Frosting HELP!!!!
Posted by beccalynn77 on May 06, 2007 · Member since Mar 2007 · 238 posts
OK I need a really professional frosting. Sorta like something you would put on a wedding cake. I am gonna use it on a chocolate vegan cake, but i need a recipe that is not a glaze, does not take special ingrsients( like soy milk or tofu etc) and is vegan . please pleas egive me your ideas!! thanks: )
Buttercream is a combination of butter (yes, you can substitute Earth Balance) powdered sugar (comes from beets, unbleached and usually vegan) and flavorings. You can find recipes everywhere. Or you can simply veganize one you find in your Better Homes and Gardens or Betty Crocker cookbook.
Fondant is commonly used as a base for decorative icing and is made by cooking sugar and water to the soft ball stage, adding some corn syrup, cooling it and beating (aerating) it until it becomes opaque mass. Then you can roll it into pliable sheets that you can form fit to your cake.
I have never used fondant, but it looks really cool and is very fashionable in the baking world right now. I don't know if you can buy fondant and then roll it to your specifications, but I would assume you can purchase it at your local specialty food shop or bakery. Since it's only comprised of sugar, it must be vegan. It's probably worth a shot.
I love buttercream. Fondant looks cool, but I can't stand the taste and texture. You can use canned frosting (not sure if there are any vegan ones out there...) and make it look professional. A friend of mine does cakes and pastries (not sure if she has the official pastry chef title, but she's had some training and been doing it for a few years) will use canned frosting in a pinch. It isn't necessarily the frosting that looks professional, it's the application of the frosting. Most craft stores have a good selection of tools. Get some sort of smoothing device (can't think of the actual name - will say on the package, though), and carefully smooth out the frosting after you've applied it.
This stuff is excellent and super simple http://www.veganstore.com/food-items/cookies-and-baked-goods/organic-icing-mixes/Page_5/648.html. Just use Earth Balance butter and soy as a substitute. It's super yummy and thick, like butter cream frosting. If you have a co op or natural grocery around, they might carry it, or you can buy it at Pangea.
For a commercial "quick-fix" Duncan Hines (or maybe it's Betty Crocker? I don't remember for sure), Cream Cheese frosting is (gasp) totally vegan. It's also loaded with stuff that will make a natural-food lover shiver and cry, but you can't deny it tastes pretty good. (At least, I remember it being good. I haven't had it for who-knows-how-long.) But for a professional look, I'd definitely go with fondant. It's gorgeous, though maybe not awesome tasting.