Look closely…
What do you see in this photo?
Do you see…
A. unicorns and rainbows?
B. flying puppies?
C. Brownies iced in thick fudgey frosting, without ANY butter or sugar?
Hopefully you see the third choice: a decadent coffee fudge frosting recipe that is made without powdered sugar and without butter or shortening. Yet it is super rich and creamy—the perfect topping for any cake or brownies!
Above: used as frosting for my Black Bean Brownies.
Side note: If you chose answers A or B (the unicorns or puppies), it might be a good idea to talk to a psychologist about this. Or maybe an eye doctor…
You won’t miss the butter.
Promise.
Coffee Fudge Frosting
- 1 cup raw cashews or macadamia nuts (110g)
- 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp espresso or strong coffee
- very scant 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp pure maple syrup
- 1/8 tsp uncut stevia OR 4 tbsp powdered sugar (or simply increase the maple syrup to 4 tbsp, and decrease coffee to 1/4 cup)
Place the nuts in a cereal-sized bowl and cover with water. Let sit at least 6 hours, or overnight. Drain the liquid, then combine all ingredients in a small food processor or blender until super-smooth. (I actually used my Magic Bullet for this. If your food processor is too big, you might need to double the recipe for smoother blending.) For all substitution notes, see the nutrition link below:
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Do you wear glasses at all?
When I was little, I wanted to wear glasses so badly. My optician uncle sent us pairs of fake glasses, and my sister and I actually wore them to school for a few months. Now that I do sometimes wear glasses, for far distances and driving, I wish I didn’t need them. It’s especially difficult to remember to bring them shopping, and I’m constantly losing them!
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Link of the Day:
Coconut Ice Cream – 5 New Recipes
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I’m actually wearing glasses this week because my eye doc found a small scratch on my eye. At first, I hated it, but now I’m loving them! It’s so nice to let my peepers breathe and my students are definitely showing me a bit more respect now that I look all smarty-pants 🙂
Ha! Funny question – I wanted to wear glasses after reading the Baby Sitters Little Sisters books. Then I had to wear them in 4th grade and started losing that desire and then had to get bifocals in 6th grade (no joke!). Then when I was told I didn’t need to wear them to drive, I decided that meant I didn’t need to wear them at all. 😉
Me too! Especially since she had my same name!
I do wear glasses, but only at home.
One place that I never wear them: the gym! They fog up immediately 😛
I should wear glasses because my eyesight has gotten REALLY bad over the past couple of years. However, I have trouble naturally adjusting from far away to up close so even the multifocal contacts or bifocals aren’t cutting it. I just squint all the time and hope some breakthrough will happen so I can see again properly soon!
I’m not a coffee-lover but my husband is and I can’t wait to make this for him! His weaknesses are brownies and coffee. This will be the perfect surprise for him!
You seriously made me laugh Katie! Your intros to your recipes brighten my day every time. Thanks for being creative and witty. I love it. And I love this recipe- so many options with it. And yes, I did wear glasses when I was little- but I stopped needing them when I hit puberty (how awesome?!). 😀
My hair stopped being curly when I hit puberty. I miss my curly hair!
Ah, now that is sad! You could try getting a perm? I have a friend who lost her curly hair for a bit (after too much straightening), then when she got a perm, the curly hair just stuck! It’s like her head/hair remembered what it was doing before. 🙂
I had to wear glasses and/or contacts for my entire life starting at age 8 and it was TERRIBLE! I remember telling my husband that if I lived as a cavewoman, I wouldn’t have made it to my 10th birthday with such bad eyes!!
But my favorite memory about having terrible eyesight (800/20!!!) was staring at the Christmas tree without them on – such pretty colors all running together!! 😀
But last year I was fortunate enough to get a Groupon for LASIK eye surgery…and now my life is soooo much better! 😀
xoxo
Cheri
I also wanted glasses as a kid, cos my best friend in kindergarten wore them, and got my wish at age 7! Wahoo for me, haha. This frosting sounds and looks so good! And I can top my remaining CCK black bean brownies (great recipe!) with it.
Yes! I was looking for the perfect frosting recipe and I think I just found it! ;D
I’m in the 7th grade and so far I haven’t needed glasses yet. I never want them, either! Having fake glasses has never appealed to me since I don’t look that good in them. 😉
This may sound like a silly question, but is the coffee for this recipe made up into a liquid, or do you process the grounds (is that what you call it? What you buy in the jar!)
I love your site by the way. I always read your recipes and they brighten my morning 🙂
Aw thanks, Anna 🙂
And not a silly question at all, especially since so many of my recipes call for the grounds. This time, though, it means the liquid.
Oh my goodness those look so good! And I went to the eye doctor once in the 4th grade and he gave me glasses. I wore them for a month but stopped because they hurt my eyes… Haha haven’t been back since!
Funny you mention the glasses. I’m on my last pair of contacts & since I should have thrown them out weeks ago, I’m wearing my my glasses that have the right side of the frame ripped off (only lenses, & left ear piece/frame), thanks to my 18 month old! It’s pretty lame, but we’re waiting for our insurance to kick in in a few days until I buy some new frames. At which point, I’m going to go for it & buy something a bit more expensive–some frames that I would *love* wearing.
Hi Katie! I stumbled upon your website given to me by a vegan friend (I’m not vegan, though) and I am OBSESSED. I seriously stay up until midnight almost every night looking at everything. My faves have been the single cupcakes & dessert pizzas. Oh. my. goodness. Desserts are my weakness, but I am really trying to eat healthy and stay away from sugar! You have brought life back into my dessert-loving body! So, thank you! Question – if you use cashew butter for this, how much would you suggest? Thanks again! 🙂
Maybe 1/2 the amount… so 1/2 cup?
I have glasses, but I usually wear my contacts since I need them all of the time. Have you ever thought about trying a pair?
I have tried… my eyes were just too sensitive and I couldn’t get them in without tearing up. Granted, it was quite a few years ago so I should probably try again.
I’ve needed glasses since I was in first grade! My mom let me pick out my own…they were clear and with pinkish purple swirled through. (What was I thinking??) Now I wear contacts 99% of the time. I do have some amazing Chanel glasses that I would love to wear, but I’m almost too blind to wear them because a prescription that gets distorted! Is it weird to want to get partial Lasik so that my eyes are better, but I’ll still need glasses? 🙂
No, it’s not weird! Well, a little…but it totally makes sense. Glasses are part of your identity- I’m sure that’d be hard to give up!
Cashews soaking right now!