Here’s a healthy Christmas treat, Strawberry Santas! Holiday parties and gatherings can do a number on our sugar intake during the holidays, so I’m always looking for healthy alternatives to serve. These Strawberry Santas are a healthy tasty treat, and easy to make, so kids can join in on the fun!
These fresh strawberries wearing Santa hats don’t cause a full-on sugar rush making them a perfect holiday treat. The cashew frosting is rich and creamy with a fluffy feel on your tongue that melts in your mouth. The taste is perfectly sweet with hints of vanilla and a little tang from lemon juice to round it out. It spreads nicely on cakes, cupcakes, sweet breads, and cookies. It works great for piping desserts like this recipe, if you want a fancy touch : ). The frosting is best used just before serving the dessert.
Recipe
Fresh strawberries Cashew cream frosting
Dried wild blueberries and nigella seeds for decorating (optional)
A pointy knife or kitchen tweezers to place the blueberries or seeds
A pastry bag or plastic bag with a corner cut off to pipe the cashew cream
Cashew Cream Frosting
1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for 6 to 8 hours (or in very hot water for at least 1 hour)
1/3 - 1/2 cup cacao butter melted (depending how thick you like your icing to be)
1/2 cup full fat coconut milk or coconut cream (melted if solid) – see notes
1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey or brown rice syrup)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
Preparation
Drain the soaked cashews from their water. Add all frosting ingredients in a high-powered blender jug. Blend until smooth. Scrape sides as needed to make sure everything is well incorporated. Taste and adjust as needed: adding more sweetner for sweetness or more lemon juice for tang, or more vanilla for the flavour you’re after.
Transfer the frosting to a large mixing bowl. Cover and place it in the freezer for 30 minutes. Remove and use a stand mixer or hand mixer to whip until thick, about two minutes. Cover and place back in the freezer for 10 minutes and then whip again for 3 minutes, or until thick and fluffy. Repeat this process until the frosting is fluffy in texture and clings to the whisk – I generally rewhip the cream 3 - 4 times.
Once the frosting is whipped, let the frosting soften to room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes and place the frosting in a piping bag or plastic bag with a small tip cut off to decorate your Santas with.
Decorating Santas
Wash your strawberries, cut the bottom end off to make Santa’s hat and place the stem end down on your plate to create the base (slice bits off the base if you need it to be flatter). Start to pipe your frosting to add all of the fluffy bits that make the strawberries look like little Santas: Put 2-3 dots of cream for Santa’s buttons, a dollop between the pieces for his face/beard, place the hat on top and then pipe a little white on top to finish off the hat. If you want to add eyes, you can use dried wild blueberries or nigella seeds using a knife point or tweezert to gently place them on the dessert.
Enjoy 🎄
