August 23, 2014

Scrumptious 'Rum-tious Chocolate Velvet Frosting

Last night, in my house, we had a little early pre-birthday celebration (my firstborn turns 17 tomorrow). We made a special dinner by request for the birthday boy and when I asked what kind of cake he might want, he said "the cake is a lie" cake from Portal.

Borrowed this from a gaming blogsite. THIS is what I attempted to create.

A bit of research and tweaking to my "plant-based, gluten-free" standards and here is the final result . . . I made just a simple gluten-free vanilla cake but the frosting was so scrumptious I just have to share the recipe with you all!

I also love love love this frosting because unlike so many vegan frostings I have made over the years, this one really holds it's own. i have found without the unique quality that butter-fat provides, most vegan frostings have a bit of a low melting point and your frosting doesn't really "stand up" per se. THIS one totally does. Even this morning as I write this, I can attest to how well this cake held up over night and unrefridgerated.
Naturally, I snuck a piece for breakfast to go with my coffee.

Even shared it with the Instagram world . . .

2 Tablespoon non-dairy creamer (or milk)
4 teaspoons arrowroot powder or tapioca starch/flour
1 teaspoon rum extract (this actually gave the frosting a bit of a Nutella flavor)

2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
½ cup cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 cup of raw cacao powder

2/3 cup of Nutiva shortening

Whisk together the creamer (or non-dairy milk), powder and rum extract and set aside. The original recipe says to "mix it into a slurry" so, if slurry-ing is more your thing . . .

In a large bowl, sift your sugar and chocolate powders (cocoa and cacao). Then gently whisk to incorporate them.

In a mixer, beat your shortening until a bit fluffy. Slowly pour in half of you sugar mixture and then half of the cream mixture. Back to the sugar and then the last of your cream mixture. I liked how nice and stiff this frosting was as it made it more resilient than most vegan frostings for decorating but if you like a lighter, silkier texture just add a bit more creamer a little bit at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

I found this frosting to be very easy to work with and totally spreadable but if you find you are having difficulty you may want to chill in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes.

I did, however, chill my entire frosted cake in the fridge both while I worked on the decorative pieces* and until we were ready for the birthday celebration to begin.

Cue the music, light the candle . . . .