Vegan Orange Creme Frosting Recipe

Vegan Orange Creme Frosting Recipe

Use your favorite vegan buttery spread instead of the soy-free Spectrum Organic Shortening, if you prefer.

In a mixing bowl beat:

1/4 cup Spectrum Organic Shortening
1 teaspoon bourbon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons fresh orange juice- more as needed
2 cups organic powdered sugar



Start with 2 tablespoons juice. Don't add too much juice too soon. Go slowly. Beat on medium high until the frosting is smooth and creamy. If it is too thin, add more sugar; too stiff, add a spoonful of orange juice. You want a medium bodied icing.

Spoon the frosting into a zip-closing plastic sandwich baggie, press out the air and seal tight. Cut a very small hole in one of the bottom corners-- not too big. To frost, place the cut tip over the cupcake, near an outer edge, and squeeze the bag of frosting, gripping it tightly and moving in a circular motion, spiraling in toward the center, until the swirl of icing covers the cupcake.

Top with a few pieces of orange zest. Or try a sprinkle of flaked coconut, finely chopped pecans or walnuts.

Place in a freezable container to chill or freeze. Once frozen, you can wrap each cupcake individually for single treats, if you like. Remove wrapping before thawing. To keep the icing intact.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Karina's Notes:

This cake batter would make a luscious orange birthday cake. The amount of batter in this recipe should make one 8 or 9-inch round layer. Double it for a two-pan layer cake; and double the frosting.

If you can use eggs, use 2 large happy eggs, beaten.

Orange juice should be fresh squeezed at room temperature. I use California navel oranges. Using an ice cold commercial orange juice with added vitamin C, or citric acid, may affect the batter's consistency and rise (too much acid).

Before you grate the zest, wash the orange. And don't include the bitter white layer.

For those of you needing a citrus-free birthday cake, try my Banana Spice Cake and Cupcakes recipe.

For those of you unable to find sorghum flour, I imagine you can substitute rice flour. I'm not a big rice flour fan, but if it's the one gluten-free flour you can use, try it and let me know how it works. I might let the batter sit for a few minutes, too, if using rice flour. This helps soften the gritty texture of it.

Sugar provides some of the structure of this cake. If you shun cane sugar and use a liquid sweetener instead, you may have to add more structure. Those of you more adept at baking with agave, please leave a comment if you have some insight for our sugar-free readers.