Prevent Vegan Buttercream From Splitting With A Simple Tip

If you've ever been intimidated by the thought of vegan baking, don't be. With a few simple swaps and substitutions under your belt — such as finding a trusty vegan butter and mastering the use of flax eggs or aquafaba — whipping up vegan versions of your favorite baked goods is, literally, a piece of cake. But no plant-based baker's arsenal is complete without mastering a basic vegan buttercream, of course. When done right, it should be airy, fluffy, spreadable, and indistinguishable from its conventional counterpart.

For a well-combined, smooth, never-curdled texture, the secret's all about how you handle your butter. Steer clear of the microwave and always use butter that's been gradually warmed to room temp, but hasn't yet melted into a liquified puddle.If your butter is rock hard and straight from the fridge, good luck getting a mixer through it, but if it's overly melty, curdling and splitting is common. It's all about the Goldilocks range of just warm enough. 

Any brand of vegan butter should work, though you may want to opt for a stick versus a tub for easier measuring. Simply let sit on the countertop until room temp but still firm. Beat with a stand mixer or by hand with a whisk, combining your sugar and other ingredients (use a high quality vanilla for truly impressive buttercream) until smooth and stiff enough to hold its shape when spread onto cakes.

Unlike traditional dairy butter, the star ingredient of plant-based butter is oils such as avocado, coconut, or even a blend, so you can't expect it to behave identically to dairy-based sticks. This includes having more moisture than dairy butter, which is part of the reason vegan buttercream can split more easily. Vegan butter is quite similar to margarine from an ingredients standpoint, but the key difference is margarine can have milk solids, so don't treat the two interchangeably (although margarine is a great butter substitute for pillowy, soft baked goods).

All science and differences aside, the most reliable way to achieve smooth buttercream perfection is to make sure your star ingredient is this ideal room temperature before mixing — just let it sit out for an hour or so, depending on the temperature in your kitchen. For extra safeguarding against curdling, make sure your milk is also lukewarm, avoid adding too much liquid, and mix just enough to bring your ingredients together (but don't overmix, which can also cause splitting).