Sunday, May 5, 2013

Luxuriously Healthy Chocolate Frosting for #SundaySupper - Cinco de Mayo Style!

Avocado. It's the original darling child of the "good fat" world, on the list of the World's Healthiest Foods - and for good reason. The majority of the fat in one of these green, leathery eggs has shown promise in fighting arthritis, lowering inflammation, absorb nutrients and decreasing the risk of heart disease! They're also ridiculously high in fibre, vitamin K and B vitamins, and have a buttery texture that would be sorely missed from any Mexican platter or California Roll.

Yet... I don't like them. More than that, I hate them in their natural form. Sliced on a salad? I'll pick them off. Guac is a dip at a party? I'll pass. Nobody in my family gets it, but it's both a taste and a texture thing for me. I like my produce on the crisp side (I don't like bananas either unless they're green), and the favour is just too odd for me to handle.

However, that's avocado au naturale. I've come to realize over the years that if you add chocolate to almost anything it makes it at the very least palatable. So why not try the same with an avocado or two, and turn them into a rich, fudgy filling for my Hazelnut Torte? After all, chocolate goes with hazelnuts, and ripe avocados are very similar to soft butter in texture, so they should make a suitable "buttercream", right?

Right. So right, in fact, it's almost downright wrong to say so - but I'm not the first to turn the Mexican and Californian staple into dessert (or frosting). In fact, the mixture I ended up with was adapted from Giada De Laurentis’ Avocado Mousse - just a little less agave, a little more cocoa, and a little touch of vanilla stevia for extra flavour and sweetness. The frosting, after chilling for an hour or so, is pretty remarkable: not only is it added-fat free, there’s no refined sugar or any animal products either! Who knew dessert could be so healthy?

Luxuriously Nutritious Chocolate Frosting

This week for #SundaySupper we're all about Cinco de Mayo treats. Cinco de Mayo celebrates the victory of the Mexicans over the French in the Battle of Puebla, and what better reason to dance, eat, drink and party?! Check out the other great goodies from the gang, and be sure to join in our Twitter chat tonight (details below).

Cinco de Mayo Appetizers & Sides {Aperitivos}:

Cinco de Mayo Main Dishes {Platos Principales}:

Cinco de Mayo Desserts {Postres}:

Cinco de Mayo Drinks {Bebidas}:


Luxuriously Healthy Chocolate Frosting
Serves 24
2 very ripe avocados, pitted and skinned
1/3 cup bittersweet couverture chocolate (around 70%)
5 tbsp unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder
3 tbsp raw agave nectar
2 (1 g) packets vanilla flavoured stevia
1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or chocolate hazelnut milk if you can find it)
pinch sea salt
  1. Combine everything in a food processor and puree until smooth.
  2. Chill before use.
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 46.0
Total Fat: 3.2 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 5.5 mg
Total Carbs: 2.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.4 g
Protein: 0.6 g