Healthy Peppermint Frosting and Birthday Fun Times

Wednesday was my birthday, so this past weekend I used the occassion as an excuse to get as many friends in one room as I could. Oh, and to make cupcakes -- an obscene number of cupcakes.

I didn't just make a few -- I made four different kinds of them! There was chocolate-chocolate, very vanilla, lemon-vanilla and chocolate-peppermint. And yes, they were all really good!

The standout cupcake was definitely chocolate-peppermint. Its one of my favourite flavour combinations -- which I'm sure my readers are well aware of since almost all my recent posts have involved these flavours! But hey, its December and the Holiday Season screams for peppermint and chocolate, no?

This frosting is not sugar-free but it is pretty healthy for frosting! And it's gluten-free and vegan! It's made mostly from unsweetened rice milk and avocado! Thanks to the addition of agar powder (AKA my new baking best friend) this frosting has an amazing thickness, creaminess and stability. It doesn't melt in room temperature like buttercream tends to, and it holds the shape you dollop or pipe onto cupcakes. Thanks to the agar, this frosting won't separate with overmixing either -- something that drives me crazy about non-vegan frosting! Before I made this frosting I scrapped three batches of a more conventional frosting that separated. Butter, and even my beloved coconut oil can be evil and temperamental! This frosting totally holds its shape in a hot room full of people and look how pretty and pale green it is!

The peppermint flavor of the frosting is strong, but natural. Pair this frosting with a rich chocolate cupcake or cake and you won't be dissapointed! Don't like cake? Enjoy this healthy frosting recipe as a rich little bowl of peppermint mousse instead. I made way too much of it so I can vouch that it's great on its own!

AVOCADO PEPPERMINT FROSTING

(gluten-free, vegan, good fat)

Makes enough frosting for 20 cupcakes or a cake

PART I

1 avocado
1.5 cups unsweetened vanilla rice milk (I used YU brand unsweetened vanilla rice milk, I recommend using an unsweetened vanilla non-dairy milk in this recipe)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1.5 tbsp liquid sweetener (I used raw honey but you can use maple syrup or coconut nectar or agave)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp virgin coconut oil
1/3 tsp pure peppermint oil
2 tsp agar powder (not agar flakes, agar powder dissolves better and doesn’t require soaking time)

PART II

Chilled PART I mixture
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp rice milk
1 tbsp virgin coconut oil
Organic icing sugar

PART I INSTRUCTIONS:

Add rice milk to a soup pot. Add agar powder and stir. Bring mixture to a rapid boil over high heat, stirring. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer. Whisk in raw honey (or liquid sweetener of choice), cinnamon and coconut oil. Allow to simmer 5 minutes, stirring.

After the five minutes, add avocado and hot mixture to a high speed blender. Add peppermint oil and vanilla. Blend on high until totally smooth. Pour into a bowl, cover with tinfoil and chill in fridge 1 hour.

PART II INSTRUCTIONS:

Remove chilled bowl from fridge. The mixture should be like solid cloudy jello now. Break it up with a spoon. Add the chunks and the milk to a high speed blender and blend, stopping often to stir from bottom to ensure all the mixture blends - this takes awhile, I did it on medium speed. After the mix is very smooth add the vanilla and coconut oil and blend till very smooth. Add the icing sugar and blend. I think I used about 1/3-1/2 cup but I added it a few tbsps at a time until I liked the way the mixture tasted. Adding more will not harm the mixture so use your taste buds as a guide.

Once blended, transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before frosting cakes, cupcakes or cookies.

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