The pillars of a perfect homemade dessert frosting are milk, butter, and sugar. Of course, there are many different ways to prepare a decadent frosting worthy of traditional birthday cakes, anniversary cookies, and everyday sweet treats. In fact, one of the easiest dessert frostings you can make calls for just two ingredients, one of them being chocolate and one of them being a vegetable. Before you run for the hills, we’re not talking about bitter greens or earthy crucifers, we’re talking about sweet potatoes — the vegetable kingdom’s sugary superstar.
As sweet potatoes bake, the heat from the oven breaks down their starches into maltose, a simple carbohydrate that has a flavor akin to table sugar, though not quite as intense. As this transformation transpires, the tuber’s sugars caramelize for a deeper, toastier flavor that yields a sweet treat so decadent it’s hard to believe it’s a vegetable. Once the toasty, sugary spud is finished baking and gently cooling, complete this two-ingredient chocolate frosting by pureeing the sweet potato with your favorite chocolate chips in a food processor to achieve that quintessential frosting consistency. Et voilà — a creamy, rich, and low-hassle chocolate frosting suitable for any of your favorite desserts.
Not only is this simple chocolate frosting easy to make and downright delicious, but it also boasts some surprising potential health benefits. Sweet potatoes are a nutrient-dense food high in fiber and disease-fighting antioxidants; when combined with the unexpectedly nourishing qualities of dark chocolate, courtesy of its own unique antioxidant properties, you have yourself a nutritious food swathed in the guise of decadence.
Jazzing up chocolatey sweet potato frosting
The crux of this simple chocolate frosting hinges on using only two ingredients. But if you add more, we won’t tell. There are dozens of complementary fixings you can introduce to this chocolatey sweet potato frosting that won’t complicate or disrupt its laid-back charm.
A dash of high-quality vanilla extract can provide the frosting with a warming complexity that enriches the toasty taste of the sweet potato and mellows out the on-the-nose richness of chocolate. If you’re out of vanilla extract, don’t settle for the fake stuff, use a small amount of maple syrup as a substitute, but if you’re feeling floral, a little honey goes a long way. Brighten it up with a flurry of citrus zest or give it a mocha-inspired trim with a gust of espresso powder. Amplify all of the flavors of this no-frills yet full-flavored frosting by adding a pinch of sea salt. Bear in mind that added ingredients can change the texture of the frosting, so consider setting aside a portion of sweet potato to re-introduce to the food processor if the consistency becomes too runny and needs some filling out.
Whether you pipe it into freshly baked donuts or use it to crown a dozen cupcakes, this two-ingredients frosting will change the way you do desserts. Who knew veggies could be so decadent?
