Icing on the Cake

I received a funny yet definitely helpful present from my co-worker this year - The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Baking.  I'll always be the first to admit that I'm no Iron Chef, so this book was perfect for a beginner cook like me.  Everything is simplified and there's a great section in the book about egg and dairy product substitutions.
The first recipes I tried from this book were the recipes for vegan mocha cake and vegan vanilla bean frosting.  I think my mocha cake turned into a chocolate cake which was a bit disappointing, but the frosting made up for it twice over.  It was the first time I ever used extract from a vanilla bean pod and it made all the difference in the world.  I was a little wary at how such a small amount of extract (scraping a vanilla bean pod can get a little sticky) would make the frosting taste better, but now I'm a convert.  This frosting was so good because it wasn't too sweet.  When I was younger, I was always excited to eat the icing off a cake and get as much sugar as I can into my system, but at some point in my life, I became pretty sick of super sweet icing.  So, I was pretty surprised when I found myself actually eating the spare icing I made for this cake.

For my shortening, I used Spectrum Organic All Vegetable Shortening which I found at Micronesia Mall Pay-Less Supermarket .  I chose this because it was non-hydrogenated, and in this post, I explain why non-hydrogenated products are better than regular hydrogenated products.  For my vegan margarine, I just used my trusty Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread, which is available at both Simply Food and Micronesia Mall Pay-Less Supermarket.  It makes vegetarian life so much easier when products are easily available on-island!


Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting
Serves 4 cups

1/2 cup solid shortening
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated vegan margarine, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean pod
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon soy milk or water  

Scrape the inside of the vanilla bean pod.  In a large bowl, and using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on high speed, beat shortening, vegan margarine, vanilla extract, and the scraped extract from the vanilla bean pod for 1 minute or until well combined.  Add 2 cups vegan confectioners' sugar, and beat for 1 minute or until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.  Add remaining 2 cups confectioners' sugar, and beat for 1 or 2 minutes or until frosting is nice and smooth with no lumps.  Add soy milk a little at a time until frosting is of spreading consistency.  Add more liquid if necessary.  If frosting is too thin, add a little more confectioners' sugar needed, and beat again.  Frosting should be smooth with no lumps.