At West Town Bakery, quite a few of our frostings are vegan and many are not. The reality is that most of our guests simply don't know the difference, because they are all so good. Here is our base vegan vanilla frosting with just 5 ingredients.
West Town Bakery's signature vegan buttercream frosting is a game-changer for all your cupcake and cake adornment desires. The allure? It's all about the method and our choice of premium vegan butter. While this recipe has been a classic favorite, we've refined it to perfection. Dive in and discover our secrets – just be warned, it's tempting to savor every spoonful!
The vegan butter or margarine is probably the most important ingredient in this recipe and it will impact the overall flavor. Trader Joe's has a great vegan butter, and at the bakery we use Stratas. We like Stratas because it has no artificial preservatives, zero allergens, non GMO, and has no synthetic colors. It's a clean product with great results and a very competitive price.
West Town Bakery's Vegan Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup Palm Shortening
1/3 cup Stratas or other high quality Margarine (room temperature)
2-3/4 cup Powdered Sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
4 to 5 tablespoons Soy Milk
Directions
In the bowl of a mixer with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat the Palm Shortening and Margarine until smooth. This should take about 2 minutes.
Gradually add the Powdered Sugar and mix on low speed. Gradually increase the speed until all of the powdered sugar is well blended.
Add the Vanilla Extract and 4 tablespoons of the Soy Milk. Beat on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, until everything is well combined. Scrape the bowl as needed.
If the frosting seems too thick, you can add the extra tablespoon of Soy Milk. If the frosting seems too thin and runny, add more powdered sugar, 1/4 cup at a time until you've achieved the consistency.
Pipe the frosting onto cupcakes or spread on anyone of our cakes.
Variations
Peppermint: Add 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract and serve with the Devil's Food Cake for a Peppermint Mocha Cake
Lemon or Orange: Add 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of lemon zest (or substitute orange juice). This goes really well with our Cannfetti Cake mix.
Strawberry or Blueberry: Add 1/4 cup or more of freeze dried strawberries or blueberries to a blender and blend it into a fine powder. Mix into the frosting.
Peanut Butter: Add smooth peanut butter by the spoonful until you get the right amount of peanut butter flavor. Powdered peanut butter also works and 2-3 tablespoons should be all that you need.
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