Vanilla Sweet Potato Frosting
When blended with coconut butter (or raw cashew butter) and a few other ingredients, cooked yellow sweet potatoes transform into a thick, creamy, and not-too-sweet frosting. It’s perfect on my Yellow Sweet Potato Cake, or even on its own, if that’s how you roll—I get it!
Servings 3 -4 cups (enough to frost a 2-layer cake)
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked yellow sweet potato flesh cooled (see note)
- About 1 cup coconut butter not melted (see note) or 1 cup (little scant) raw cashew butter (see note)
- 2/3 cup unrefined sugar plus more as needed (see note)
- 1/2 - 2/3 cup vanilla or plain nondairy milk (ONLY for coconut version see note for cashew butter version
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon rounded pure vanilla bean powder (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the sweet potato, coconut butter (starting with 1/2 cup; see note), sugar, milk (starting with 1/2 cup), and sea salt in a high-speed blender (see note). Process until very smooth, scraping down the blender as needed. If it’s not blending well, add another 2–3 tablespoons milk to assist the pureeing. Taste and add 1–2 more tablespoons sugar if desired. Add the vanilla bean powder (if using) and stir with a spatula. Transfer to a container and refrigerate until ready to use. Or, get a spoon and dig in! Makes 3-4 cups
Notes
Sweet Potato Note: You can cook the sweet potatoes in any way that’s convenient, though I find the flavor and texture is best with roasting the potatoes whole.
Coconut Butter/ Cashew Butter Note: If using coconut butter, you may want to start with 1/2 cup, depending on the power of your blender. If you start with a full cup, it can be too sticky for the machine to puree. So begin with 1/2 cup, then add 1/3 cup, and then the rest if the pureeing is going well. A full cup will give a frosting that sets a little better. If using raw cashew butter, you will NOT need much of the milk, maybe a couple of tablespoons. Use only as much as need to get the mixture pureed. Cashew butter will set differently than the coconut butter, and too much milk will give it a pudding-like texture (which is fine for a pudding, but not a frosting).
Sugar Note: While coconut sugar or date sugar may be preferable from a whole-foods perspective, an unrefined cane sugar works best for color in this recipe. When it’s a special occasion, just go for it!
Blender Note: A high-speed blender makes a world of difference with recipes like this. If you don’t have one, try pureeing the coconut butter with the sweet potato in a food processor to begin, then transfer to a blender to fully blend.