Vegan Chocolate Frosting Recipe

Once I had a good vegan chocolate cake recipe (click here for the recipe), I set about figuring out how to make a good vegan chocolate frosting so that I could use my delicious vegan cake recipe for birthdays and other frosted cake occasions. This frosting is the result of my efforts. It is completely vegan, sweet (but not too sweet), chocolaty, and it spreads well.

A note on the ingredients:

As always with vegan cooking, be sure to check all of your ingredients to verify that they too are completely vegan. Some brands of margarine or soy milk, for instance, can sometimes have non-vegan ingredients, so check the label thoroughly. Also, many people are not aware of the fact that the bleaching process for cane sugar uses animal bones, which certainly aren't vegan! If you want a strictly vegan result, make sure that you use a sugar that either specifies that it is vegan or one that is made from beet sugars (which use a different bleaching process that does not involve animal-derived ingredients). If you are a strict vegan and can't find a good vegan powdered sugar for this recipe, but have a good food processor, consider using the process detailed here to make "veganized" powdered sugar yourself.

Vegan Chocolate Frosting Recipe

frosts one cake, up to two layers

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegan margarine

2 cups vegan powdered sugar*

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons vegan soymilk

1/3 cup cocoa powder (or more)

a dash of salt

* If you want this to be strictly vegan, make sure that the powdered sugar you use is made from unbleached sugar (bleached sugar is often bleached in a process that uses animal bones). See note above the recipe about vegan ingredients for more information.

Preparation Instructions:

1. Soften the vegan margarine. (This would be a good step to do while baking the cake). Once the cake has cooled, start making your frosting:

2. Using an electric mixer, cream the sugar into the softened margarine. Then add the vanilla extract, soymilk, cocoa powder, and salt. Mix well. If it is too thick, add a very small amount of soymilk, and if it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. Continue to mix until the frosting is light and fluffy.

3. Frost your cake.

4. Refrigerate for at least an hour to let the frosting set. Enjoy!

5. To store, seal the cake in an airtight container and keep refrigerated.

Comments

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Aminou 2 years ago

my cousin is crazy﻿ about mokyens and we're going to give her a monkey themed baby shower. what kind of frosting did you use? how did you make the light color? what kind of bowl did you use to bake the cake? can i get the recipe? thanks!

Miss Crayola 6 years agofrom Sainte-Marie, QC, Canada

Wow! This frosting was really good. It was just the touch my not-so-sweet brownies needed! Thanks a lot!

lactose intolerant 6 years ago

i thought it tasted kinda weird, so i added ground coffee to it...it tastes just like a mocha!

RubyG 6 years ago

Actually, C&H very much uses bone char...

Thank you for taking the time to contact C&H Sugar regarding our use of natural charcoal. Natural charcoal is a sterile material used to remove color, impurities and certain naturally occurring minerals from sugar during the refining process. It acts similarly to a coffee filter and is not in the sugar itself. There are no animal products in C&H Sugar. C&H sugars are certified kosher, pareve.

The safe and long-standing use of natural charcoal in the sugar refinement process is the best available in the sugar industry and is approved and certified safe by both the FDA and USDA. Consumers can be assured that all materials used in the C&H refining process are fully approved as required by the federal government’s strict manufacturing standards.

The natural charcoal we use is made exclusively from the bones of non-European cattle. These healthy bones are incinerated for 12 hours at temperatures reaching over 700 degrees centigrade. This burning process destroys all organic matter (including viruses, bacteria and proteins), leaving only an inert granular substance called natural charcoal that is about 10% elemental carbon and about 90% calcium hydroxyapatite.

Since 1906, C&H has produced the highest quality pure cane sugars. We take pride in the fact that our sugars are 100% pure cane and do not contain fillers of any kind. We do not bleach our sugar. Our brown sugars contain no added flavoring or coloring as the molasses flavor is derived naturally from cane, through crystallization.

We also produce a natural Washed Raw Sugar which is crystallized from pressed cane juice and is not filtered over natural charcoal. Many consumers enjoy this natural turbinado sugar for its crunchy texture and its rich, subtle molasses flavor. Our newest product, C&H Pure Cane Certified Organic Sugar also does not pass through this filter.

I sincerely hope that the foregoing answers your questions and addresses your concerns.

Sincerely,

Connie C. Hunter, C&H Sugar Co

lori 6 years ago

I used almond milk instead of soy (i find it creamier) added shortening for consistency-it made it thicker so i could pipe it on. Delicious, thank you!

krisgrl 7 years ago

The icing (I just made the icing lol...) was so creamy and fantastically good! Loved it! I actually used less icing sugar and it was perfect.

mike 7 years ago

But it does contain gmo sugar because 90% of beets in the USA are roundup ready.

Lauren 7 years ago

OMG. Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I have been looking forever to find the perfect vegan chocolate icing. This was amazing and perfect. I added a bit more (like, doubled) the cocoa powder and added a 1/2 tsp more of vanilla- but it was really really perfect. Thanks so much!

Author

Melissa Ray Davis 7 years agofrom Swannanoa, NC

Yes, if the brand you are buying specifies that it comes exclusively from sugar beets, you're safe. More and more companies are becoming more forthcoming with their ingredients, which is making things much easier for vegans than they were 10 years ago. :-)

patfromlogan 7 years ago

there is no bone char in C&H - and there is bone char in some sugar cane sugars, but not in any sugar beet sugar.