Vegan Buttercream Frosting (Only 4 Ingredients) - Easy Vegan Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the best vegan butter substitute for frosting? ›

Two good options for this recipe would be Earth Balance sticks and Country Crock Plant Butter (my personal preference). If you have another butter that's at least 79-80% oil/fat though, it should be fine.

The two main differences between traditional and dairy-free buttercream frosting are: The dairy butter is replaced with vegan butter. The whipping cream or milk is replaced with non-dairy milk.

If you're not adding enough sugar, your buttercream won't be stable enough to hold its shape for long. If you're adding a little plant-based milk to thin the buttercream when frosting a cake, you might be adding too much of it, again, making it too unstable.

In medium bowl, mix powdered sugar and butter with spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the milk. Gradually beat in just enough remaining milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time.

Shortening simply replaces the butter that you would traditionally use in buttercream. The higher fat content ensures that your piped swirls on the cupcakes stay exactly how you piped them.

Ghee. While not necessarily healthier than regular butter, ghee (clarified butter) has grown in popularity as an alternative, which makes intuitive sense because it offers a deep buttery taste and texture.

That's right - you NEED the vegan butter to be room temperature before you start working with it. If you've ever made vegan buttercream and it's split or gone grainy, this is most likely the reason why. Get it nice and soft, then whack your vegan butter in the stand mixer and beat like crazy until smooth.

Vegan butter is a non-dairy butter substitute made from plant-based ingredients. It is typically made from a blend of vegetable oils such as coconut, palm, or soybean and other natural ingredients such as nuts, seeds, and even algae. This makes it a great alternative for those who: Follow a vegan diet.

To thicken vegan icing, you can use a combination of maple syrup, coconut cream and cornstarch. Start by adding 1/4 cup of cornstarch to 1/4 cup of maple syrup in a small pot on medium heat. Stir until it becomes a thick paste and then add in 1/2 cup of coconut cream.

How to stop it splitting. If your buttercream starts looking soft and floppy, just stick it in the fridge (or freezer if it will fit) for 15 minutes. You'll see it stiffen up and be able to work with it again.

What are the 4 types of buttercream? ›

Classically there are four main types of buttercream: Italian, German, French & Swiss.

The best way to distinguish frosting from buttercream is through the ingredients. While both contain powdered sugar, fat, flavouring and sometimes milk or water, frosting does not contain any butter whatsoever. Instead, frosting is usually made with shortening or cream cheese.

Buttercream is a sweet and fluffy frosting made by creaming butter and sugar. Other common ingredients include milk (to create the perfect texture) and vanilla (for simple, crowd-pleasing flavor). Though vanilla is the most popular buttercream flavor, it's also commonly found in chocolate or fruit-flavored varieties.

Coconut oil is a delicious vegan alternative to butter as it behaves similarly to butter compared to other oils. It solidifies when cool and melts at room temperature, making it very versatile. If you use unrefined coconut oil, you can expect a more distinctive taste, but refined coconut oil is basically flavourless.

Heavy Cream

Try thickening it with a bit of heavy whipping cream. You can add up to ¼ cup of heavy cream, depending on how much you need to thicken it. Then whip the frosting until it fluffs up. Heavy cream also works if the recipe instructs you to heat the frosting.

It's easy to swap in coconut oil, olive oil, canola oil, avocado oil, or vegetable oil for margarine. In most recipes, oil is substituted for margarine at a 3:4 ratio. This accounts for any water or other ingredients in the margarine. So, for every cup of margarine in the recipe, use 3/4 cup of oil.