Bougie Brown Sugar Frosting

This brown sugar frosting demands the perfect canvas to show off its high-class taste.

That’s why bougie brown sugar frosting goes so well with our Very Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes or our Especially Espresso Chocolate Cake. And it tops our Bangin Banana Cake beautifully.

There are many uses for this brown sugar frosting but you must give it the respect it deserves. Because this is no ordinary frosting. And you don’t just throw this together like any old icing treat. This coddled classy confection needs attention or it won’t come to your party.

And if bougie brown sugar frosting feels its non-dairy milk mixture isn’t cold enough or the non-dairy butter isn’t room temperature then it will bounce. A broken bougie brown sugar is not what you want!

Oh Behave, baby!

But this frosting will behave as long as you give it what it needs to be happy. And when that happens, brown sugar frosting is a beautiful thing. A brown sugar whipped cream dream. So it’s worth the extra attention you must give this high-class creation.

I knew this recipe was a keeper when Don tried it and said we had to make this one again. That is your guarantee that this frosting is the real deal. Hey! It has the Big Guy seal of approval!

The Bougie Brown Sugar Requirements

So here’s the deal: temperature is key. But, if your brown sugar frosting isn’t happy with the temp and decides to split, as in separates, literally, you can coax it back by warming or cooling the mixture, depending on the problem. It’s best to make sure the milk mixture and the vegan butter and shortening mixture are at room temperature before mixing together to avoid problems.

Also, I found it’s best to use this frosting as a topping, not a filling. Bougie Brown Sugar Frosting likes to be showcased, not squeezed between layers as I tried here:

LAYER CAKE FAILURE (but it still tastes great!)

vegan layer cake — Layer cake fails with Brown Sugar Frosting. It’s best on top, not in between, I’ve found out! 🙂

No powdered sugar, no problem!

This frosting has saved my day when I make a cake and realize, too little, too late, that I don’t have enough powdered sugar for the frosting. An online search provided an answer and I heart eating is my hero. It requires no powdered sugar and tastes amazing. And I veganized the recipe. Kate’s frosting, made vegan, is the best. Love, love, love.

Bougie Brown Sugar Frosting benefits

Swirly clouds of light and fluffy frosting, with just the right amount of sweetness, while saving the day when you’re short of powdered sugar, make the best frosting ever! Mic drop…

thehamptonsvegan

Bougie Brown Sugar Frosting

No powdered sugar necessary when you make bougie brown sugar frosting. It’s a beautiful thing!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 5

Total Time 25

Servings: 5 cups

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: vegan

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups soy milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon vanilla
3/4 cup sustainably sourced vegan shortening or use 1 1/2 cups shortening and omit vegan butter
3/4 cup vegan margarine/butter like Miyokos brand
1 1/2 cups brown sugar

Method

Place non-dairy milk in a small saucepan on medium heat.
Whisk in flour and continue to whisk until the mixture turns thick and has a mayonnaise-like consistency.
Set aside to cool to room temperature until no heat is left in the mixture.
Place room-temperature shortening and margarine or butter in a stand mixer with brown sugar and mix on medium-high for about 3 minutes.
Add vanilla to the cooled milk/flour mixture and blend well.
Add milk mixture to butter/sugar mixture in a stand mixer.
Let frostiong mix on med/high for another 5 minutes until no sugar granules are detected.
Use promptly on cooled cake and refrigerate to store.

Jump to Recipe

Vegan Better Buttercream Frosting is a big deal.

Vegan buttercream frosting seems like an oxymoron, I know. Because can anything named “butter” or “cream” or the ultimate, “buttercream” really be a non-dairy, vegan food?

But it seemed unthinkable to try to recreate all the cupcakes, birthday cakes, or “just because” cakes without a buttercream frosting to top them off.

So the search began.

And some of our first sampled recipes involved store-bought vegan butter. But I wasn’t a fan of the aftertaste. (The taste of vegan butter has gotten better though since I started trying out frosting recipes with vegan butter several years ago.)

So then I thought I’d have to ice my cakes with non-dairy whipped cream forever. And whipped cream is good but not always an ideal choice.

Life without frosting is almost unthinkable.

The dreamy, light, fluffy frosting was a part of every reason to celebrate. Birthday cake celebrations, holiday sugar cookies, and school celebration cupcakes. And fundraiser desserts! They all included our topping of choice!

Yes, buttercream frosting is a shameless constant in our family. It’s bonded to our history like Elmer’s glue to paper. Our life wouldn’t be the same without it!

So giving up frosting was non-negotiable! We must find a substitute!

Therefore, finding a better buttercream frosting (aka vegan buttercream) was the only solution.

Finally, the better buttercream frosting favorite.

So, I experimented with many recipes. Then we discovered vegan shortening. And it was the solution we were looking for. Using this helped create better buttercream frosting. Because vegan shortening works perfectly. (Also, try vegan butter combined with shortening.)

However, we only recommend vegan shortenings that are sustainably sourced, because palm oil deforestation is devastating many areas.

Bonus! Because vegan shortening is shelf-stable, too! We always keep it in the pantry whenever the desire (or family demand for sweets) arises.

This is our go-to choice for the buttercream frosting fix our family often craves.

Vegan buttercream frosting rocks for everyone!

Another frosting creation we like is bougie brown sugar frosting. You won’t be sorry for spending a bit more time on this one. It is so tasty and worth the extra effort. Plus, if you’re out of powdered sugar, this is your salvation!

Better buttercream frosting for everyone!

So be sure to let us know how you like our Better Buttercream Frosting. Try it on our Summer Sunflower Cupcakes,

summer sunflower chocolate cupcakessummer sunflower chocolate cupcakes — a bouquet of summer dessert flowers

or our

Very Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes.

vanilla vegan cupcake — very vegan vanilla cupcake

Or our happy half-moon cookies.

half-moon cookie (black-and-whites) — Childhood favorite

Then, please, post pictures on Instagram or Facebook! Because we all need more photos of frosting. And sweet dreams are made of these. 😉

thehamptonsvegan

Better Buttercream Frosting

A creamy, fluffy vegan buttercream-like frosting

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Total Time 15

Servings: 12 servings

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: vegan

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

3- 3 1/2 cups vegan powdered sugar
1/2 cup sustainably sourced vegan shortening
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1-4 Tablespoons non dairy milk

Method

Beat shortening until light and fluffy.
Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well.
Add vanilla and check consistency.
If it is too stiff, add 1 tablespoon milk and continue beating and checking consistency, adding more milk gradually as needed until spreadable, light, and fluffy.
*Chocolate Better Buttercream Frosting*
Add 1/4 -1/3 cup cocoa powder to vanilla frosting and a little bit more milk to reach desired consistency. Probably no more than an extra 1-2 tablespoons milk needed.

Bougie Brown Sugar Frosting Brings the Love

Bougie Brown Sugar Frosting