Aquafaba Swiss Buttercream Recipe - Gretchen's Vegan Bakery (2024)

FAQs

What is the best vegan butter for frosting? ›

Make sure to use a vegan butter you like the flavor of. I think Miyoko's is best, but recently I discovered Trader Joe's vegan butter which is equally amazing. Other brands will work, but just know whatever butter you use will determine the flavor. It needs to be softened to room temperature, NOT melted.

To fix this, place the buttercream in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes to firm up the butter, then whip it again with a stand mixer or hand mixer until it thickens to the desired consistency. If it is still soupy, stick it back in the fridge for longer to cool down.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream Success Secrets: Separate your egg whites from the yolks and make sure there are no yolks in the whites. Since SMBC is meringue based, yolks (a fat) can quickly stop a meringue from not forming its stiff glossy peaks as required.

Make sure to open your aquafaba jar in a dry space, and keep it out of humidity to prevent clumping and hardening of the powder. Additionally, adding cream of tartar to your aquafaba can be beneficial as it helps to reduce the breakdown of texture when whipping the aquafaba, allowing it to stabilize.

That's right - you NEED the vegan butter to be room temperature before you start working with it. If you've ever made vegan buttercream and it's split or gone grainy, this is most likely the reason why. Get it nice and soft, then whack your vegan butter in the stand mixer and beat like crazy until smooth.

Conclusion. Vegan butter is a healthy and sustainable alternative to traditional butter made from dairy ingredients. It offers many health benefits, including cholesterol-free and lower calories and saturated fat.

Swiss meringue buttercream is either soupy or curdled due to the temperature of the butter; it is either too warm or too cold. Both issues can be fixed either chilling or gently heating the buttercream.

Why is my Swiss Meringue Buttercream Soupy? This is usually due to the mixture being too warm or adding the butter before the meringue has fully cooled down. Thankfully, it is easy to fix. Refrigerate the bowl for 15-20 minutes then continue mixing until the frosting thickens.

But the buttercream should be light and fluffy, not thick and greasy. If yours tastes like you're eating a stick of butter, perhaps your meringue wasn't whipped to stiff peaks before adding butter, or the butter was too cold, in which case it just needs some more whipping. Or you added too much butter.

Yes. Swiss meringue buttercream can be whipped for too long. This usually happens when the mixture becomes too cool, and it will start to look curdled and greasy. To fix this, simply place the bowl of buttercream over a pot of simmering water for a few seconds at a time, mixing constantly.

Why put cream of tartar in Swiss meringue buttercream? ›

Cream of tartar is an acidic ingredient that helps unstick the sticky egg white proteins in the white from each other, yielding a fluffier meringue. If you don't have access to this, you can sub lemon/lime juice. Just double the amount listed in the recipe. Unsalted butter contributes to the body of the buttercream.

*Pro tip: If you love the texture and taste of Swiss meringue buttercream but want it a bit sweeter, add ½ -¾ cup of sifted confectioners sugar after the butter is fully mixed in.

Aquafaba Drawbacks

Needless to say, bean water is saturated with oligosaccharides. Saponins, the part of aquafaba that is responsible for the egg white-like texture and foaming, are a toxic steroid derivatives that disrupt red blood cells. They may even contribute to development of leaky gut by damaging the gut wall.

The trick to whipping aquafaba is using a hand or stand mixer! Whisking it by hand takes quite a long time and does not produce as good of results. Another trick is to throw in 1/8-1/4 tsp cream of tartar, which causes the aquafaba to whip up much easier, faster, and makes the peaks firmer.

Use cream of tartar.

Aquafaba whipped with cream of tartar takes less time to reach stiff peaks. And aquafaba whipped without cream of tartar will also deflate much more quickly. So if your recipe doesn't call for it, make sure to add a pinch or two of cream of tartar for better whipping results.

What are good vegan butter substitutes? In baking, you can use vegan butter, applesauce, dairy-free yogurt, coconut oil, coconut butter, olive oil, nut butter, mashed banana and mashed avocado. In cooking, you can use olive oil, coconut oil, vegetable stock, or avocado oil to replace butter.

If you want the creamiest tastiest buttercream, then use a good grade AA butter. My favorite is Cabot. You could even use European butter which has a higher butterfat content. Unsalted butter is also important.

Earth Balance and Country Crock vegan butters creamed beautifully. They both got extremely light and fluffy, like a dairy butter, and they helped create a tremendous rise in my vegan pound cakes.