Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
Smooth and creamy and not too sweet -- this vegan cream cheese frosting recipe is one you can turn to again and again to adorn every variety of confection!
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Servings: 4 cups of frosting
Ingredients
- 10 ounces cream cheese style spread (Tofutti, Violife, Follow Your Heart®); Go Veggie® or dairy cream cheese**
- 8 Tbs. shortening preferred OR butter or vegan alternative (I use Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)*
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract or pineapple juice
- 5 + cups sifted powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Bring vegan cream cheese and butter alternative, if using, to room temperature.
- Whip the cream cheese, butter and sugar until smooth, then stir in vanilla.
- Sift confectioner's sugar to remove any lumps. Slowly add half of the sugar to the cream cheese mixture. When smooth, add remaining sugar and whip with whisk attachment on electric mixer until smooth and soft peaks form. Add more sugar if the frosting is too thin or stir in your milk of choice, one tablespoon at a time, if the frosting is too thick. You will find that each brand of vegan cream cheese is slightly different in terms of moisture and thickness.
- Transfer to a piping bag with large tip or a zip-top bag with a small corner cut out. You may also simply spread in a swirling motion on top of cooled cake or cupcakes before serving.
- Refrigerate cupcakes or cake if not serving soon and it's hot where the cake is being stored.
Notes
**My preference is Tofutti or Go Veggie brand for best results. Many vegan brands of cream cheese tend to make this frosting too watery, and the frosting will need to be refrigerated or frozen while frosting the cake in order to keep it from being too thin.
* Shortening works best with many brands of vegan cream cheese. Do not use Melt brand vegan butter or the frosting will be watery and will "melt!". If using vegan butter, my preference is Earth Balance Buttery Sticks (not tub spread!).
** Please keep in mind that nutrition information provided is per serving, which may vary. While we have taken care to provide you with the most accurate nutritional values possible, please note that this information may differ significantly depending on the exact ingredients and brands that you choose to use to make this recipe. Additionally, where options are given for ingredients, the resulting calculation may include all ingredient options instead of only one per line, skewing the totals significantly.