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    Vanilla or Lemon Frosting

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    This is a simple nut-based frosting that can have a vanilla or lemon flavor (see Notes for lemon). Both flavors are great on Carrot Cake, Pumpkin Pie Squares (shown below), as well as Pumpkin Pie and Sweet Potato Pie. This frosting can also be used as a dip for fruit.

    Nutty Frosting

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    Nutty Frosting

    Vanilla or Lemon Frosting


    ★ 5 Stars ☆ ★ 4 Stars ☆ ★ 3 Stars ☆ ★ 2 Stars ☆ ★ 1 Star ☆

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    • Total Time: 25 mins
    • Yield: Makes 1.5 cups 1x
    Print Recipe
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    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 5 ounces pitted dates (8 to 9 Medjool or 16 to 18 Deglet Noor), chopped
    • 3 ounces raw, unsalted cashews (about ¾ cup)
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or seeds 1 vanilla bean)
    • ¾ to 1 cup water

    Instructions

    1. Place the dates, cashews, and vanilla into a blender. Add ¾ cup water. If the water doesn't completely cover the dates and nuts, add more just until it does. Set aside for at least 45 minutes (so the dates and nuts can thoroughly soften).
    2. Blend until very smooth, scraping down the sides a couple times. If your blender has a tamper, you may want to use it. (Add a little more water if the mixture becomes too thick to blend.)

    Notes

    For lemon frosting, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of lemon juice.

    For firmer frosting, chill for a couple hours before using.

    • Prep Time: 25 mins

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: ⅙ recipe, ¼ cup
    • Calories: 146
    • Sugar: 16.6g
    • Sodium: 3mg
    • Fat: 6.2g
    • Saturated Fat: 1.1g
    • Carbohydrates: 22.0g
    • Fiber: 2.1g
    • Protein: 3.0g
    • Cholesterol: 0

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @straightupfood and hashtag it #straightupfood - we can’t wait to see what you’ve made!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Miles

      September 05, 2016 at 8:12 am

      This made for a wonderful frosting on my birthday cake! I'd highly reccomend experimenting with different nuts. I have also found that 3/4 cup of raisins substitutes the dates nicely, but may not blend completely and change the color of the frosting.

      Reply
      • Valerie Santiago

        March 25, 2021 at 5:27 pm

        How long can it be in the refrigerator ?

        Reply
    2. Mary

      October 03, 2016 at 1:10 pm

      I have made this frosting 2-3 times now. The flavor is great! But, it has not gotten thick enough to pipe. What are your suggestions for thickening? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Cathy

        October 03, 2016 at 3:24 pm

        You can put it in the fridge or freezer first I suppose. But because the fat in nuts is not extracted and saturated like butter or lard, it will never set up in the same way.

        Reply
    3. Steffani Irvin

      January 20, 2017 at 1:58 pm

      Just made this and the carrot cake from your book! Have you ever tried freezing this frosting or know if it will freeze? I'm afraid i will eat it all LOL.

      Reply
      • Cathy

        January 20, 2017 at 3:02 pm

        I haven't tried freezing it; you could make a half batch. 😉

        Reply
    4. Andrea Rubinstein

      June 16, 2017 at 10:14 am

      Would this work using almonds?

      Reply
      • Cathy

        June 16, 2017 at 10:39 am

        I'm not sure. Maybe if you soaked them overnight first, as they are very hard compared to softer nuts like walnuts, pecans and cashews.

        Reply
        • Andrea Rubinstein

          June 17, 2017 at 10:40 am

          I will try it and let you know how it turns out.

          Reply
    5. Andrea Rubinstein

      June 18, 2017 at 2:35 pm

      I soaked the almonds overnight and it worked fine. I split the date/vanilla mix in half and made half with the almonds and half with cashews and then refrigerated. The almond mix was a little runnier and the cashews a bit creamier. I think next time I might try half and half. I served the pumpkin squares to guests with a tablespoon of each frosting on opposite sides so we could do a taste test. I think the almonds won by a hair, but the creaminess of the cashews made it basically a tie.

      Reply
      • Cathy

        June 18, 2017 at 3:07 pm

        Wow, thanks Andrea! Great analysis! 😉

        Reply
    6. Nella

      December 03, 2017 at 8:05 am

      The color of the frosting is not pretty like yours, more of a gray/brown. How did you get yours so white?

      Reply
      • Cathy

        December 03, 2017 at 1:57 pm

        I didn't do anything special; just a lot of blending and using raw, white cashews. I have heard that you can blanch off the date skins to get a frosting whiter, but I have never done that.

        Reply
    7. Jen M

      May 26, 2018 at 7:44 am

      Bella, I had a thought about getting the frosting as white as possible. I don’t know which vanilla you opted for, but there are clear (versus typical brown) versions of vanilla extract specifically for white frostings. If you didn’t use clear, maybe using that next time would lighten the color.

      Good luck!

      Reply
    8. Frances

      August 09, 2019 at 11:23 am

      Is it possible to replace the Cashews with silken tofu to be nut free?

      Reply
      • Cathy

        August 09, 2019 at 6:30 pm

        I've not tried it, but it seems like it would work. You could search "tofu frosting" to see what others are doing. 🙂

        Reply
      • Jodi

        October 14, 2019 at 9:24 pm

        I’ve used Japanese sweet potatoes in place of the cashews and it works great.

        Reply
        • Natasha Nadel

          September 16, 2020 at 11:19 am

          I'm very excited about the sweet potato idea!

          Reply
    9. Natasha Nadel

      September 16, 2020 at 11:20 am

      I wonder if this would work to make orange frosting with orange juice and zest. I bet that would be a good flavor combo with the carrot cake.

      Reply
      • Cathy

        September 16, 2020 at 3:36 pm

        I think it would work great! 🙂

        Reply
    10. Peggy Wonder

      February 06, 2022 at 2:23 pm

      I'd like to make sandwich cookies, using your Ginger Heart Cookie recipe. What do you think about using this frosting as a filling? Will it be thick enough?

      Reply
      • Cathy

        February 06, 2022 at 5:42 pm

        Hi Peggy, I don't think it would work; those cookies are firm, so it would just squish out I think. You could put the frosting on top. If you want to make the frosting "stand up" more, you could blend in some coconut milk (the fat lump from the can, not the water). Since coconut is a saturated fat, it acts like butter and gets firm, especially when cold. 🙂

        Reply
    11. Judy Wright

      December 06, 2022 at 2:05 pm

      The frosting has a lovely taste but my question is how does your frosting turn out so light in color? Mine is much more brown than your picture above.

      Reply
      • Cathy

        December 07, 2022 at 11:08 am

        The more you blend it, the lighter it gets in color. The photo may have also been edited too, so it looks a little lighter. 🙂

        Reply
    12. Iris

      June 25, 2023 at 5:02 pm

      How long would you cook the carrot cake if you baked it in a 9 inch round pan? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Cathy

        June 26, 2023 at 11:23 am

        I'd say bake for 2-5 minutes less since it will be flatter. When done it should spring back a little when pressed with a finger, not cave in. 🙂

        Reply

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