Trying to make vegan treats can be a real challenge, even for the seasoned baker. If you’ve ever tried to make vegan frosting and found that it’s coming out too runny, you aren’t alone – but what can you do about this problem?
Getting the perfect frosting without using animal-based products can be seriously difficult. It often ends up runny, which will ruin the appearance of your baked goods. Adding more sugar isn’t always a solution, as this might make your frosting too unhealthy and too sweet. Runny frosting is usually caused by using the wrong fat.
We’re going to use this article to figure out what’s going wrong with your vegan frosting, and how you can make thick, fluffy vegan frosting to rival any buttercream – without the animal cruelty.
What Makes Vegan Frosting Too Runny?
Unfortunately, runny vegan frosting is a common problem, and it usually comes down to the fat in the recipe. Sometimes, you’ll be using the wrong fat, and sometimes you’ll be using the right fat but in the wrong way. In other cases, you might have the wrong ratio of dry and wet ingredients. The major things to focus on, therefore, are:
- The fat type and the temperature you’re working at
- The balance of wet and dry ingredients
We’re going to look at both of these to make sure you are getting your vegan frosting perfect, without feeling the need to turn to animal-based products to do it!
Fat Type And Temperature
The most popular fat to use for frosting is butter, but obviously, that’s no good for vegans, so you’ll have to find a substitute. There are lots of options out there, but some work better than others. Some people use a mix of vegan butter and palm shortening. This is because the vegan butter tastes good, but the palm shortening is much stabler.
If you make frosting with just vegan butter, there’s a high chance that you’ll find it is greasy and heavy, and it may not hold its shape very well. Palm shortening is a better option, but it has a noticeable flavor, so you can’t exclusively use it if you want your frosting to taste good. Many people use both.
As an approximate rule of thumb, you should be using a butter that is at least 75 percent fat, or your frosting will be too soft and runny. Remember that plant-based butters that are easy to spread at room temperature may be too soft to make good frosting with, so choose ones that more closely mimic butter and turn hard when they are cold.
You should also pay attention to the melting point of any of the fats you are working with. If you’re used to traditional baking, you’ll be used to the melting point of butter, which is around 90 to 95 degrees F. The melting point of plant butter will be far more variable, depending on the fats used to make the butter.
Coconut oil has a melting point of only 77 degrees F, while cocoa butter can sometimes be heated as high as 100 degrees F before it will melt. Understanding the fat that you are using and its melting point is key to making sure your frosting stays thick. You want fats that will stay reasonably hard, even at room temperature.
Balance Of Ingredients
You also need to think about your balance of wet vs dry ingredients. The more wet ingredients you add, the runnier your frosting will be – which is logical. However, you can’t just dump a few more cups full of powdered sugar into the recipe to make your frosting thicker. It will end up far too sweet, and it will also be even more unhealthy than usual.
You need to find a recipe that has a good balance of wet to dry ingredients and avoid adding any extra liquids to your mixture. If your frosting recipe calls for a plant-based milk, make sure you add it slowly, and stop if the frosting looks like it’s becoming too thin.
You don’t want to risk making the frosting runny, because it may be challenging to get it to thicken up again. Make sure you put the frosting in the fridge when you have finished working on it, so it has a chance to cool down and become thicker.
If it is still too thin when it has been chilled, add a little more powdered sugar, but don’t increase the quantities significantly.
Conclusion
Vegan frosting often ends up too runny because plant butters tend to be less predictable than dairy butter. Make sure you are using a plant butter with a high-fat content, and choose one with a high melting point, so it’s not turning to liquid while you mix it. Cocoa butter is often a good option.
