By Gretchen 34 Comments
A unique spin on Ermine Buttercream uses fresh apples as the base!
Apple Buttercream is a great way to reduce a major amount of sugar that is in traditional buttercream recipes!
Fresh apples impart a natural sweetness while adding pectin for a boost in stability!
How can it be possible that apple buttercream doesn’t taste like apples!? Just wait and see for yourself!
Perfectly paired with my chocolate cake recipe which I also converted to low sugar and low oil
This entire cake has me falling in love!
Click here for more information about sugar free baking
WATCH THE FULL YOUTUBE VIDEO TUTORIAL FOR HOW TO MAKE APPLE BUTTERCREAM
Notes for Success:
Granny Smith apples are my favorite apples for all things baking, but feel free to use any apple you like the best!
Adding flavor to any buttercream recipe can prove to be difficult, especially an ermine style buttercream like this one.
I would recommend to add any liquid flavorings to the custard portion of the recipe rather than to thee buttercream as we normally do.
Powder or paste flavorings are always butter no matter what recipe you are using click here for more about Flavoring your Buttercream Recipes
Cornstarch is a very difficult ingredient to measure consistently with a volume/spoons measure
So while I list both measures below I cannot stress enough how the grams measure with a scale is going to give you the best results.
Changing the sugars in this recipe is very forgiving since the majority of it is in the custard recipe which can accommodate any type of sugar/liquid/granular or diabetic substitutes.
The confectioners sugar that I added is optional, but I did find it helped the stability of a recipe such as this one by absorbing some of the wetness creating a stronger emulsion
Here is a list of all the special tools and equipment I used to make this recipe and cake
This website may contain links as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, which means when you click a link and make a purchase through my website I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you
Yield: 6 cups
Apple Buttercream
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Ingredients
- Fresh Apples 3 large (approx 300g) *after peeling/coring weight
- Water 4 Tablespoons (60ml)
- Sugar of your choice 1 cup (200g)
- Cornstarch 10 Tablespoons (80g)
- Plant Milk 2½ cups (600ml)
- Vanilla Extract 2 teaspoons (10ml)
- Salt ½ teaspoon
- Vegan Butter 6 sticks (672g)
- Confectioners sugar 1 cup (120g) *see notes
Instructions
- Soften the vegan butter at room temperature so it is still firm, but pliable
- Prepare the apples by peeling and coring them (*see video I like to use the apple skins in one long ribbon while cooking)
- Add chopped apples & that ribbon of apple skin to a medium sauce pot with the water and sugar of your choice
- Cook the apples over medium to high heat with the lid on for about 10 minutes to rapidly boiling, Take off the lid and reduce the heat to a simmer until the apples are translucent & mushy.
- Remove from heat and remove the ribbon of apples skin(s)
- Transfer the apples to a blender with about ½ cup of the plant milk and the cornstarch and puree smooth
- Transfer the apple puree to the same sauce pot that you cooked the apples & add the remaining plant milk.
- Return to the stove over medium to high heat whisking constantly until it comes to a boil.
- Add the vanilla extract and then strain through a mesh strainer onto a sheet pan (no parchment paper or grease!)
- Refrigerate the custard until it is completely cold & set
- Meanwhile whip the vegan butter & salt with an electric mixer with the whip attachment until it is aerated & light and fluffy and starting to look whiter in color (about 5 minutes) scraping the bottom & sides of the bowl often
- Add the sifted confectioners sugar and whip for another minute or two until smooth scraping the bottom & sides of the bowl often
- Add the cold custard to the vegan butter while continuing to whip on high speed until all the custard is incorporated, scraping the bottom & sides of the bowl often
- Continue whipping until the buttercream is smooth & silky
Notes
Apple buttercream is best used as soon as you make it, since Ermine style buttercreams tend not to re-whip nicely.
If you have leftovers, you can refrigerate the icing for up to 2 weeks and then bring to room temperature before re-whipping with a balloon whip attachment on a high speed mixer, this should help re-emulsify the buttercream to a smooth consistency
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Reader Interactions
Comments
KatyWould you consider developing a Condensed Milk Frosting recipe?
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- Gretchen
Good idea!
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- Asha Ganesan
Looking for the same.
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- Brooke
Would it be possible to use premade/store bought apple sauce in place of apples in the recipe?
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- Gretchen
I have not tried that, and wile it could work? The fresh apples have natural pectin making this recipe more stable (which is what we always want in buttercream recipes!) But it is worth a try! Let me know if you do
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I think you must be an actual wizard. Your other recipes including more complex frostings have gone super well for me, so I’m excited to give this a shot and report back. Thank you!
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- Gretchen
Great! Please do let me know
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- Miki
Hi! Could I freeze this buttercream? (After icing cupcakes)
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- Gretchen
yes, just please read the notes on storage & notes for success
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- Phuoc
What is vegan butter brand, Chef!?
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- Gretchen
I use Earth Balance and sometimes Gold ‘n’ Sweet
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- Tatiana
This sounds amazing like everything your post!
I will definitely try that.
Do you find the buttercream too salty when using Earth Balance? I have tried it a few times and found it to be too salty. I managed to get unsalted Earth Balance back in May, but it disappeared again from our local Whole Food stores.
Would shortening work as well?
Thank you!Reply
- Gretchen
Sorry for the late reply I did not get this notification
Yes I feel that earth balance does add too much salt so I would omit the salt in the recipe. I thought I was adding that as I note, but perhaps I forgot! Thanks for the reminder!
yes to shortening! I do not use it anymore but if you do you can replace some of the vegan butter with whatever amount you feel you want to add they are interchangeable 1:1Reply
- Lady
Can you make this in non vegan style by using real butter?
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- Michele
What apples do you use? In the picture, you have green apples. Are they golden delicious or granny smith?
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- Gretchen
Hi Michele, I always include a “Notes for Success” section on my recipes and for this one in the first sentence I write that I am using Granny Smith apples, but any apple you like the best will be fine.
I suppose I should make that more clear in the recipe ingredients section thoughReply
- Anu
Hi! This recipe looks delicious. I do not have an electric mixer was wondering if this frosting would still whip up okay with a small hand mixer?
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- Gretchen
Yes! You can do it! You may need to whip it longer than average but it will work!
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- Valentina
Hi,
Thank you for this amazing recipe !
I would love to try it with real butter. Will that work too ?Reply
- Gretchen
Yes
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- Casey Dillahay
Hello, I made your Ermine buttercream…absolutely fabulous! How long can it sit at room temp?
Also, do you have a recipe for holland creme and/or mock?Reply
- Gretchen
Hey thanks great! Once it’s on the cake it will be fine at room temperature for a day or two (depending on the filling)
As for Holland creme, I believe a close replica of that would be what we call here “American Buttercream”Reply
- Laura
Hi, I wonder if you can help me solving this doubt. I would like to learn baking for doing it at least once a week. In many videos I see the use of the kitchen aid mixer, I have a food processor, a blender and a hand mixer. Would it be necessary to buy the Kitchen Aid Mixer in that case?
P. S.: I’m Colombian watching you from the Netherlands, I’m loving your videos
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- Gretchen
Hey there, so “No” it is not necessary to have a Kitchen Aid or a heavy duty stand mixer of equal comparison. However is IS helpful.
There would be only a handful of recipes that would be near impossible to do without the balloon whip attachment & super high power of the stand mixer and that would be anything that incorporates a whipped aquafaba since this ingredient requires prolonged, heavy duty high power whipping to achieve the results of a firm glassy strong meringue.
Now I say “near impossible” because some have claimed to do it with a hand beater but not without also almost burning out the motor.
That said, here is the #1 recipe that would be difficult without a stand mixer is the Swiss Meringue ButtercreamI will add that I LOVE LOVE LOVE my food processor and can’t live without it almost if not MORE than my stand mixer! LOL
CLICK HERE for a list of all my recipes using food processor also known as “one bowl mixes”Reply
- Miki
Hi! I tried this recipe and loved it. I’d like to use this for your caramel cake too, so I was wondering, how could I turn this into a caramel buttercream? Should I add caramel sauce to the custard or after the buttercream is done? Thank you!
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- Gretchen
Yes! Excellent! I actually have a new video tutorial in the beginning stages for how to incorporate all different flavors into an Ermine buttercream (which is what this recipe actually is) and this is the most fragile buttercream to add anything to it at the end it will most likely break, so to make different flavors you will do that at the custard stage
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- Amanda Garcia
Hello !
When you measure the 300 grams of apples, is this before or after you peel and core them? Thank you so much for your help!
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- Gretchen
Good question, this is after!
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- shelby
hi Gretchen, I love the look of this recipe, im looking to make this for a family member who is vegan but also very health conscious e.g low sugar, but I was planning to use this on a vintage heart cake for them, which requires alot of decorating. im in australia so we dont have shortening like crisco, but we have a brand called copha, its a ‘vegetable shortening’, made with coconut oil;
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/48004/copha-oil-solid-cooking-block
just wondering if i could replace half the vegan butter with half copha to get a more stable shape for piping?
thanks again!
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- Gretchen
Hey there while I have not had any experience using copha, I have heard that most will use it exactly as you stated!
If you are on facebook there is a wonderful group called Vegan Cake Decorating, All Types of Baking & Resources
It is a worldwide group of professionals and home bakers all there to help each other with questions exactly like this one!Reply
- Deanna
Hi Gretchen, I love your cake recipes and have made the Triple Strawberry Cake with Apple Buttercream before. I would like to make it again with the Apple Buttercream but will be traveling about 4 hours with this cake. Do you think this buttercream would hold up to the travel time. There are some curvy mountain roads but mostly freeway driving. Look forward to your reply. Thank you.
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- Gretchen
Hey there, so I think it should be fine if you can keep the car cool (AC) keep the cake out of the sun from the car windows and also keep it refrigerated all the way until the minute you drive off.
I think the bigger problem becomes the filling ~ when there is too much and/or it is too soft that always causes the problems, so just be wary of that partReply
- Casey
Hi there- I’m allergic to corn, do you think I could sub tapioca starch by gram?
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- Gretchen
Yes you can!
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