Gretchen's Vegan Bakery

Aquafaba Swiss Buttercream Recipe

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For a while I got lazy and started making my Vegan American style buttercream because, well… it’s just easy and tastes so darned good.


Then recently I made a classic Opera Cake and let’s be real, a cake like that needs something a bit more decadent.

So, of course, I opted for this Aquafaba Swiss Buttercream Recipe.

Aquafaba Swiss Buttercream Recipe

Holy WOW! I can’t believe I was missing this for so long!

Shame on me for being so lazy! Now don’t get me wrong there is a time and place for everything and that American buttercream is nothing short of a dream in more ways than one.

But let me tell you, if the American Buttercream is a dream, THIS AF Swiss Buttercream is HEAVEN!

Light, silky, sensual, not too sweet, a dream to ice and pipe… just pure heaven!

Should I go on? Or do you just want to try it for yourself?

Yeah, that’s what I thought 😉

Here you go. You’re welcome 🙂


4.9 from 7 reviews
Aquafaba Swiss Buttercream Recipe
 
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Serves: 4 cups
Ingredients
  • Canned Chick Peas* 2- 15ounce cans for 1¾ cups bean water
  • Granulated Sugar 1 cup
  • Vanilla Extract 2 teaspoons
  • Confectioners Sugar 1 cup
  • Cream of Tartar ½ tsp
  • Vegan Butter 3 sticks (1½ cups) (339g)
  • Hi Ratio Solid Vegetable shortening 1 cup (226g)
Instructions
  1. Combine the sugar with the chickpea water in a saucepot and bring to a full boil.
  2. Boil for 5 minutes then transfer to a mixer bowl to cool completely
  3. With the whip attachment of the kitchen aid (a hand beater will work but it will take a very long time) whip the aquafaba on high speed until it is thick and glossy and has firm peaks
  4. Combine the cream of tartar with 2 Tbs of confectioners sugar and then add that to the whipped, firm peaked meringue, continue whipping and add the remaining confectioners sugar
  5. Add the shortening and softened vegan butte and continue whipping on high speed to a smooth emulsion
  6. Add vanilla last
Notes
Buttercream can be stored for 2 days at room temperature in an airtight container or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Bring it to room temperature for several hours then re whip back to smooth consistency

If you are boiling your own beans instead of using canned: 2 cups of beans to 6 cups of water.

First rinse them well, then soak them (2 cups beans : 6 cups water) 12 hours or overnight.

Then the next day you will boil the soaking liquid and reduce it down to about half the amount you started with. It should get thick and resemble the same liquid that is in the cans. When that boiled AF liquid gets cold it actually gets gelatinous too! (If it seems too thin just keep boiling it)

For another look at making Aquafaba Swiss Meringue Buttercream and what could go wrong (and often does!) Click here for How to Save a Failed Buttercream!

UPDATE! I have since made another buttercream recipe for those with a sensitivity to Chickpeas. Its made with flax seeds and the result is almost identical, actually BETTER!

CLICK HERE FOR AQUAFLAXA BUTTERCREAM

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Amazing, amazing, amazing. What a wonderful treat for a longtime vegan like me. Did some cupcakes for a wedding with this on top and they got devoured! It was really hot in the event space, but the piping held up well.

    What kind of vegan butter do you use? Earth Balance seemed a little salty.

    Reply

    • Great! Yes I agree that earth balance is salty, so definitely use unsalted beans or boil your own from dry beans
      I sometimes use an unsalted margarine which is cheaper too (but less healthy 🙁

      Reply

  6. I am so excited to make this – I thought I had to kiss my Swiss buttercream goodbye for vegan cakes. I feel like Earth Balance is really salty. Have you ever substituted refined coconut oil in place of the vegan butter? I am having a hard time finding unsalted margarine. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Yes I agree that the earth balance is salty (Ive actually emailed them to ask them to make an unsalted version! No reply though 🙁 maybe if we all start emailing them, they wil hear us??
      But, Ive used my own homemade butter (made form coconut oil ) with good results, just not straight up coconut oil.

      Reply

  9. Thanks for the great recipe! I’m using Spectrum organic shortening. I’m not sure if it’s considered hi ratio or not. Do you think it will work fine? Sometimes I have the problem of the frosting separating when I’m working with it and spreading it on the cake—I’m not sure if it’s because of temperature, my shortening, or perhaps because I use about half a cup of sugar less. I’d love your feedback! And also recommendations on how you might flavor this buttercream. Thanks!

    Reply

  10. Love this recipe!!!!!! Your regular SMBC is my all time favorite Buttercream…but this one is so great! Especially since my wife has recently switched to a vegan diet! I made a batch today and had my inlaws try it, they had no idea it was a vegan recipe, and they LOVED it!! Thank you for sharing such an awesome recipe!

    Reply

  11. I’m trying to make a 6 inched layered cake and wondering what kind of buttercream (swiss, italian, american) would be best for this purpose? I’d be filling the cake with it aswell as covering it in buttercream. anything you’d suggest? Thankyou your recipes are amazing!! 🙂 xx

    Reply

  14. Gretchen, I’m going to try to frost mini cupcakes(with your vanilla cake recipe). Will this icing stay up in fridge and not deflate after I frost them? What about at room temp? Thanks!

    Reply

  15. Can I leave out the cream of tartar. I forgot to get some and have my daughter’s cake to ice before I head to work?

    Reply

  16. Hi! It’s my first time making buttercream and many people told me your recipe is the best so here I am!
    I’m making a vegan chocolate cake for my kids’ birthday so I was wondering if I could add some cocoa powder or melted chocolate to this recipe and make a vegan chocolate swiss buttercream. What do you suggest? Maybe 3 tablespoons of sifted cocoa powder would do the trick?

    Reply

    • Hi Great! thanks!! yes I usually add melted cooled ganache to make chocolate buttercream (less chance of getting chocolate chip buttercream from adding straight chocolate! and I always have ganache on hand or so it seems so for me it is just easiest) But all will work. Be sure the chocolate is super cool before adding, OR if you go with the cocoa powder I often make it into a paste for that same reason (I don’t like grainy chocolate buttercream) so by adding hot water to the cocoa powder and mix to a paste (similar to the consistency of melted chocolate) you are good to go, just be sure to also cool that to cold before adding.
      The cocoa paste version is a good idea because it does not introduce more sugar and the recipe has already got enough sugar!
      ¼ cup cocoa : 6Tbs hot water is a good ratio
      The perk of using chocolate is that chocolate when colder/set is super stable so it aids in making the buttercream a bit stronger rather than softer, because anytime we add soft ingredients to buttercream it just makes it softer and harder to pipe
      CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

      Reply

  17. If we’re adding agar to this recipe, should we add it based on the preboil volume or measure then add after the 5 minute boil? 1/2c to 1/2tsp

    Reply

  18. Made this for the first time today, turned out great! So many possibilities with this frosting. I see it keeps for two weeks in the refrigerator but can it be frozen as well, to be thawed and re-whipped later?

    Reply

  19. I appreciate the quick reply, Gretchen. One other question. I used Nutiva brand shortening and it seemed to work well but I haven’t tried this recipe with Spectrum (the other option at the store) or any other brand. Have you personally ever used Nutiva Shortening and if so, do you have an opinion on how well it works in this recipe?

    Reply

    • I’ve only used Spectrum, it’s soft.. in my opinion, not great at all and the reason we shortening in the first place is for stability. I have resorted back to Crisco 🙁

      Reply

        • I do use the crisco, Someone else recently sent me one to try. Its by CookieGiftCanQueen.com (cake & icing shortening) Its very stable, but honestly I felt like the mouth feel was worse than crisco

          Reply

  20. Hey Gretchen, I made this buttercream and I have a question about the flavor. The texture of the frosting is really good but it doesn’t really taste like anything except it has a weird aftertaste. Is it supposed to taste like this since it’s made from aquafaba?

    Reply

    • Some people are sensitive to the chickpea water. I am not, and find that once all the other ingredients are in I can never taste anything “beany”.
      I’m not sure if that is the “weird” you taste though? I do prefer to use Earth Balance vegan butter as it does have the best taste.

      Reply

  21. HI Gretchen, my son is allergic to eggs, milk, peanuts. I have made traditional swissmeringue buttercream before he was born, but now I need a vegan alternative/\.
    Thanks for this recipe! I can’t wait to try it! Would it be possible if I soaked my own dried chickpeas and boil down that water? And if possible, what is the ratio of beans to water and how long would I need to soak and boil off the water you think?

    Reply

    • Hi! yes great you will love this recipe!!
      And yes to soaking your own beans for sure! First rinse them well, then soak them (2 cups beans : 6 cups water) 12 hours or overnight.
      Then the next day you will boil the soaking liquid and reduce it down to about half the amount you started with. It should get thick and resemble the same liquid that is in the cans. When that boiled AF liquid gets cold it actually gets gelatinous too! (If it seems too thin just keep boiling it)

      Reply

  22. Hi

    Can you add flavour to this buttercream like rhubarb as you can with traditional Swiss meringue buttercream?

    Reply

  23. We made this and it is awesome, however we brought vegan butter from the store and it is contains a-bit soury taste. Just wondering to make it more healthy, it is possible to replace the vegan butter with something else so that the aquafaba does not dissolve into water? Previously we made the cream without vegan butter and cream of tartar and it melts completely after one day.

    Thanks in advanced

    Reply

    • Hi< well I really don't know what to suggest to replace vegan butter with, since you do need it to make the buttercream. I mean you could use all shortening but that would be a bit more strange (tasting) than the taste you experienced. Im not sure if it was just the brand of Vbutter you used? or if you are put off by the AF bean water?? I want to say it is the AF since some people are sensitive to that bean taste. You may want to try a more basic BC recipe? CLICK HERE

      Reply

  24. I’m excited to try this recipe! I made a cake for my son’s birthday party and this looks perfect for some guests who have dairy allergies. I am interested in adding a ginger flavor to the frosting (I read your other post about adding flavors) and I’m wondering if I could omit the vanilla extract and use a homemade ginger syrup/reduction instead?

    Reply

  25. My first comment didn’t post…

    Thank you for this recipe! I’ll be using it on a layered birthday cake this weekend and would like to infuse some flavor into the buttercream. Do you think I could throw some ginger and orange peel into the AF sugar mixture while it boils? Or maybe use a flavored syrup instead of the vanilla extract?

    Reply

    • Hey there, Im not sure about adding those things to the AF as it boils. I was following a post recently about someone who added essence OIL while whipping the AF and it never whipped up. O I warn that may happen here if you add those things since especially orange has natural oils to it. It is definitely worth a try, I hate to say know just based off someone elses experience, since you just never know! let me know if you try!

      Reply

  26. I just tried making this recipe using the aquafaba hack using agar you recently posted.. I first boiled the aquafaba + the sugar together, then cooled as per this recipe. Then once it was a bit cooler I added the agar and boiled for 20secs as per your aquafaba hack video, and then followed the remaining swiss meringue steps. However, when I was done and tasted it there were sugar granules in in even though when I boiled the aquafaba all the sugar had dissolved. any thoughts as to why this is? Thanks 🙂

    Reply

    • Hmm that’s odd, perhaps it was the confectioners sugar? I have been told that some different brands (not sure where you are in the world) have a grittiness to them?

      Reply

      • yeah maybe i will try a different brand and see. I also thought that it could have happened when i cooled the aquafaba/sugar mixture? am I correct in boiling the aquafaba and sugar together first, then cooling, and then adding the agar?

        Reply

        • Hmm, could it be little balls of agar? You can boil the agar with the sugar since the agar needs to activate by boiling, but then you will not wait until it is COLD to whip because the agar will set as it gets too cool. so you can start whipping it when it is “tepid” warm, not cool… and it will be better

          Reply

  27. Hi Gretchen,

    This looks lovely! I’d like to make an aquafaba frosting that tastes of coconut. I hate coconut extract (it tastes too fake), so can I add a few tablespoons of coconut milk or coconut cream to this? Is there anything else I should omit if I am doing that?

    Thank you!

    Reply

    • You can add in your flavorings at the end. But I will warn that anything you add to this already super soft recipe will just make it softer AND adding a “few tablespoons” of the coconut cream will not add much flavor at all, but consequently just deflate your buttercream and make it heavy.
      CLICK HERE for more info

      Reply

  28. It’s a shame we don’t have the butter or shortening here in Brazil. I tried making the buttercream with my own homemade butter, but it just didn’t work. It’s a shame I wasted the merengue because it was sensational!

    Reply

  29. This worked perfectly! I’ve tried to use aquafaba in frostings before and it never quite turned out correctly, but this recipe was perfect. My mixture did curdle and separate after I added my shortening and earth balance, but I just popped it in the fridge for 20 minutes and then whipped the cooled mixture for about 3 minutes on medium-high and it came back together without issue. I did double the vanilla and added an extra half cup of powdered sugar to add just a slight bit more sweetness and it was absolutely perfect. Thank you for such a quick, easy recipe!

    Reply

  30. Hi Gretchen, this looks great and I’m about to try this for the first time 🙂 I live in Germany and I can’t really find shortening.. Can I use coconut oil instead? Or just the Vbutter?

    Thanks a bunch!

    Reply

  31. How essential is the powdered sugar in this recipe—especially if it’s agar stabilized? I’m really not a fan of the grittiness it can cause

    Reply

    • It is not 100% necessary (as there is not substitute for it) it DOES make a stronger meringue so it is really great if you can get it, but again it will work without it (final result will just not be as strong)

      Reply

  34. Hi gretchen,
    I have a couple questions about this recipe..
    Firstly, I find this isn’t sweet enough for me but I looove the texture etc. If I wanted to make it sweeter how would I do this.. can i add more caster sugar or will that mess up the meringue part?
    I also found that when i had boiled the aquafaba and sugar and let it get cold, it wouldnt whip up into peaks, it only went to a slightly thicker liquid. It still came together when i added the shortening etc but just wondering why this could be?
    Thanks 🙂

    Reply

  35. Hi!

    Thank you for this recipe! I tried to make this twice now and both times the frosting came out runny. My meringue was very stiff and thick. The first time, my frosting separated when I added the fats (EB & Nutiva). But I kept whipping, as recommended, and it came back together. But it was very very very soft. So I went out to buy Crisco for another try. This time, my meringue was so thick it was hard to keep whipping! I added the fats slowly and had no issues with it separating. I used slightly less EB so it wouldn’t be quite so buttery… but it came out runny. It’s thickened a little since I stopped whipping but like pancake batter…. do you think it is runny bc of the heat from the whipping? Or any other ideas to save it so I can use your amazing aquafaba Swiss buttercream?

    Reply

    • It could be the excess whipping, since the friction will cause heat naturally.. but I the super soft almost disastrous effect after putting in the fast is normal, however it does come back together, as you saw. The vegan Swiss & Italian BC’s are definitely softer than regular BC’s though, I would say to refridge it for a little bit then try to mix it again

      Reply

  36. Hei hei from Norways westcoast. Vegan baking becomes more and more an issue here, so I LOVE your inspiring recipes. Could you please help me with one thing? I have allready reduced AF in my freezer. It has this gelatinous consistency you mentioned, but is unsweetened. How many ml/ccm do I need for your swiss meringe buttercream recipe? I plan to add all sugar amount as confectioner sugar and hope this will work…..thanks in advance, Tanja

    Reply

    • HI Tanja thanks! Just use the AF amount as listed here in the recipe, 1¾ cups, just heat it to dissolve the sugar no need to reduce or boil for a long time

      Reply

  37. Hi Geetchen,
    Thanks for sharing this great recipe. I tried it, and had a smooth buttercream at first. I put it in the refrigerator and the next day, after I put it in the piping bag;, something strange happened.
    It beuild up something like a syrup in the bag, which came out, as I piped the cream on the cake.
    The taste was still great, but I didn’t have a very nice piping pic.
    Do you have an idea, what happened?

    BR
    Aylin

    Reply

    • Hi Aylin, this is not uncommon, as buttercream is a delicate emulsion of fat and liquid so the temperature changes will cause separation here is a video to help you see how to come back from that!
      CLICK HERE

      Reply

    • vegan butter is softer than real butter, so any recipe for buttercream you make will be softer because of that, even upon refrigeration these buttercreams stay softer, BUT they will work fine under fondant if you do not put a super thick layer under. CLICK HERE FOR MORE

      Reply

  39. Hello,
    I live in the UK and shortening isn’t a thing apparently, what is a substitute I could use?
    Using in accordance with you vanilla cake recipe, very excited about the result!

    Reply

  40. Hey, Gretchen, I’m really enjoying your vegan bakery. Where am I missing the additions for the chocolate buttercream that you use on tha Almond Joy Cake?

    Reply

    • Hi thanks! You can add 4-6 ounces of melted COOLED chocolate at the last stage of mixing OR a cocoa poaste mixture (which will be chocolate but NO SUGAR ADDED since the BC is already sweet) which is about 4-6 Tbs Cocoa plus 3-5 Tbs hot water, whisk add COOLED

      Reply

      • Thank you for that speedy reply. I can’t decide if I want to use aquafaba or flax seeds. I think I’ll make both tomorrow so I can compare and see what works best for me. WOW, this is so exciting and you are a genius in my book.

        Reply

        • Thankyou! Many have had trouble with the flax version for some reason. I suspect it could be that it is very difficult to always get a consistent level of protein from the flax seeds depending on how old they are how they were handled etc…

          Reply

    • Great thanks! It is not a great idea to add more liquid to this already delicate balance of an emulsion. I feel like this BC is already teetering on the edge, so to add puree to it will definitely put it over. I prefer to use powders and compounds CLICK HERE for more

      Reply

  42. Hi! Looks good and I wish to try it but where I live we don’t have such thing as shortening. Is there any way to replace it ? How necessary is it for the consistency?

    Reply

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