Vegan vanilla buttercream that is simple to make and tastes absolutely delicious.
A couple of weeks ago I shared my recipe for vegan vanilla cupcakes. At the time I promised I would also share my vegan vanilla buttercream to top them with, so here it is!
This buttercream is perfectly smooth and really easy to make. It follows a very similar recipe to my original vanilla buttercream with the butter simply being replaced with a dairy-free alternative (I use a combination of soft margarine and baking block). When I make buttercream I also tend to use a little milk to help get the consistency just right for piping. For this buttercream I’ve used almond milk as a replacement, but you could also use any other dairy-free milk if you need to avoid nuts too.
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Vegan Vanilla Buttercream
Print Rate SaveINGREDIENTS
- 125 g dairy-free margarine - I use Pure Sunflower
- 125 g baking block - I use Stork - soft at room temperature
- 500 g icing sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Approx. 1 tbsp dairy-free milk - I use almond milk
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cut the baking block (125g) into cubes (about 1″). Put into a bowl with the dairy-free margarine (125g) and beat until soft (either by hand or with an electric mixer on a low speed).
- Sift the icing sugar (500g) and then beat it into the margarine/baking block – I prefer to add the sugar a couple of spoonfuls at a time as this makes it easier to combine and minimises the amount of sugar that flies out all over the kitchen.
- Add the vanilla extract (½ tsp) and mix until fully combined.
- You want your icing to be a spreadable consistency (take a look at my recipe for vanilla buttercream for more about this). If it's a little too stiff then add the dairy-free milk (no more than ½tsp at a time) until it is your desired consistency. Beat in each addition of dairy-free milk fully before adding more.
- Now your buttercream is ready to use.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For…
The ingredients I used to make this recipe are all free from the following allergens. However, please check any labels carefully for allergens you need to avoid as brands can vary and product recipes can change over time.
- Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans
- Gluten-Free
- Egg-Free
- Dairy-Free
- Tree Nut-Free (avoid using almond milk to get the buttercream to the right consistency)
- Peanut-Free
- Sesame-Free
- Soya-Free
- Sulphur Dioxide & Sulphite-Free
- Lupin-Free
Laraine says
Hi, I wonder how you managed to get the buttercream so pale in colour, almost white?
Charlotte Oates says
This is simply a result of the dairy-free margarine and baking block that I used being fairly light in colour to start with. Brands which start out with a more yellow hue will result in a more yellow buttercream. Whatever ingredients you use, the colour will naturally become a little lighter as you whisk. If you want a really white buttercream, you will need to add the tiniest (and I mean really tiny) drop of violet gel food colouring. This counteracts the yellow tone in the buttercream.
Mandy says
Hi Charlotte – can you advise how I can get that lovely silky texture please? I have tried several times (haven’t tried your recipe yet) and I seem to get a raggedy/fluffy edge on my roses. Any idea what I am doing wrong please?
Thanks for your help
Charlotte Oates says
It sounds as though the buttercream is a little too stiff. Try adding a little plant-based milk to the buttercream to soften it a little. Make sure you add no more than 1 tsp at a time so that it doesn’t split and beat in each addition thoroughly before adding more. The consistency should be like soft butter – imagine spreading it on a slice of bread. If it would spread easily without tearing the bread then that’s the perfect consistency.
Another possibility is that you’ve beaten the buttercream on too high a speed. I use an electric mixer but I keep the speed low. If you use a higher speed you add air bubbles into the buttercream which can then give the appearance of a less smooth buttercream.
Loz says
Hiya,
just curious as to why you use combination of soft margarine and baking block? Would you get a firmer coat/crust if you just use baking block?
Charlotte Oates says
I prefer the texture and flavour using the combination. You should get a firmer buttercream if you just use baking block.
Ronel says
Hi Charlotte
My grand-daughter is vegan and I really want to try my hand at these cupcakes for her birthday next week. As I am in South Africa, Stork block is not available in our shops, any alternative to the stork block?
Charlotte Oates says
Any solid vegetable oil block is fine. If you really can’t get hold of it, then you can substitute it with vegan margarine. However, you will find that you buttercream is softer.
Michaela Cunningham says
Hi can you help me? I’m new to veganism so sorry if this is a daft question but does icing sugar not have dried eggs in it?
Charlotte Oates says
No, icing sugar (in the UK – if you’re in a different country then things may vary) doesn’t contain egg. Royal icing sugar does, but that’s not what’s used here.
Carolyn says
Hi Charlotte ,
Will thins buttercream hold under fondant?
Thanks
Charlotte Oates says
Yes. If you have a look at my vegan vanilla cake you can see I’ve used it successfully under fondant on that cake.
Carolyn says
Great thank you.
How long does it last in the fridge be for use?
Charlotte Oates says
It’ll be fine for about a week in the fridge. If you’d like to store it for longer then it can be frozen. If you chill or freeze it then make sure you allow it to come up to room temperature before you use it or it will become too stiff.
Roxanne Doran says
Hi do you no when you say 2 tsp of chai is that it before or after crushed?
Charlotte Oates says
Before
Kelly says
Great vanilla buttercream. It’s delicious.
Denise wilkinson says
Hi Charlotte I’am going to make a large 21birthday cake ( number tins )so just wondered if you could help me with the quantity mixture for the vegan cake mix please and also I don’t have a spice grinder for chia seeds would a rolling pin work?
Kind regards Denise wilkinson
Charlotte Oates says
It depends on the size of the tins 🙂
I haven’t tested this cake in different sizes of tins yet so I’m not 100% sure it would work. It’s something on my list to do, but I wouldn’t want to say it would and then find it didn’t rise as expected.
In terms of the chia seeds. You could grind them with a wooden rolling pin but you’ll probably find that they’re not as fine as if you’d used a spice grinder or pestle and mortar. Make sure you pass the ground seeds through a sieve so remove any larger pieces.
Denise says
Thank you Charlotte I’ll defo have ago at cup cakes
Janice says
This recipe worked perfectly, thank you.
Charlotte says
Hi, just tried making this and colouring it with red gel food colouring. Complete disaster…the colour won’t take properly giving a grainy/slimy look to it. Any idea why this would be?! Thanks
Charlotte Oates says
I can’t think why that would have happened as I’ve never had any problems. Which brand of colouring did you use? How much did you add?
Do you have a hand blender? It might be worth trying to give the buttercream a quick blitz with that if you have one as I find that it’s can even out slightly grainy buttercream.
Nb says
Which brand of colouring would be suitable?
Charlotte Oates says
I use Sugaflair gel colours which I believe are suitable for vegans, although it’s worth checking their website to make sure.
ceri says
Stork isn’t dairy free it had buttermilk in it!!
Charlotte Oates says
Stork spread has buttermilk. I’m referring to Stork Baking Block which is dairy-free. I’ll add a note to hopefully make that clearer. https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/254263443?sc_cmp=ppc*GHS+-+Grocery+-+New*PX+%7C+Shopping+GSC+%7C+All+Products+%2B+Tesco+Brand*Fresh+Food+-+DTS*PRODUCT_GROUP254263443*&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-faw54qu3wIVrLvtCh2u9QlQEAQYAiABEgIwtvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Morag McLaren says
Can this be made into one cake, or just cupcakes?
Charlotte Oates says
As the sponge is soft, it doesn’t really work as a bit cake – sorry. I’m working on perfecting a “stronger” sponge at the moment which hopefully I’ll be able to share soon.
Gemma says
I’m not used to vegan baking so please forgive my ignorance but is it really double the quantity of icing sugar compared to fats? I know in standard buttercream it’s usually about the same. Hoping to use soon for my daughter’s party where some vegans are attending.
Charlotte Oates says
In many buttercream recipes I’ve read it’s standard to use 2:1 but you can go down to 1:1 if you want (recipes do vary quite a bit). If you prefer your buttercream less sweet then you can make this with 1:1, it will still work well.
Gemma says
I felt rather stupid after posting my comment as then I realised I was comparing to a chocolate buttercream recipe. Sorry. Small children make my brain turn to mush!
Charlotte Oates says
I have small children, I completely understand
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
I have to say, I do struggle with dairy free butter creams….. they don’t always taste that good. This one looks pretty creamy though! x
Charlotte Oates says
I think a lot of the flavour come from the “butter” that you choose so it’s down to finding one you like the flavour of.