Hi all!
I have a request for a vegan cake and I was wondering if anyone had a good decorating icing recipe that I could use. I have the cake recipe, but nothing to decorate with.
Thanks in advance.
Here's a link I found just googling "vegan buttercream recipe"...http://www.veganchef.com/vgnbttrcrm.htm . Earth balance is a vegan margarine.
I've never tried making the recipe above....hopefully there are some folks on here that can recommend one that they've tried. Best of luck!
Decorators Icing (the one that is pure shortening with powdered sugar, with either water, non dairy coffee creamer, or soy milk) is vegan, for the most part. I made mine with soy milk for a while (Im lactose intolerant), and it was fine.)
(I may get the specifics wrong on this part, but work with me 
Many sugar processors use bone char as their charcoal activated filtering method, so if a person is very strict, this may not be okay.
You can buy "vegan powdered sugar," it is just expensive.
Be VERY careful with converting to vegan, because non-dairy creamer is NOT necessarily vegan... and a vegan would not want any cross contamination. Please be mindful of this. Often it is for religious reasons, allergies or ethical beliefs. It's to be taken VERY seriously. And most vegan do not want anything to do with hydrogenated oils either. It's best to ask for specifics...
a few hidden animal ingredients in non-dairy products.
Casein : animal
Whey: animal
albumen: egg dirivitive
I hope this helps.
I just purchased the Babycakes cookbook from the Babycakes Bakery in NYC, they are vegan and mostly sugar free as well. It is by Erin McKenna. Google it, however if you can't find it online, just pm me and I can share the recipe for her frostings!
Hope this helps!
Megan
Be adviced that selling ANY "BabyCakes" products (using their recipes for profit) can result in a lawsuit. I spoke to Erin on the phone last year.
I called to ask about her frosting recipe for a client of mine. It is very runny at room temp, and has to be refrigerated to remain firm. She was very helpful, but she did mention that ALL her recipes are under copyright. I decided to create my own sugar-free/vegan buttercream and it is still being "tweaked".
People can do what they want, but I just thought you'd want to know that her recipes were shared for (non-profit) home baking.
I used this to decorate the lamb cake in my photos (oh, the irony!!):
Vegan Fluffy Buttercream Frosting
½ cup nonhydrogenated shortening
½ cup nonhydrogenated margarine (like Earth Balance)
3 ½ cups confectioners sugar, sifted if clumpy
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup plain soy milk or soy creamer
Beat the shortening and margarine together until well combined and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes. Add the vanilla and soy milk, beat for another 5 to 7 minutes until fluffy.
Be adviced that selling ANY "BabyCakes" products (using their recipes for profit) can result in a lawsuit. I spoke to Erin on the phone last year.
I called to ask about her frosting recipe for a client of mine. It is very runny at room temp, and has to be refrigerated to remain firm. She was very helpful, but she did mention that ALL her recipes are under copyright. I decided to create my own sugar-free/vegan buttercream and it is still being "tweaked".
People can do what they want, but I just thought you'd want to know that her recipes were shared for (non-profit) home baking.
I didn't know that one cannot use recipes from copyright books for profit, I thought you can't print those recipes or photocopy etc.but
once you buy a book whether its a knitting, cooking or whatever it is yours to make and do whatever you want with the product.
Am I wrong with this assumption?
Be adviced that selling ANY "BabyCakes" products (using their recipes for profit) can result in a lawsuit. I spoke to Erin on the phone last year.
I called to ask about her frosting recipe for a client of mine. It is very runny at room temp, and has to be refrigerated to remain firm. She was very helpful, but she did mention that ALL her recipes are under copyright. I decided to create my own sugar-free/vegan buttercream and it is still being "tweaked".
People can do what they want, but I just thought you'd want to know that her recipes were shared for (non-profit) home baking.
WHAT? I don't think that's possible.
Mike
Really? I was unsure last year, so I called them directly. I may check with my FIL (lawyer/judge). They were very helpful/nice, but I was told they're recipes are protected and were printed for home use only.
I'm always uncomfortable using exact recipes for profit, so I change 25% or more of that recipe, method included... maybe this post makes me sound stupid... just erring on the side of caution.
I guess it would make things easier for everyone if this wasn't/isn't the case...
Here are a couple concerns that I have:
Is powdered sugar considered vegan? I know that powdered sugar is bacisly fine ground granulated sugar which must vegans are again because there is animal products in the porcessing of it. Also it has a small amount of cornstarch. Is that ok?
I need a recipe that will hold up at room temp. Looking at the Babycakes book, their icing is refered to as icing/sauce and reading further is sounds like once it comes to room temp, it 'melts' down.
JGMB, how does your recipe hold up at room temp?
I work for a healthy food bakery and the cake is a request from my boss (who I am hoping will promote me soon!) and is going to a party for the Regional manager for my region who is a strict STRICT vegan. I CAN NOT mess this up!
You can find vegan sugar PS, 100% beet sugar, no bone char used but it can be expensive ($2.99/lb) so charge more. I sometimes make my own powdered sugar grinding down the granulated sugar adding a bit of cornstarch. I've even made it out of evap cane juice... it's not white but color was added anyway for the icing. Some vegans care, and some do the best they can...it's one world and vegans make up only 1% of it.
Some religions believe that if they consume ANY animal products they will go to Hell or pay dearly in their next life. I have total respect for this, so I'm am extra careful. I am reminded of the French fry controversy where many Hindus sued (McD I believe) for falsely claiming their fries were indeed made with only veg oil... not lard. 
~ If someone says: "I can't use X because of my beliefs", I hope people honeor that and are not not doing the old: "Heh heh heh, they'll never know... a little X never hurt anyone". This is why vegans are often not comfortable with anyone but other vegans cooking for them... it comes down to trust.
Good for you for caring about your customer's preference!
OH, if you're asking about cornstarch, yes it's fine.
I used this to decorate the lamb cake in my photos (oh, the irony!!):
Vegan Fluffy Buttercream Frosting
½ cup nonhydrogenated shortening
½ cup nonhydrogenated margarine (like Earth Balance)
3 ½ cups confectioners sugar, sifted if clumpy
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup plain soy milk or soy creamer
Beat the shortening and margarine together until well combined and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes. Add the vanilla and soy milk, beat for another 5 to 7 minutes until fluffy.
This is almost exactly the recipe I used on my vegan hamburger cake...more irony! 
And yes, it's fine at room temp.
Here are a couple concerns that I have:
Is powdered sugar considered vegan? I know that powdered sugar is bacisly fine ground granulated sugar which must vegans are again because there is animal products in the porcessing of it. Also it has a small amount of cornstarch. Is that ok?
I need a recipe that will hold up at room temp. JGMB, how does your recipe hold up at room temp?
I don't know about the whole powdered sugar thing, but this recipe came straight from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World," if that helps in any way.
And, yes, it holds up great at room temp and it pipes beautifully!
but this recipe came straight from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World," if that helps in any way.
I LOVE this book and highly recommend it to anyone who thinks they may need to bake vegan. I am not vegan, but these are TASTY recipes!!!
Thank you for the recommondation on the book SpringFlour! I have their cookie book but I have yet to make anything from it, and I always wondered about their cupcake book.
I know that some people have a small problem with cookie book just because some recipes call for honey and most vegans I know don't eat honey. I want to make tasty treats but I want to respect someone elses life style.
Thanks again for all the advise from everyone! I love cakecentral because SOMEONE always has the answers!
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