I have often thought how nice it would be to find a healthy honey-sweetened frosting that looked and tasted like those ‘not-so-very-healthy’ frostings.
You may think I’m nuts, but I have always had a problem with sugary frosting! Why? Because it is pretty and sweet, and I don’t want my children to have any fun? Well, actually not.
Since all my infertility and health problems, I just wanted them to be healthy and not be addicted to sweets in their various tempting forms. I had hoped they might pick up their Mama’s habit of slipping the gooey stuff off into a fluffy pile on the side of the plate…
Well… No. Such. Luck!
To remedy that, at least at home, on our own birthday cakes, I would make a honey sweetened white yogurt topping and serve it up with toasted almonds and fresh strawberries, candles, and a smile. Paired with the delicious rich and moist Texas chocolate sheet cake recipe (that was adapted to be healthier), we had a winner everyone loved and a happy Mom thinking she was doing the best for her family.
Still, I longed for a healthy honey-sweetened frosting that mimicked those ‘not-so-very-healthy’ frostings without the guilt.
Now, we have now found our answer, and Oh, My, Goodness! It is amazing!
How It Happened
After an amazing meal of grilled grass-fed burgers, grilled zucchini, and roasted peppers from the garden, we all decided that another cake for dessert was just the thing!
This time, our goal was to make it healthy.
In Part 1, Ana, daughter of friends visiting from out-of-state, graciously gave of her time to share some of her specialty secrets.
This evening, she told us of her Honey-Sweetened Frosting that we would all love, so we set out to make another cake pairing it with the chocolate cake our family has used for over 17 years.
The sun had set by the time we served the girls’ masterpiece. Tired and happy, we enjoyed every minute of it, sometimes laughing, sometimes serious, in delightful conversation. I think we were all very ready for that cake by the time the last raspberry decoration was added and the cake was cut.
Honey-Sweetened Fluffy Frosting Recipe (GF option)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup arrowroot powder (also sometimes called flour)
- 1 cup butter
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- pinch of white sea salt
Directions:
Whisking frequently, cook milk and arrowroot over medium heat until it thickens while whisking. Take off heat, set aside and let cool.
Once the milk/arrowroot mixture has cooled, whiz it up in a food processor or a hand-held processor to make sure it’s as smooth as possible.
When mixture is cool, start making the frosting by beating for 4 minutes:
- 1 cup butter softened (we used organic butter)
- Add 1/2 cup honey (to taste) and beat for another 4 minutes (we used raw honey)
- Add the cooled milk/arrowroot mixture and beat for 4 minutes.
- Add 1 tsp vanilla and a small pinch sea salt
Mix a little more and then spread on cake or cookies! This is as delicious and guilt-free as frosting can get!
Voila!
And the results were so worth it. What a delicious and ‘normal’ frosting. Only we knew that it was honey-sweetened!
Thank you, Ana, for creating a healthy honey-sweetened frosting recipe for healthy-minded mamas like me. Healthy and delish~ that’s perfect in my way of thinking!
Have you baked a cake with friends?
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