Macarons

Everything you need in order to make, fill, sell, and enjoy your vegan macarons. Find recipes and resources here!

Macaron Troubleshooting: Mottled Macarons and 10 Ways to Prevent Them

November 10, 2020 // by Meggan Leal// Leave a Comment

Why are my macarons mottled and stained on top? Learn what causes it and ten ways to prevent mottled macs.

If you’d like to see other installments in the Macaron Troubleshooting Series, click here!

And for more mac fun join our vegan macaron community on Facebook!

WHAT ARE MOTTLED MACARONS?

Mottled macarons whose tops have darker colored spots and blotching. They look stained, like they’ve had water sprayed on them.

WHAT CAUSES MOTTLED MACARONS?

Macarons become mottled when either there is excess liquid (either oil or water) in the batter, or they were not baked high or long enough to sufficiently evaporate it out.

EXCESS OIL

Excess oil can come from three sources, and will make your macarons not only mottled, but hollow and the tops will be very fragile.

OILY ALMOND FLOUR

If your almond flour contains a lot of oil, there are a couple of things you can do to try and save it:

1. Dry it out in the oven. Spread your almond flour out on a clean baking sheet and pop it in the oven at around 200F (just under 100C). Bake it for 20 minutes and turn the oven off, and let it hang out in there for another 10 minutes before pulling it out and letting it cool.

2. Pulse it with your powdered sugar. This is less reliable than #1, but might help if you already have your oven preheated for the macarons or you don’t have time to wait for the almond flour to bake.

Simply put the almond flour and powdered sugar for your recipe in a food processor or blender and gently pulse until everything is combined well.

MAKE SURE TO USE VERY SHORT PULSES! If you hold that button down, you’ll release *more oils* and turn it into almond butter. Almond butter is delicious, but doesn’t make good macarons.

ADDED OILS

Many times the flavors people try to add to their macaron batter contain oil. Whether it’s lemon oil, peppermint oil, or something with naturally occurring oils like cinnamon or cocoa, these additives can wreak havoc on your macs.

The same holds true for colors. Make sure you are not using colors that contain oil! Candy colors made for chocolate will destroy your batter. Some natural colors like yellows that contain turmeric and greens with matcha can also cause problems.

If you’ve never made successful macarons before, you should leave out the flavors and colors until you can consistently make great batches. That way you know it’s the additive that’s causing the issues!

OIL FROM YOUR EQUIPMENT

If you use your silicone mats to make cookies, or your mixing bowl for buttercream, there’s a chance that some oil may have hung around on your equipment and sabotaged your macarons.

You should always wipe down all of your pans, mats, spoons, whisks, bowls, etc. with some vinegar prior to beginning the recipe to get rid of any residual grease that might deflate your meringue and doom your macarons.

Also beware of bits of buttercream falling from your mixer into the bowl!

EXCESS MOISTURE

If either your batter contains too much moisture, or it doesn’t have a chance to escape during baking, you could get mottled macarons.

INCORRECT MEASURING

One reason for this could be that the batter is too wet. This happens when your ratios are off.

Maybe you tried to estimate instead of measuring, or you’re using cups and spoons instead of weighing out the grams with a kitchen scale.

Even the best of us sometimes mess up too, though. It’s possible you accidentally added too much aquafaba (or water for folks who make potato protein macarons) or not enough dry ingredients.

This will also happen if you are making Italian macarons and didn’t heat the sugar up enough (which leaves extra water in it), or added too much color.

The result of way too much color being added to macaron batter. They are mottled on top and the feet oozed out from the bottom. — I added waaaaay too much color to this macaron batter. The mottling just got worse and worse as they sat, too.

MERINGUE AND MIXING ISSUES

If your meringue is underwhipped or your batter is overmixed, it could also cause your macarons to be too saturated with moisture.

When you whip the meringue to stiff peaks, what you’re doing is creating billions of teeny tiny bubbles. It makes the batter light and airy, and allows it to dry out in the oven. If you don’t whip the meringue stiff enough, the bubbles aren’t there to allow moisture to escape easily.

Likewise, if you overmixed your batter during macaronage, you’ve popped all the bubbles you made during the meringue stage and the same problem arises.

Whip your meringue well and be sure you do not overmix your batter. It’s better to be too stiff and undermixed than to have mottled puddles for macarons.

HEAT PROBLEMS

Even if you did everything else right, when your oven is not hot enough it will cause your macarons to be too moist.

The oven temperature needs to be high enough to evaporate the moisture in the macarons before it has a chance to soak the outer shell of the cookie. It also needs to be hot enough to dry out the macaron before the meringue has a chance to deflate.

Anything lower than around 210F (100C) and sometimes even hotter than that depending on the batter and the weather will not dry out your macarons fast enough.

Chances are that if your tops are mottled, the macarons have no feet, and your macarons stick to your mat or paper, your oven wasn’t sufficiently hot.

BAKING TIME

Not baking long enough will also cause these problems.

Even if you vaporize the moisture in the outer parts of the shells with sufficient heat, if you don’t bake long enough the liquid will spread and settle on the surface. This will give them a mottled, stained appearance.

Under-baking will also leave your macarons raw on the inside, and they will be very fragile. Another sign that this is what has occurred is that they will stick to the mat.

If your macarons stick to the mat, become mottled AFTER baking, are raw inside, but have great feet, your oven was probably hot enough but the baking time was too short or you opened the door too much during baking.

CHECK YOUR FILLINGS

If your macarons baked perfectly with no problems, but become mottled after maturing, the culprit is your filling.

When you fill macarons with something very wet like jam or curd, the shells will absorb the moisture and become soaked and soggy.

Either switch the filling for something fat-based like buttercream or ganache, or give the bottoms of your macs a swipe of melted chocolate or frosting to make them waterproof before filling them.

MATURATION

If you mature them at room temperature, they can also over-mature after about 6-12 hours depending on the filling. Room temp maturation is good if you’re in a rush, but otherwise – keep it in the fridge.

TEN WAYS TO PREVENT MOTTLED MACARONS

Here is your checklist to make sure your macarons don’t come out mottled:

10 Ways to Prevent Mottled Macarons

Mottled macarons can be caused by plenty of different things, but here are 10 ways you can avoid them:

Instructions

1. Wipe down all of your equipment with vinegar before you begin.

2. Measure everything accurately by the gram with a good kitchen scale.

3. If making Italian macarons, make sure you bring your sugar syrup to the correct temperature.

4. Whip your meringue very well.

5. Do not add color or flavor with oils or meringue-deflating ingredients (if in doubt, leave it out!)

6. Do not let your batter sit for too long before piping (two hours max).

7. Make sure your oven is hot enough.

8. Make sure you bake them long enough and don't open the oven door.

9. Do not use very wet fillings without sealing your shells first.

10. Mature them in the fridge.

Notes

Find my vegan Italian macaron recipe here.

Find the ingredients and equipment I use for macarons here.

Join our vegan macaron community on Facebook here.

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Allergy-Friendly and Vegan Pastry Recipes:

Macaron Troubleshooting: Burning Bottoms

November 3, 2020 // by Meggan Leal// Leave a Comment

Why are my macarons burning on the bottom? Learn why the bottoms burn, and easy ways to fix it.

Burning Bottoms

Your oven is spot on, you’ve confirmed it with eight different thermometers. The meringue was perfect. Your macaronage is on point. but your macs are spreading and coming out crispy and brown and burnt!

What the heck?!

Ask yourself these questions:

Macaron Pans

What color is your pan?

Dark, heavy pans (like many used in Germany!) hold on to heat. Imagine talking a walk on a sunny day in a black t-shirt. Like you, your macs are going to feel a lot more toasty than what the thermometer says!

Most (dare I say all?) macaron recipes are written for shiny silver colored aluminum pans.

Aluminum pans (like these) conduct heat efficiently. The only way they’ll burn your macs is if you have them too close to the bottom heating element.

So is all lost if you only have dark colored pans?

NO!

Just turn your oven temperature down about 10-15°F to account for it and you should be fine! AND! This goes for all the recipes you make with it, not just macarons. You’ll experience a lot more success this way in all your baking ventures!

Macaron Mats

What kind of mat are you using?

Silpat style mats (like these) are what I prefer to use because the macarons hold their shape (on parchment, they go kind of oblong).

These mats also protect your macarons a bit from the heat on the bottom. My macaron recipe is written for these mats, but you can totally adjust for parchment if that’s what you’ve got!

Parchment paper: if you’re using parchment paper and your macarons are burning on the bottom, adjust your oven temperature about 5°F lower.

Using a dark pan with parchment paper? Just add the degrees together! Lower the temp 15-20°F and you should be good!

Thick silicone mats (like these) can either hold on to heat or shield heat depending on their color. Darker = hotter. Play with the temp accordingly and find your sweet spot.

Personally, I hate these mats so much. Lol. But my friend Eggless French Mac Master Deepa Jha uses them like a pro, so I suppose all hope is not lost. 🤪

Teflon and copper mats (like these) transfer heat more like parchment paper, so try turning the thermostat down a few degrees if you use them.

BONUS: Two More Things to Try

Are the bottoms of your macarons still burning even though you’re using silpat style silicone mats and a silver aluminum tray? Here are some things you can try:

Double up your pans! You can stack a second pan and it will help shield the macs’ bottoms from the heat while the rest can still bake nicely.

Raise the rack! If the heat in your oven comes from bottom coils, you can try baking the macs in the middle or even upper rack. Just don’t put them too close to the top of the oven or they might not get enough air circulation to dry out properly.

That’s it for today! Hopefully these tips will help you in your baking adventures!!

If you’d like more help with your macaron making, I’d love you to join our thriving Facebook community!

Do you have any other tips? Share them in the comments below!

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Allergy-Friendly and Vegan Pastry Recipes:

Koala Macaron Template & Tutorial

January 13, 2020 // by Meggan Leal// Leave a Comment

To support ongoing bushfire relief efforts in Australia

Printable pdf macaron template and tutorial page. All profits will be donated to The Trustee for NSW Rural Fire Service & Brigades Donations Fund via Celeste Barber’s fundraiser on Facebook.

Name your own price, but donations of all sizes are appreciated – no matter how small. To adjust the price, simply edit the amount in the field below. Once you purchase, you’ll receive an email with the download link.

Use this template and tutorial to make your own koala macarons (also can be used for meringue cookies or royal icing transfers). Be sure to share your creations on social media and tag @cookingoncaffeine and #baking4bushfires.

Tune in to Dream Confections, LLC’s Facebook this Saturday, January 18 to watch her create them live! Click here to view the event.

Get all of my product recommendations in my Amazon Shop.

Grab all my macaron recommendations on the Macaron Recipes & Resources page so that you can feel fully prepared to make some awesome koalas and spread the #baking4bushfires love!

Allergy-Friendly and Vegan Pastry Recipes:

Macaron Fillings

December 22, 2019 // by Meggan Leal// Leave a Comment

From buttercream to ganache and more, find all the dairy and egg free plant-based fillings you need to make your vegan macarons stand out in a crowd:

You can also browse my Amazon Store at www.amazon.com/shop/cookingoncaffeine where you can find all the supplies and ingredients I use and recommend.

American Meringue Buttercream (vegan)

My famous recipe that's no-cook, super easy, and the favourite of bakers around the world; American and Swiss meringue buttercream's perfect lovechild.

Easiest Vegan Buttercream Ever

The easiest vegan buttercream you’ve ever made. Four ingredients and ten minutes gets you perfectly pipe-able frosting for any confection that needs icing!

Quick and Easy Vegan Ganache (Water Ganache)

With a minimum of two ingredients and just a few minutes, you can make delicious chocolate ganache that's both allergy-friendly and stunningly tasty.

Chili Lime American Buttercream (vegan, soy-free)

Spicy, sweet, sour, and salty: the perfect balance strikes in this Mexican treat inspired buttercream.

Easiest Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting (with no cream cheese or nuts)

The perfect filling for your red velvet or carrot cake macarons. Or lemon or chocolate, or pretty much whatever. When is cream cheese frosting ever wrong??

Easiest Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting (with no cream cheese or nuts)

November 18, 2019 // by Meggan Leal// 11 Comments

Some desserts demand cream cheese buttercream – like carrot cake, spice cake, or red velvet. The flavor is unmistakable and deeply missed if it’s absent, but getting a dairy-free version that tastes great, has a good texture, and pipes well can be a struggle. Even more difficult is trying to find a vegan cream cheese that’s affordable and free from nuts, soy, or coconut (for those who avoid those) – or finding one at all depending on where you live.

So I made it my mission when I ran my bakery to get the same traditional taste of cream cheese frosting locked down, without the need for nuts or coconuts, as well as not needing commercially available vegan cream cheese since I was a Texas home baker and needed a shelf-stable option.

This is what was born out of that mission.

This is my “easiest” cream cheese buttercream – so what that means is that it comes together easily in just a minutes with no weird ingredients. It’s very similar to my Easiest Vegan Buttercream Ever, but with flavor adjustments to trick the brain into thinking you’re eating a real deal cream cheese icing.

This frosting is thick, stable, and quite sweet. It’s perfect for layering cakes, frosting cakes, piping into cupcakes, or sandwiching cookies. It’s also great used as a dessert dip!

Red velvet macarons with cream cheese buttercream

I do have another cream cheese buttercream recipe that isn’t as “easiest” as this one, but comes out lighter and less sweet with even more authentic dairy taste to it (think of this as cream cheese buttercream 101 and the other is 201 – and I’ve even got a 301 I’ll share later!) – and I’ll publish that soon. But in the mean time, I promise this one is delicious! I’ve had folks drive hundreds of miles to have some carrot cake frosted with it, and always sell out of my red velvet macarons which are sandwiched with it.

Ingredients Overview

The products you choose here will depend on what ingredients you need to avoid – but whichever you choose, you’ll still get delicious “cream cheese” buttercream!

Fat

Choose your fats!

I recommend using a mix of veggie shortening and vegan butter here. Traditional cream cheese frosting is made with a mix of cream cheese and butter – so rather than go full butter and overwhelm the senses with the ‘buttery’ flavor, I like to cut it with more neutral shortening.

Carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, candied carrot roses, and sunflower seed brittle

You can use all shortening if you’d like to avoid butter, or all butter if you’d like to avoid shortening – but the best flavor comes when you do a mix of the two. Please note that if you opt to use all shortening though, you’ll want to add a half a teaspoon of salt.

Acid

Get your tang!

Dairy cream cheese is what gives the traditional cream cheese frosting it’s distinctive tang. It’s because in order to become cream cheese, the milk is infused with bacteria that produces something called lactic acid as it eats the lactose (sugar) in the dairy. Now, lactic acid in and of itself isn’t dairy or a dairy product (the bacteria in lots of different non-dairy products produce it, too) – but it is what gives dairy products its notable tanginess.

Since we aren’t inoculating anything with bacteria here, or letting it ferment to get full of lactic acid goodness, we are going to fake it till we make it! And we are going to fake it with two other acids: citric acid and acetic acid. Sound scary and sciencey?? Well, sciencey yes – but not scary at all! Citric acid is in citrus fruits – and we are getting it from straight lemon juice. And acetic acid? That’s just vinegar. 🙂

Using the mix of these two acid sources will give your tongue the tang it craves without one flavor being strong enough to be really detectable. So we aren’t getting vinegar-tasting frosting, and we aren’t making lemon frosting, either. Instead, we are making perfectly tangy buttercream the brain will just relate to cream cheese.

Sweet

Gimme some sugar – or erythritol

Some of the most common questions I get regarding my buttercream recipes is whether any sugar substitutes can be used. Yes, you can use confectioner’s erythritol (Swerve) in my buttercream recipes and it works great! You might need to adjust the amount to get the right consistency, though – so add a little at a time until you get it as thick as you’d like.

Confectioner’s monkfruit (another sugar substitute which is popular among the keto, paleo, and vegan crowds) is also a thing, but I haven’t had the chance to play with it as of yet. Once I do, or if you do and let me know how it works, I will update here! Please note that advertises that it’s twice as sweet as sugar, though – so it may take some adjusting.

And regarding confectioner’s vs powdered vs icing vs pure vs starch added sugar: all of the above work! I use 10x powdered sugar with corn or tapioca starch added (depending on if I’m using organic or not), but plenty of folks use pure powdered sugar – even homemade – with great results.

Fondant, candy, and chocolate decorations stick to it perfectly.

Vanilla

It is dessert after all!

Vanilla is a mystical creature in the culinary world that pairs wonderfully with literally every other flavor that exists. And we’ve gotten to where if it’s missing from dessert, well, it just doesn’t taste like dessert anymore. And if you skip out on vanilla here, people will notice and they’ll say something is weird – and they’ll blame it on the frosting being dairy-free. But it’ll be because it’s flower-free!

So whether you decide to use pure vanilla, imitation vanilla, a baker’s blend, Mexican or bourbon vanilla, or even homemade – it doesn’t matter – just make sure you use it! As long as it’s not made from beaver butts, you’re good to go.

An Extra Boost

Totally optional

Depending on what ingredients you’re avoiding, you can skip over this entirely – but it helps a lot if you’re trying to sway extra anti-vegan judgmental minds: Commercial cream cheese frosting from a tub.

I KNOW, OK. DONT @ ME. JUST TRUST ME.

It holds up beautifully between cake layers

Both Pillsbury Creamy Supreme* and Duncan Hines Creamy Home-Style cream cheese frosting in the tubs are free from animal derived ingredients as far as we can tell. I like to add a few tablespoons into the mix at the end because.. why? Well, these frostings have actual lactic acid added (*UPDATE: PILLSBURY NO LONGER CONTAINS LACTIC ACID, BUT CITRIC ACID INSTEAD. IT STILL WORKS AND HELPS WITH TEXTURE, THOUGH). And with just a small addition, it really boosts the cream cheese icing nostalgia feels when you eat it.

Feel free to skip this if you’re horrified at the idea, or if you’re avoiding soy – but I promise that if you don’t need to avoid it, it really does help!

Specific Products to Use

What to use in case you’re avoiding what

THIS IS JUST A TOOL TO HELP YOU – IT IS NOT DEFINITIVE AND WE REFUSE TO BE HELD LIABLE IF SOMETHING IS INCORRECT

I will try to keep this list updated, but please please please double check all ingredient lists before using if you have a medical condition that is your reason for avoiding these allergens. Companies change formulations all the time – even I check ingredient lists for products every time I buy them, no matter how many times I’ve bought them before or how recently. And please let me know if something here is incorrect and I’ll update it!

These are products I’ve worked with here in the United States, but I’ll also try to add more international products to the list as I get confirmation from reputable sources that they work well. For now, check out my Easiest Vegan Buttercream Ever post for info on how to choose your vegan butter.

Avoiding Soy:

Palm Oil Shortening
Country Crock Plant Butter Sticks (now contains a cross contamination warning)
Earth Balance Soy-Free Buttery Sticks
Miyoko’s Cultured Vegan Butter

Avoiding Nuts:

Vegetable Shortening
Palm Oil Shortening
Country Crock Plant Butter Sticks – Except Almond
Earth Balance Baking Sticks

Avoiding Coconut:

Vegetable Shortening
Palm Oil Shortening please note that many people who are allergic to coconut also have issues with palm fruit
Country Crock Plant Butter Sticks
Earth Balance Buttery Sticks

Avoiding Palm Oil:

Miyoko’s Cultured Vegan Butter

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Video

Coming Soon

Recipe

Yield: 3 cups (enough to frost a 6” double layer cake)

Easiest Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

The easiest dairy-free, vegan recipe to mimic the taste and texture of traditional cream cheese frosting without breaking the bank or your spirit. Follow recipe post for soy, nut, and coconut free options.

Prep Time 1 minute

Cook Time 29 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegan butter, room temperature* (one stick) (113g)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening (113g)
4 cups powdered sugar (450g)
1.5 tbsp white vinegar (24ml)
1 tbsp lemon juice (15ml)
1 tsp vanilla extract (5ml)
OPTIONAL: 3 heaping spoons of Pillsbury or Duncan Hines cream cheese frosting - see recipe post for details (DO NOT USE IF AVOIDING SOY)

Instructions

Add butter and shortening to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer)
Mix on low/stir until completely incorporated
Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing on low between each addition until incorporated
Add your vinegar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract
Mix on low until completely incorporated
Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of your bowl
Turn the mixer to medium high and let it run for 15 minutes - or until you taste test and there’s no waxy mouthfeel from the shortening
Add the tub frosting if using, and allow mixer to run on low for ten minutes
Taste test! If it needs more tang, add more vinegar by the half tablespoon until your desired level of tanginess has been achieved.
Adjust the consistency by adding water by the teaspoon to thin, or more powdered sugar by the quarter cup to stiffen until desired consistency is reached

Notes

*if you use all butter, you can skip the fifteen minutes of whipping

*feel free to sift your powdered sugar if it’s very lumpy

*this frosting can be kept covered at room temperature for up to a week, in the fridge for a month, or in the freezer for six months

Allergy-Friendly and Vegan Pastry Recipes:

American Meringue Buttercream (vegan)

October 28, 2019 // by Meggan Leal// 78 Comments

This frosting is quick, it’s easy, it’s no-cook, and just so happens to be vegan. It’s American Buttercream’s less teeth-shatteringly sweet, more refined, and just as perfectly versatile meringue cousin. Dairy-free, egg-free, and nut-free, it’s allergy friendly and you’ll love working with it. Plus, the flavor and texture will have everyone who tastes it in awe.

While American Buttercream may be the quickest and easiest of the buttercreams to make, many people find it to be sickeningly sweet because it’s the sugar that gives it structure and body – and it takes quite a lot. So what could we possibly do to it to make that not the case?

Enter aquafaba.

Tips&Tricks Square — I usually use garbanzo/chickpea aquafaba – but any one will do!

Aquafaba is legume (beans, lentils, soy, peas, etc.) cooking or canning liquid – and it is the vegan egg white replacement for perfect meringues. It can be used to make macarons and top meringue pies, and even perfect little meringue cookies and royal icing. And it gets treated just like egg whites do in all of the meringue recipes out there.

And there are some amazing recipes by amazing bloggers for vegan meringue buttercreams like this recipe by Gretchen’s Vegan Bakery which is DELICIOUS and AMAZING, but they all involve a pan on the stove and I’m honestly quite lazy and don’t like to dirty extra dishes or turn the stove on unless I absolutely have to. So I had an idea.

Weighing sugar to make syrup. The bane of my existence.

One day, while making my easy vegan buttercream, I wondered how I could lower the sugar amount but still maintain structure within the frosting.. And I’ve made enough aquafaba meringue to know it COULD provide structure, but was worried it might deflate if I added it to a bunch of fat. Fats and oils kill meringue faster than you can blink your eyes, in case you didn’t know. Plus, aquafaba meringue usually deflates over time unless it’s stablized with something like agar agar. If you don’t add a stabilizer, it starts to melt and get weepy, and NO ONE wants a soggy cake due to deflating meringue.

But I decided to give it a chance anyway, and I did it the lazy way; I just cracked open a can of beans and dumped the liquid straight into the buttercream.

AND IT WORKED. WONDERFULLY. PERFECTLY. MIRACULOUSLY.

Smooooooth.

It fluffs up gorgeously, provides a silky texture and beautiful sheen to the buttercream, and takes the place of a whole bunch of sugar so that the frosting is only about half as sweet as what my original American buttercream recipe is.

Even being a meringue buttercream, it’s still stable enough to go between cake layers or macarons and not squish or slide out everywhere.

This cake traveled an hour by car, was unloaded and reloaded multiple times, and sat in 75-80° F heat for over three hours and did great! It was filled and frosted with American meringue buttercream.

It doesn’t deflate or weep, and colors and takes on flavors like a dream. And if you want a denser meringue, you can totally reduce your aquafaba down before adding it (I don’t because I’m happy with the way it is and I don’t want to dirty extra dishes).

If you want to check out some gorgeous cakes that use buttercream employing this method, check out @justsomethingfancy on Instagram – while she doesn’t use my exact recipe (because I’m just publishing it now, lol) she does add reduced aquafaba to her buttercream to make it lighter, fluffier, and less sweet.

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Pinterest image featuring cupcakes topped with smooth, white, meringue buttercream

As far as butters go, take a look at my Easiest Vegan Buttercream Ever post to check out which ones work and how to make the ones that don’t bend to your will.

Tutorial Video:

So without further ado….

The Recipe

Yield: Enough to generously fill and frost an 8" cake

American Meringue Buttercream (vegan)

No thermometers, no cooking, no weighing, no timing, no fuss. The easiest meringue buttercream to ever exist - thanks to aquafaba. And it just so happens to be vegan. Smooth, pipeable, delicious, and super simple to make.

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups (4 sticks, 450g) vegan butter*, room temp
5 cups (550g) powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2ish c (125ml) aquafaba, room temperature**

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream your butter on low speed until lighter in color and smooth, then turn off mixer.
Add all the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until completely incorporated. Turn off mixer.
Add in your vanilla and aquafaba and mix on medium high for five to ten minutes, until your preferred level of fluffiness has been achieved. Keep in mind that the fluffier it gets, the less weight the buttercream will be able to hold. I usually go about five minutes.
Mix on low/stir speed for five minutes to get rid of bubbles.

Notes

* Country Crock plant butter sticks or equivalent. For more on vegan butters and how to make them work, check out my Easiest Vegan Buttercream Ever post (please note that Earth Balance and Miyoko’s are both too soft for this recipe alone. Use 50/50 butter and shortening if you’re unsure if your butter will work)

** I add my aquafaba straight from the can - no reducing. Feel free to reduce yours first if you want, though.

*** The perfect amount of aquafaba to use depends on your climate, your tastes, and your needs. If your buttercream feels too soft, reduce the aquafaba to about 1/3c and/or reduce whipping time. You can also add extra powdered sugar to stiffen it.

Allergy-Friendly and Vegan Pastry Recipes:

Chili Lime American Buttercream (vegan, soy-free)

October 15, 2019 // by Meggan Leal// Leave a Comment

This buttercream not only has an addictive spicy kick, but its tangy sweetness will have you looking for new and creative combinations and vehicles for getting it from bowl to mouth. It’s dairy-free, vegan, soy-free as long as you use the recommended ingredients, and I won’t tell anyone if you accidentally make a double batch.

Best coupled with fruit flavored confections, it uses fresh key lime juice in place of your usual cream or milk as well as the vanilla in American buttercream. I like to add yellow coloring to mine, since I most often pair it with mango smoothie cake for my famous Mangonada Cake and Mangonada Macarons. If you want to avoid dyes, use turmeric to turn it vivid yellow!

For the fruit chili powder, Trechas is my favorite brand (when I lived in Mexico, my host families only used Trechas brand, so that’s all I buy, now). If you’re wanting to avoid sugar or dyes, Tajin is a great choice as well.

And as far as butter goes, I use Country Crock Plant Butter sticks now, and it’s what I recommend. If you don’t have access to it or want to use something else, check out this post that covers vegan butters and how to make them work for your buttercream.

Video Tutorial

My buttercream tutorial on YouTube for the visual learners

Recipe

Yield: 2 cups (enough to frost a two-layer 6” cake)

Vegan Chili Lime Buttercream

The easiest vegan buttercream you’ve ever made - in sabor loco chili-lime! Four ingredients and ten minutes gets you perfectly pipe-able frosting for any confection that needs a spicy-sweet punch of tangy Mexican flavor!

Prep Time 1 minute

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 11 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup room temp high-fat vegan butter* (two sticks)(I prefer Country Crock Plant Butter sticks for best and soy-free results)
3 cups powdered sugar (use Swerve Confectioner’s for a sugar-free version)
2 tbsp + 1 tsp lime juice
1-2 tsp chili lime fruit seasoning
Yellow gel food color

Instructions

Add butter and two cups of powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with the paddle attachment
Mix on low/stir until completely incorporated
Add the final cup of the powdered sugar and chili lime seasoning, and mix again on low/stir until completely incorporated
Add your lime juice
Mix on low until completely incorporated
Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of your bowl
Mix on low just until the mixture is fully combined and smooth
Adjust the consistency by adding more juice by the teaspoon to thin, or more powdered sugar by the quarter cup to stiffen until desired consistency is reached

Notes

*For more info on vegan butters to use, check out my post at www.cookingoncaffeine.com/easiest-vegan-buttercream-ever

*If you use shortening, whip the mixture for 15 minutes or until it no longer has a greasy/waxy mouthfeel

*if you want the buttercream as silky smooth as possible, turn the mixer on low/stir and let it go for about a half an hour after you’re done mixing it

*for butter without palm oil, give Miyoko’s cultured butter a try

*for butter without soy, use Country Crock Plant Butter Sticks, Earth Balance Soy-Free, or Miyoko’s cultured butter.

*feel free to sift your powdered sugar if it’s very lumpy

*for crusting buttercream, add another one to two tablespoons of liquid, and use powdered sugar to bring back to consistency

Allergy-Friendly and Vegan Pastry Recipes:

Easiest Vegan Buttercream Ever (Dairy & Soy Free)

October 3, 2019 // by Meggan Leal// 30 Comments

This vegan buttercream is so easy, it should be a crime. Really. The stand mixer does all the work, and in about ten minutes (less if you don’t care about it being super silky smooth) you’ve got delicious, crave-worthy, allergy-friendly, infinitely customizable, perfectly pipe-able frosting to use on all your cakes, macarons, cookies, cinnamon rolls, and other confections.

It’s an American buttercream, but this icing is so good that I’ve sold it by the bucketful and even offered it as 2oz “frosting shots” to a begging and drooling clientele.

It CAN be made with just a hand mixer (if that’s all you’ve got), and it can also be turned into a “crusting buttercream” if you need that for your creation – just see the notes in the recipe.

Yes, it’s a weird photo. I acknowledge that.

Vegan Butter?

Yeah, yeah, I know. “It’s not actually butter because it’s not made from dairy,” say the purists. Well, neither is peanut butter or apple butter, so let’s just go with it here. If it really bothers you *that* much, just imagine I’m calling it margarine.

Now, for this to be the “Easiest Vegan Buttercream Ever” you need a good quality, high fat butter. Most vegan butters are actually mostly water – so when they’re room temperature, they are EXTREMELY soft. The tell tale sign of this is if it calls itself a “spread”. These will not work well in this recipe.

Two good options for this recipe would be Earth Balance sticks and Country Crock Plant Butter (my personal preference). If you have another butter that’s at least 79-80% oil/fat though, it should be fine. Miyoko’s cultured butter should work well based on accounts I’ve read of it, but I’ve never tried it myself as the exclusive fat in a buttercream.

If you’re in Australia, Lis Armstrong of Treat Dreams, which specializes in vegan chocolates, treats, and desserts, advises that Nuttelex is a good choice. “For the oil percentage in Nuttelex it depends if you’re buying retail or food service…” She adds, “Retail sizes available from most grocers like Aldi (best price), Coles, Woolies and Costco (5kg tubs).

Food service comes in a 15kg box with plastic liner. It has a higher fat content of 80% and is used by some commercial bakeries in Sydney to produce vegan croissants.

Even with the food service version, melt is a factor in the warmth, so a little shortening can help, so personal trial and error really pays off.”

What if I can’t find a high-fat butter?

Great question. If you can’t find a vegan butter with a fat content of 79-80% or more, I have had success with Smart Balance (64% fat) for frosting cupcakes. Note that the buttercream will be EXTREMELY soft, and won’t hold up in between cake layers or macarons. But for cupcakes and frosting shots, it’s wonderful.

Another option is to cut your butter with veggie shortening or straight palm oil. I usually use a 50/50 ratio for easy maths’ sake. If you go this route, it won’t be the “easiest” anymore, as it’ll take an extra step and a good chunk of time, but it’ll still come out just as high quality and delicious as the full butter version (yes, I promise).

Don’t want to use shortening? There is another, final option. It’s going to take some time, and you’ll feel like you’re wasting money, but it’s a viable option for those who don’t have vegan shortening options OR high-fat vegan butter available (I’m looking at you, South Africa!) – you’re going to make your own.

You can definitely make your own butter from scratch if you feel like it, but I never do. So what is my alternative route? I cook the water out of my high-water butter and it suddenly turns high-fat.

Put your delicious-but-too-soft butter into a shallow pan and melt it. Let it cook over medium heat until it starts to boil, and let it go until it stops bubbling. You’ll be left with nearly 100% fat that’ll work great in your buttercream! Just pour it (carefully! It’s hot oil!) into a heat-proof container or butter stick molds and pop them into the fridge to solidify, and then proceed as normal.

What about flavors?

The sky is the limit! I add whatever liquid I feel like, up to the two tablespoon per stick limit. Coffee creamer, coffee concentrate, fruit juice, protein shake, citrus juice, chamoy, jellies and jams, and more!

And powders can pop in with ease, too! Freeze dried fruit powders, powdered drink mixes, matcha tea, cocoa powder, instant coffee, protein powder, etc. Just make a paste with them with a tiny bit of liquid before adding so they distribute evenly and don’t cause drying out or texture issues.

Some tangerine zest going into the base buttercream for one of my bakery clients.

And what about food coloring?

For food coloring, I recommend using either gel or powder. You can use liquid, but any liquid you use will affect the consistency of your buttercream at the expense of flavor.

Some of my favorite vegan food coloring options are AmeriColor gels, ProGels, and Artisan Accents gels. Ultimate Baker has an amazing line of powdered colors that are both vegan and all natural, if you prefer the natural route!

Just remember that your colored buttercream will get darker and more vibrant overnight. This is especially important if you’re trying to make a dark color like black, navy, red, or burgundy. Try to make your buttercream a day early, get it to a few shades lighter than what you need, and let it “develop” in a covered container overnight.

The other side of the token though, make sure if you don’t want a dark color to not make your buttercream too far ahead of time! I once had to make a navy blue cake; I let the cake sit overnight and it was black by morning. Oops. If this does happen to you though, you can add in some white buttercream to lighten it a bit (unless it’s already on the cake like mine was).

My beautiful navy blue cake before it darkened.

And how do I store it?

In a bowl with a tight fitting lid or plastic wrap.

It can be kept at room temp for a week, in the fridge for a month, and in the freezer for six months. Just give it a quick stir before you frost your confections.

I’m so ready, but I forgot to take my butter out of the fridge!!

Don’t panic! And don’t microwave! I’ve got you covered:

(If you don’t have a blow torch, you can use a hair dryer!)

Pin it!

Video Tutorial, Extended:

Recipe Card:

Yield: 2.5 cups (enough to ice a 6” cake)

Easiest Vegan Buttercream Ever

The easiest vegan buttercream you’ve ever made. Four ingredients and ten minutes gets you perfectly pipe-able frosting for any confection that needs icing!

Prep Time 1 minute

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 11 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup room temp high-fat vegan butter* (two sticks) (230g)
4 cups powdered sugar**** (450g)
2 tbsp liquid - any liquid you want (check the post above for suggestions)***** (30ml)
1 tsp vanilla extract (5ml)

Instructions

Add butter and half the powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with the paddle attachment
Mix on low/stir until completely incorporated. It’s important to do this slowly to avoid gritty buttercream!
Add the second half of the powdered sugar, and mix again on low/stir until completely incorporated
Add your liquid and vanilla extract
Mix on low until completely incorporated
Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of your bowl
Mix on low just until the mixture is fully combined and smooth
Adjust the consistency by adding more liquid by the teaspoon to thin, or more powdered sugar by the quarter cup to stiffen until desired consistency is reached

Notes

*if you use shortening, whip the mixture for 15 minutes or until it no longer has a greasy/waxy mouthfeel. Use pure palm shortening if you're avoiding soy.

**if you want the buttercream as silky smooth as possible, turn the mixer on low/stir and let it go for about a half an hour

***for butter without palm oil, give Miyoko’s cultured butter a try

***for butter without soy, use Country Crock Plant Butter Sticks (does contain a cross contamination warning), Earth Balance Soy-Free, or Miyoko’s cultured butter.

****feel free to sift your powdered sugar if it’s very lumpy

*****for crusting buttercream, add another one to two tablespoons of liquid, and use powdered sugar to bring back to consistency

Allergy-Friendly and Vegan Pastry Recipes:

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Quick and Easy Vegan Ganache (Water Ganache, Low Carb/Keto/Sugar-Free Option)

June 20, 2019 // by Meggan Leal// Leave a Comment

This ganache is the bomb dot com. It’s ultra customizable for whomever is going to be eating it: it can be sugar-free/keto. It can be made to accommodate any allergies or diet restrictions (except chocolate) as long as you choose a chocolate that is acceptable. It pipes and spreads while still warm so you don’t have to wait hours to use it. It’s just the best.

Ganache is my most requested macaron filling recipe (yes, I actually ran a poll) – and it’s easy to know why: Ganache is chocolate. Everyone loves chocolate. And more than that, it has the potential to be a bajillion times less sweet than typical American buttercream, it sets firm (which is great for frosting cakes – especially carved cakes because it helps to hold them together), and did I mention that it’s chocolate?

Use it on my chocolate whacky cake or to sandwich my vegan Italian macarons. Make s’mores with it. Sandwich vegan sugar cookies. Spread it on toast. Eat it with a spoon.

Alterations

If you need to use it for a cake drip, add 5ml of additional liquid at the start and omit the butter. Wait for the ganache to cool to about 90 degrees before applying the drip to the well-chilled cake with a squeeze bottle, piping bag, or with a spoon.

If you need to avoid soy, you can use palm oil or soy-free Earth Balance for your ‘butter’. And if you need to avoid coconut, you can use palm oil. If there are no real safe solid fats for you, then avoid it completely!

And remember that the sweetness of your ganache will depend on the sweetness of the chocolate that you use!

What’s the texture like?

While it’s still warm, the ganache has a very mousse-like texture in the mouth, but firms up pretty quickly. If you’re going to be using it between cake layers, you may want to wait until it’s completely cooled before adding layers on top. It can be piped and spread while warm (hello, game-changer!) and holds up well in hot environments – as long as it’s not in direct sunlight or left in a car.

Check out the video below to see how wonderfully it pipes and spreads – while still warm.

Storage

Once it’s made, keep it an airtight container in the fridge for a month or in the freezer for up to six months. Yup! Six months!

Recipe video:

So without further ado, here’s the recipe; let me know what you make with it!

Quick and Easy Vegan Ganache (Water Ganache)

A rich, luscious, and indulgent dairy-free and vegan chocolate ganache. Great for cake drips, pipes like a dream and sets semi-firm. Use it to top cupcakes, frost cakes, sandwich macarons, or eat with a spoon. Super allergy-friendly. Gluten-free. Keto option.

Makes enough ganache to top about four cupcakes, or create a drip and ganache top for a 6" cake.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 c (100g) your favorite chocolate*
1/4 c (50ml) your favorite [unsweetened, non-carbonated] beverage**
1 tsp (5g) softened vegan butter (optional)***

Instructions

Measure out your chocolate and liquid, and get your butter out of the fridge (if using). Break up chocolate bars into smaller pieces.
Pour a couple of inches of water into a saucepan and put over a medium-low flame.
Add your chocolate and liquid into a heatproof glass or metal bowl and set it on the saucepan - making sure the bottom doesn't touch the water. If it touches the water, pour some water out until it no longer does.
Using a whisk or rubber spatula, continually stir the chocolate and liquid until the chocolate is fully melted and smooth.
Turn the heat off, remove the bowl from over the pan, and dry the bottom
If using, stir in your butter until incorporated
Line a small pan or bowl with plastic wrap if planning to pipe the ganache later, otherwise get out any reusable bowl with a tight-fitting lid.
If using for a drip, wait until the ganache is around 90F before using a piping bag, squeeze bottle, or spoon to add around the edges of your cake.
Pour the liquid ganache into your container (or piping bag) and allow to sit at room temperature for a half an hour to an hour (depending on the temperature of the room) before piping or spreading on cakes, toast, cookies, and more! It will firm as it cools even more.

Notes

NEW MICROWAVE METHOD!!
Just an FYI: last night I decided to try it in the microwave and it TOTALLY worked.

If you wanna do it that way, microwave your liquid until it’s piping hot, add your chocolate and butter, and stir until it’s smooth! ❤

NOTES:

*I have not encountered any chocolate that doesn't work with this method. My favorites to use are King David vegan candy melts, Enjoy Life semi-sweet chips, and Lily's sugar-free dark chocolate (for keto ganache). Some may contain trace allergens, so check the labels!

**I love using espresso or strong coffee to enhance the chocolate flavor. Other options include your favorite plant milk (soy may curdle due to the acidity of the chocolate, though), tea, or just plain water.

The butter makes the ganache creamier and more rich - but it is totally optional. It may be swapped for shortening, or pure palm oil if avoiding soy, If you prefer not to add a fat, just use a half a teaspoon (2-3ml) additional liquid instead.

You can also mix with nut or seed butters for a peanut butter cup flavor. You may also add various flavoring oils or reductions! Have fun and experiment!

Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a month, or in the freezer for six months.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 233Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 41mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 1gSugar: 22gProtein: 3g

Each serving is an estimate of the amount that would be on top of a cupcake. Your piping will vary. These numbers will vary depending on what chocolate and what liquid you use, and whether you decide to add butter/additional fat or not. For keto/sugar-free, Lily's chocolate is your best bet.

Check out some more of my popular dessert recipes!

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Hollow vs Full Macarons

April 25, 2019 // by Meggan Leal// 2 Comments

So many times, seeing people post their macaron-making results, they comment on how they look good and have good feet and smooth tops and are perfect circles and are perfect.. EXCEPT THEYRE HOLLOW.

They weep, they cry, they beg for advice: “How do I get full macs?! How do I make them perfect?? I just want to get rid of the cursed hollows!”

This breaks my heart.

For those worried about their macarons being hollow:

Even the finest macaron bakeries in the world have hollow macs. 99% of the 1% of macs that come out of the oven full do so because of additives like starches or gums, anyway. Not that that’s bad (my macs have tapioca starch in the sugar and I’ve used xanthan gum on stormy days), but you shouldn’t be striving for that because it’s a mystical unicorn.

Sure there are varying techniques in making the meringue or temp spikes and drops, or triple sifting and baking your almond flour, or pulsing it all in a food processor, but honestly? It doesn’t really matter. I promise. And there’s a reason.

If yours are hollow when they come out of the oven? Ain’t no thang. Fill em and pop em in the fridge to mature (this is a vital part of the macaron making process). They get better and better every day for about a week as the filling becomes one with the cookie.

Here’s a look at one of mine opened on the same day vs one of my yellows from three days ago that I just took a bite of; it has filled in considerably and is the yummiest I’ve tasted so far:

So stop crying over your “otherwise perfect” macs that have hollows. Heck, even if they came out lopsided, celebrate that at least one side has a foot! Maybe they don’t have feet, but you made circles? Celebrate that! Maybe they look like amoebas but they taste amaaaazing? CELEBRATE IT! If you’re not celebrating your small victories, maybe that’s whats keeping you from making progress. 😉

Then one day when your macs come out full, look back and celebrate the journey you’ve been on to get there (and teach me how you did it).

May you and your coffee both be strong,

Meggan

Want my recipe for vegan Italian macs? Here ya go!