check it out and post your vote –for Chocolate Cupcakes, Mango Chicken or Candy Bars.
RiverMama says
When putting it in the freezer or fridge we to wait until the the whole thing turns white opaque? I put mine in the freezer for almost 50 mins and the center was still gelatinous and tan colored. The outsides turned white. But overall after blending it was still grainy and lumpy. The book recommends the freezer, the website recommends the fridge. Which do you find is the better result?
Elana says
RiverMama, I use the fridge for this recipe.
Spring says
Ok mine turned out slimey and sticky and runny. It looked like snot. Never doing this again.
Elana says
Spring, sorry to hear this didn’t work for you!
RiverMama says
Mine did too, so something must have been amiss. Gonna try it again in hopes that I get it. (Or maybe the next time )
Elana says
River, this is a fairly challenging recipe to make. When you do, be sure to keep a close eye on the mixture as it cools down so it doesn’t harden too much :-)
Carolyn says
The frosting tasted lovely but was lumpy and grainy. Any tips for getting it glossy and smooth?
Elana says
Carolyn, you can solve this by taking the frosting out of the fridge a bit sooner :-)
Stacey says
Hello Elena: Can this frosting be piped? Will it keep its shape at room temperature or a little warmer?
Elana says
Stacey, I don’t think I’ve tried that so not sure. If you do I hope you’ll stop back by and LMK if it works :-)
Robin S. says
I found this tasty but too runny. Any suggestions for making it thicker and stiffer?
Elana says
Robin, thanks for your comment! This can happen for a couple of reasons, but most often when lite coconut milk is used in place of full-fat :-)
DianaG says
Hi there! Thank you for these wonderfull dairy free recipees! I get inspired for my daughters 1 year old birthday cake :). Question on the coconut full fat milk: usually the milk can has on top the white cream. Should I use only that to have ot more thick? Or is it that I should mix the can but to make sure I use one with lots of fat? Thanks in advance!
Elana says
Diana, You’re welcome! Use one cup of coconut milk from a can of coconut milk. If it’s separated, combine it first by blending it all together.
Lydia says
Hi, I like this recipe, but I have to modify it as I am on phase 3 of the HCG die and am just finishing it out, I worked too hard to have my results go away in a few bites! Phase 3 is no starch/no sugar, so that means no arrowroot as that is a starch. I used this to make frosting for a P3 friendly German chocolate cake. I used a can of full fat coconut milk and boiled it down quite a bit, like over half, to eliminate the need for arrowroot. When it became thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, I dumped in a bag of shredded unsweetened coconut, which thickens it up even more by absorption. I kept reducing it until it was difficult to stir. I then took it off the heat and I emptied out a bottle of Walden Farms calorie-free, sugar-free, carb-free caramel sauce. And it was just the thing to loosen up the thick reduction to just the right frosting consistency. With chopped roasted pecans (adding the nut dust to help keep it thick), it was perfect. Thanks!
Elana says
Lydia, you’re welcome!