This eggless and dairy-free raspberry Swiss meringue buttercream is fluffy, with an intense raspberry flavor while not being overly sweet. The buttercream is naturally flavored and colored using freeze-dried raspberries (or raspberry powder), which gives it an intense raspberry flavor.
📖 Recipe Overview
- Fluffy, light, and creamy.
- Made in under 30 minutes, with just 5 ingredients.
- Bright pink hue, giving your vegan cakes and cupcakes a pop of color.
- Perfect for Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, or for a birthday party.
- Not overly sweet like some American buttercream recipes tend to be.
- No need to reduce the aquafaba for this recipe.
- It's based on my popular vegan Swiss meringue buttercream recipe, which is so versatile and customizable.
- Can be used to frost vegan layer cakes and cupcakes.
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🧾 Ingredients Needed
As promised you only need a few simple ingredients to make this vegan raspberry frosting. Here's what to grab:
Ingredient Notes
- Freeze-dried raspberries: My friend Anthea used strawberry powder in her vegan strawberry cream cheese frosting and I thought it would also work well in a vegan Swiss meringue buttercream recipe. There are a number of reasons why using raspberry powder is better than fresh raspberries. Mainly because fresh berries have a high water content which adds a lot of liquid to the recipe and that is almost always guaranteed to split your buttercream.
- Aquafaba: In other words, chickpea brine! It's the viscous liquid left-over in canned chickpeas and it works amazingly well as a vegan egg replacer, especially for meringue-based recipes.
- Superfine sugar/caster sugar: I recommend using fine caster sugar as opposed to granulated sugar as it will dissolve into the aquafaba much easier due to the smaller sugar crystals.
- Vegan block butter: This recipe calls for stick butter, it won't work with margarine or spreadable butter from a tub. I usually use flora plant butter.
- Vanilla extract: This adds another layer of flavor to the raspberry frosting.
🥣 How To Make Raspberry Swiss Meringue buttercream
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to make raspberry powder
If you're using freeze-dried raspberry pieces you'll first want to grind them into a powder with a food processor.
- Add the raspberries to a food processor and blend for a few minutes until they form a powdery consistency. Wait a minute or two to open the blender, as the raspberry powder will form a (delicious smelling) raspberry cloud unless you allow it to settle before removing the lid.
- Pass the raspberry powder through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any of the raspberry seeds. You can use the seeds for garnishing desserts or for adding a boost of flavor to smoothies or oats.
How to make vegan raspberry buttercream
Similar to traditional Swiss meringue buttercream recipes, this vegan version starts by heating the ingredients over a bain-marie (double boiler). Add the aquafaba and sugar to a large clean heatproof bowl and place it on top of a saucepan-filled quarter ways with simmering water. Continue to heat the ingredients over the water bath for 10 minutes or so, until the sugar has dissolved into the aquafaba.
You can use a stand mixer or electric whisk for this next part. If you're using a stand mixer, start with the whisk attachment and switch to the paddle attachment before adding the vegan butter. You'll whisk the aquafaba mixture at high speed until it becomes light and fluffy, similar to meringue. This can take up to 20 minutes, so be patient. If you're using a stand mixer it will take slightly less time.
Next, turn the mixer down to medium-low speed and slowly start adding the vegan butter little by little whilst continuing to whisk the mixture. Once all of the butter has been incorporated, turn the speed back up to medium-high and whip for another few minutes until the buttercream becomes light and fluffy. Be sure to scrape down the side of the bowl or bowl of your stand mixer every so often.
Lastly, add in the vanilla extract and raspberry powder and give them ingredients a mix with your spatula before whisking again to combine.
💬 FAQs
For best results, use the vegan raspberry buttercream recipe immediately to frost your cake or cupcakes.
You can store this buttercream in an airtight container in the fridge. It will harden when chilled, so before use, allow it to come to room temperature until it comes back to a creamy consistency.
Yes! To frost layer cakes like this vegan raspberry chocolate cake, you can use it between the cake layers as well as on the outside of the cake.
For cupcakes, scoop it into a piping bag to frost vegan raspberry cupcakes. This recipe will generously frost 12 cupcakes or lightly frost 18-24 buns.
Yes, you can! Freeze any leftover SMBC in an airtight container for up to a couple of months. To defrost, thaw it out a room temperature and re-whip as necessary to help lighten it.
This can sometimes happen if the butter is too cold when added, or if you live in a colder climate or it is a colder day in general!
A trick to help bring it back together is to melt a few tablespoons of the buttercream, and then slowly whisk it back into the rest of the mixture. This should help to emulsify the buttercream.
🧁 More Vegan Frosting Recipes
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ★★★★★ rating in the recipe card below and consider leaving a comment as well, thanks!
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📖 Recipe
Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
- 20 g (½ cup) freeze-dried raspberry pieces or freeze-dried raspberry powder, add more to taste/for brighter color
- 135 g (9 tablespoons) aquafaba *see recipe notes
- 220 g (1 cup) superfine sugar (caster sugar)
- 250 g (8.8 oz) vegan block butter room temperature, cut into 1" chunks
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add the freeze-dried raspberries to a food processor and blitz for a few minutes until they turn into a powder consistency. Allow the powder to settle in the food processor for a minute before opening the lid. Then pass the powder through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any seeds. If you're using raspberry powder you can skip this step.
- Add the aquafaba and sugar to a large bowl and place the bowl on top of a saucepan with a few inches of water in the bottom (known as a bain-marie or water bath). Bring the temperature up to medium and allow the mixture to heat for a few minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Check the sugar has dissoled by stirring the mixture with a spoon, the syrup will coat the spoon and shouldn't have visable granules.
- Remove the bowl from the heat, and use an electric whisk or stand mixer with a whisk attachment to beat the mixture on high speed for 15-20 minutes until the mixture is completely cooled and glossy. The mixture should become stiffened and glossy.
- Start slowly adding the chunks of butter to the meringue, one at a time, allowing the mixture to incorporate for about 5 seconds between each one. The mixture will flatten as you add the butter, just continue to add the butter as it will stiffen when the full amount of butter is incorporated.
- Once all the butter has been added the mixture will be thick like buttercream, continue to whisk on low for 5-10 minutes until the mixture is fluffy and lightened in color. If the mixture looks split, don't worry it will come together with enough blending. If the mixture looks split, don't worry it will come together with enough blending. *note 3
- Lastly, add the vanilla extract and raspberry powder to the buttercream and fold the ingredients with a spatula (this prevents the powder from puffing up when you whisk the ingredients). Continue to whisk for a couple of minutes until combined.
Storage instructions
- For best results, use the buttercream immediately to frost your vegan cake or cupcakes. You can store this buttercream in an airtight container in the fridge. It will harden when chilled, so before use, allow it to come to room temperature until it comes back to a creamy consistency.
Notes
- Aquafaba: the liquid part from tinned chickpeas.
- Vegan butter: I use flora plant butter, I have not tried Earth Balance, therefore, cannot personally recommend it.
- If the buttercream appears split after all the ingredients have been added and you have whipped it for 5-10 minutes. Add a small amount of additional vegan butter little by little. The frosting will look like it's not working and all of a sudden will come together!
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How much frosting does this make?
Hi Emmy,
It yields between 3.5-4 cups, enough to frost a 3 layer six inch cake generously, or an 8 inch cake scantily.
I love this so much more than regular buttercream because of the lighter texture. I find it easy to pipe or spread. I use Violife butter for this recipe and find it keeps its consistency well at room temperature, but I think any stick butter with low enough water content would hold together well without melting.
A few things I changed: I never have caster sugar on hand, so I always use powdered. I thought the raspberry flavor could be more intense, so now I use an entire 34-gram bag of raspberries. Lastly, I usually sprinkle a little cream of tartar into the aquafaba to help it whip up.
I have also adapted this recipe into a lemon frosting by adding lemon juice and using lemon extract instead of vanilla.
Hi Halle,
Thank you so much for this thoughtful and detailed comment, I love hearing how you've made the recipe your own! Violife is a great choice, and your tweaks (especially the full bag of raspberries and lemon variation) sound absolutely delicious.
This came out great! I didn't realize it would be so smooth, so I can't pipe it but it's creamy and spreadable. When I added the aquafaba/sugar syrup mixture to the mixer, I blended for 15 min before adding vegan butter. It just didn't stiffen up enough for piping. The strawberries are the star of the show. Any suggestions on a strawberry buttercream that can be piped? I also made the Champagne Buttercream with champagne/strawberry reduction and that is a 10/10! Only downside is I used it all for frosting the cake.
Thanks again!!
Hi FiFi,
Thanks so much for your lovely feedback, I'm delighted that you loved the recipe. If you need it more set, you can add slightly more vegan butter (up to 50g should be good). I would also suggest this strawberry IMBC, I find it great for piping https://addictedtodates.com/strawberry-italian-meringue-buttercream/.
Hi,
This just did not work for me. I note your comment about Earth Balance, but thats all we have.
It was beginning to get stiff before putting the softened Earth Balance in. In the instructions it just says "If the mixture looks split, don't worry it will come together with enough blending." You don't say how long to do it for, but I gave up after just over half an hour.
Much disappointment and all I have after about two hours is something to put down the sink 🙁
Paul
Hi Paul,
Thanks so much for your feedback. As mentioned I haven't personally tried Earth Balance but it seems to be a hit and miss as some say it worked well for them. It should come together within 10 minutes of extra mixing though, so it definitely sounds like something was off.
This recipe did not work for me at all. The mixture split and I just kept mixing forever because step five says "If the mixture looks split, don't worry it will come together with enough blending" which it never did. I was also confused about whether to have the mixer on high or low in this step since it appears to ask for both. Please clarify these points in the above recipe so future bakers don't go through the same frustration as me and other commenter Paul!
Hi Violet,
Thanks for your feedback, I'm sorry to hear that. And thank you for your note about the whisking speeds. Would you mind sharing which brand and type of butter you used please? Sometimes, adding a little extra butter can help if the mixture doesn't come together. Another trick to help bring it back together is to melt a few tablespoons of the buttercream, and then slowly whisk it back into the rest of the mixture. This will help to emulsify the buttercream, so hopefully you can still save it!
Hi can uou use Nuttelex as the vegan butter?
Hi Nicholle,
We don't have that available here, but I believe this is margarine rather than block-style butter? Block-style butter is essential for this recipe
I measured out my freezer dried fruit into a cup and then weighed it, it came out that 19g was a little less than a Cup. Should we be using a 1/2 C or 70g? 70g send to be a lot.
Thank you
Hi Jessica,
That does seem like a lot, thanks for pointing it out. Half a cup is correct x
Great recipe! Thank you!
As I’m not able to get Flora Plant Butter, I had to use Earth Balance (there are other vegan options, but they have coconut and I’m severely allergic.) it worked out overall really great! Wonderful flavor and amazing texture.
I kept some plain and mixed some with a strawberry reduction I made. Both were wonderful. I found I needed to keep it cool as it tended to soften and not hold a shape very well if it came to room temp. So I just did a crumb coat and put the cake and bowl of remaining buttercream in the fridge till ready to decorate. Then re-whipped it briefly and did the next step of decorating, etc. then kept the cake in the fridge till ready to serve.
I think there is stick Earth Balance so I’ll try that next time. At least till Flora Plant Butter is available here - it sounds amazing!
Thanks again!
Hi Kylea-Rose,
I'm delighted you enjoyed the recipe and thank you so much for your detailed review. Was the butter you used from a tub, not the stick version? If so I think this will be the reason why it didn't hold up well.
Yes, it was from the tub. And I’m sure you’re right. I’ll definitely use the sticks next time.
I made this today using bought butter, bought butter from a tub and homemade butter that I whipped! it all worked out perfectly, especially with solid butter, the product from a tub makes a light frosting that doesn't hold so well, though im about to experiment more. I also want to put less sugar next time cause I don't like extremely sweet things. and maybe add some vegan yoghurt for the taste? its the first time ever a meringue buttercream turned out so well, it really is a perfect recipe and thanks for all the side notes they are super duper handy and help stay calm and not give up when thing mess up 😀
Hi Anna,
Thank you so much for trying the recipe and for your amazing and helpful feedback! Yes, I only recommend using vegan "stick butter" not the kind from the tub as it has a higher water content that will mess with your frosting.
I don't think adding yogurt will work for the same reason, you want to avoid adding water to the frosting. The exact measurement of sugar is needed as well for structure so I don't recommend changing the quantity. But do let me know if you experiment!
Many thanks,
Christina
Hi Christina, can I also freeze leftover buttercream if I make too much?
Thank you!