Sweet Heart, Strong Heart Chocolate Frosting

Make this rich, chocolate frosting for your sweet heart on Valentine's Day or any time you feel romantic. You'll keep your love's ticker ticking through a creamy chocolate rush. This dairy-free frosting has no cholesterol. It uses Coconut Dream Coconut Drink in place of milk and Earth Balance Coconut Spread in place of butter. Adding a little more cocoa than my original recipe keeps the rich chocolate flavor. Spread it on my Sweet Heart, Strong Heart Chocolate Cake.

Sweet Heart, Strong Heart Chocolate Frosting

Active time: 10 minutes. Total time: 10 minutes. Serves 12

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons Earth Balance Coconut Spread (4 ounces or 113 grams)
• 1 cup Hershey's Cocoa (80 grams)
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar (300 grams)
• 1/3 cup Coconut Dream coconut drink, regular or vanilla
• 1 teaspoon Frontier organic vanilla
• pinch salt

Method

1. Let coconut spread come to room temperature. Mix on medium speed until smooth.
   
   
   
   
2. Add about one third coco and one third coconut drink to coconut spread, mixing on low with an electric mixer until well combined. Mix in one third powdered sugar. Repeat until all cocoa, powdered sugar, and coconut drink are combined.
3. Add vanilla and salt and beat on medium high with a stand mixer or high with a hand-held mixer until fluffy. Dip your finger into the frosting and taste it. Adjust the ingredients if needed until it's just right, then dip your finger in again and ask your sweet heart to taste it. This may give you ideas about what to do while the cake cools. Spread approved frosting on cooled cake.
4. Serve cake within an hour or refrigerate to keep frosting from getting too soft.

Tips

• This chocolate frosting tastes richest when near room temperature. I like to cut slices from a refrigerated cake before dinner so they can warm up while we eat the main course.
• This recipe is based on a fabulous one I learned from my sister-in-law Janice Palucius, which uses butter and milk and only 3/4 cup cocoa.