The other day, we tried our hand at vegan baking once again. To be honest, early attempts have been a total disaster. However, with a little time, a lot of practice and a TON of patience, we finally nailed it! Now, the baking itself was not the difficult part–it was the frosting that was our Everest. Previous attempts have ended in runny gooey messes that we ended up calling a “glaze”. Other frostings tricked us into thinking they would work, piping beautifully and holding its shape, but eventually collapsing and sliding right off when they came to room temperature. I eventually found myself sitting on the floor, back against the oven, vowing never to bake again—over dramatic, I know. Then I came to my senses, got some rest and had at it the next day. Now whether it be fluke, sheer luck or Divine Intervention, my frosting actually worked–BEAUTIFULLY! To make a long story short, it turns out that adding a little coconut oil (melted, of course) to your batch right when it comes out of the fridge (at least a few hours to set) stiffens up the frosting (the oil becomes solid when introduced to cold temperatures and stays solid even at room temperature)…and don’t worry all you anti-coconutters, it doesn’t taste like coconut.
Now whether you’re using a vegan butter (we like Earth Balance) or a vegan cream cheese (we like the Tofutti brand), the method is exactly the same: whip your butter/cream cheese until “fluffy” (don’t expect too much of fluffing…vegan butters DO NOT work the same as the real stuff). Then add your powdered sugar, toss in some cream of tartar (a little xanthum gum wouldn’t hurt either), a splash of extract and shove the whole thing in the fridge to set for a few hours. When you take it out, quickly toss in some coconut oil and voila, success!
Above, you’ll see our:
Vegan Vanilla-Macadamia Cupcake with a Vegan Almond Cream Cheese Frosting
Delish!!!
Happy Frosting..
XOXO,
Daryl
Happily Ever After Confectionery 
Awesome! Thanks for sharing! My boyfriend’s family is vegan, so this may prove quite helpful. Any recommendations on how much coconut oil to add?
Hey Allison! Thanks for taking the time to read our blog and commenting <3…To answer your question, my rule of thumb is "its always easier to add than take away." With that said, you want to add the coconut oil by the tablespoon. Of course the number of tablespoons depends on how much frosting you've made and the kind of consistency you want. Just be sure to mix well after each addition without over mixing. Also note that if you're going to be piping the frosting, it will start to soften with the warmth from your hand the longer you hold the bag, so be sure to pipe quickly, efficiently and from the end of the bag ❤ Hope that helps!
XOXO,
Daryl
how much coconut oil…
having a very difficult time with my vegan frosting at room temp…thanks for the help
Hi Corey!
Thanks for the question 🙂 I always follow the general rule of thumb: less is more. So I usually add the liquid coconut oil a tablespoon at a time and mix the frosting immediately…just make sure you add the coconut oil to COLD frosting so it solidifies the oil.
Hope that helps and thanks for popping by our humble blog 🙂
Xoxo,
Daryl