The Best Recipe Of Buttercream Icing - Dairy Free

Recipe of buttercream icing

It can be quite difficult to achieve soft and fluffy buttercream that's not yellow and stiff, even more so when making it dairy-free. So I'll be sharing with you my recipe on how to make dairy-free buttercream.

This is my foolproof recipe that makes the fluffiest buttercream, perfect for frosting on cupcakes, layered cakes or anything you fancy.

In this guide we will be going through how to buttercream cake and answering your FAQs such as ‘how to store a cake with buttercream frosting’ ‘how to make buttercream for cake filling’ ‘what dairy free butter is best for baking’ and so much more.

This recipe of buttercream is so simple and makes the smoothest, most creamiest frosting that’s completely eggless, nut free and dairy free!

A really great thing about this dairy free frosting uk is how customisable you can make it to suit any flavor profile. For example, you can easily make this into a recipe for lemon buttercream or buttercream for chocolate cake. 

I’ll also be sharing some more flavor variations and mix in’s below. And would highly recommend you check that part of this post out!

This recipe of buttercream icing requires less than 5 ingredients and comes together in less than 15 minutes!

If you’re looking for more desserts to add to your baking list check out my .. and… [link]

Expert Baking Tips on how to make buttercream for cakes.

Although this recipe of buttercream icing is super easy, here are just a few expert tips i'd recommend:

• Mix your vegan butter with an electric whisk for 5 mins, until pale and fluffy. This should double the butter's volume and help lose its yellow color.
• Once the butter is pale and fluffy add ½ of the icing sugar and beat for a further 5 mins after each addition
• If you’re using vegan spread/margarine you wont need to add any milk/water as spread has a high water potential anymore and your buttercream will likely split.
• If you find that your buttercream is still too loose after the 2nd addition ½ of icing sugar, add 2 tablespoon of milk of choice at a time until you’ve reached your desired consistency.
• If you use block butter make sure it is at room temperature before beating, as this will likely create lumps in your buttercream.

Buttercream how to make

Ingredients for buttercream without vanilla extract

Here's everything I used to make the best dairy free buttercream

Vegan butter- You can use either vegan block butter or margarine. Visit my FAQs below where I explain how to make buttercream using margarine.

Plant-based milk - Only necessary if your buttercream is too stiff. This can also be substituted for the flavor of buttercream you plan to use like strawberry jam/lemon juice

Icing sugar- This will help stabilize the buttercream and add sweetness.

How to how to make a buttercream cake - Step-by-step instructions 

Like every buttercream/frosting, begin by creaming the butter (plant-based) on its own for 5 mins until pale and fluffy. Once the butter is pale and fluffy add ½ of the icing sugar and beat for a further 5 mins. 

Add the remaining icing sugar and beat for a further 5mins. 

Once the buttercream is light, pale and fluffy you can now use it to fill and ice your cakes. If you want to ice a layered cake, I'd recommend fully coating the cake in buttercream - this will lock in all the crumbs, and refrigerate for 30 mins. This is known as a crumb coat. 

Then ice again with a second layer of buttercream smoothing it out to produce a nice neat finish. 

You can also leave the cake with 1 coat of buttercream for a semi naked look, or dollop all the buttercream at once without crumb coating and instead create dips and flicks in the frosting for a more rustic look.

Flavor Variations and Mixins

There's so many different flavors you can make with this easy dairy free buttercream. Here are some examples:

Caramel

Simply fold in some caramel into your buttercream for a more sweetened frosting or add a sprinkle of sea salt for a little balance. This would work really well for a chocolate and caramel cake, coffee and caramel or just a caramel cake in general!

You can use my easy caramel recipe here [link] that takes less than 10 mins to put together! Perfect to make when you're waiting for your cake to bake.

Chocolate

This easy simple vegan frosting also makes a delicious buttercream for chocolate cake. To go the extra mile you can create a little dip in your buttercream when layering your cakes and fill it with some ganache. Which is extremely simple to make and can be made in the microwave! 

To make dairy free chocolate buttercream use these measurements: 20g of cocoa, 150g vegan/dairy free butter and 220g icing sugar and follow the same method in this recipe.

Cream Cheese

If you wanted to make buttercream with cream cheese then I’d recommend following my foolproof vegan cream cheese frosting recipe [link] that goes brilliantly with carrot and red velvet cake! [link]

Let me know in the comments if you try these variations or if you came up with your own!

FAQs

Can I use this buttercream for cake filling ?

Yes, the buttercream can be used for filling cakes, crumb coat, icing cakes, piping, cupcakes.

How much buttercream for a cake ?

Follow these measurements on : How much buttercream to cover a cake uk 

• How much buttercream for 6 inch cake uk - These measurements is enough to ice and fill a 2 layer 6 inch cake.
• How much buttercream for an 8 inch cake -  These measurements is more than enough to ice a 1 layer 8 inch cake, but would recommend doubling this recipe for a 2 layer 8 inch cake.

How can you make buttercream using margarine ?

You can make fluffy dairy free butter in the same way, however, as spreads usually have a larger water content you’ll find the buttercream becomes soft and creamy a lot faster, and will most likely not require any additional milk.

What dairy free butter is best for baking  ?

For buttercreams I will recommend block butters to be the best option, but margarines/spreads will still work.

Storing and freezing

Can buttercream icing be frozen ?

Yes, you can freeze buttercream in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

How long buttercream last in fridge ?

You can store your buttercream in the fridge for up to 2weeks in an airtight container.

Let me know if you followed this recipe of buttercream icing

Recipe of buttercream icing

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