Sugar Free and Dairy Free, this White Frosting can be dyed any color or used as a pure white frosting.  It’s perfect for piping, so let your frosting fantasies go wild! 

This is a true “white frosting” that takes any color beautifully and can be piped into all kinds of fanciful creations.  It sets up nicely after a bit of refrigeration so that it’s not too soft but also not too hard. 

It’s the perfect base frosting. 

And it’s Sugar Free and Dairy Free.  The magic ingredient here is Vegan Cream Cheese.  It’s hard to replicate the bulk of sugar in a traditional frosting, but cream cheese does the job.  As a bonus, cream cheese is, um, creamy.  Which is what we’re looking for in a yummy frosting.

A quick note here to say that I actually cut the amount of cream cheese in half after my most trusted recipe tester (i.e. my daughter who tells me exactly what she thinks about what I cook) told me it was “too cream cheesy”.  And she was right, of course.  Cutting back on the cream cheese gives us more of a real frosting that isn’t too soft.  You can’t even taste the cream cheese in it. 

Full disclosure here.  For years – YEARS – I went around saying, “I’m not really a frosting kind of a gal” or “I really prefer naked cakes.”  But the truth is that I just didn’t have a good frosting recipe… yet.  It’s really hard to making frosting without the usual main ingredient – sugar.  But fast forward many years, and here we are with a beautiful truly white frosting that can be dyed any color and piped any which way you please.  I am so proud of this frosting. 

This frosting would work really well with most cakes.  I recommend using it to make beautiful swirls on top of my Gluten Free Nut Free Vanilla Cupcakes or these amazing Nut Free Chocolate Cupcakes that are also Gluten Free.  The photos for this post are actually from my daughter’s birthday party. Cupcakes are great for a big party, because they’re easy to grab, no utensils or plates needed, and easy to clean up.  Plus, they’re super pretty and cute.  And parents were surprised and pleased that the cupcakes were Sugar Free – no one wants to take a kid home on a raging sugar high.

You’ll notice in the instructions that I use two different attachments for the stand mixer.  I realize this might seem excessive, but I have found that the cream cheese and the shortening benefit from a good beating with the paddle attachment first to make them smooth. 

Another key component to smoothness is to make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature before using it.  The cream cheese and the shortening need to be room temperature in order to emulsify and combine well. 

Once all of the ingredients (except for the coconut milk) have combined well, then it’s time to use the whisk attachment on the stand mixer.  The whisk will whip air into the frosting making it airier and lighter.  At this point, we add the coconut milk to add some fat and to help smooth out the frosting. 

It’s important to add the coconut milk one tablespoon at a time, especially if you are doubling or tripling the recipe.  You might need more or less on any given day, so just go slowly and stop when you have the right consistency.  Trust yourself – you know what good frosting looks like. 

And there you have it – a very easy recipe for a fantastically versatile frosting.  With no sugar.  And no dairy.  Hooray!

Why You’ll LOVE this Recipe:

• Sugar Free
• Vegan
• Dairy Free
• Gluten Free
• Low FODMAP
• Good for piping

Ingredients for Sugar Free White Frosting:

• vegan cream cheese
• Spectrum Organic All-Vegetable Shortening
• liquid stevia
• vanilla
• maple syrup
• coconut oil
• cornstarch
• coconut milk

Notes on Ingredients:

Vegan cream cheese – I use the brand VioLife, so that’s the one I can vouch for.  If you use a different brand, the flavor might be slightly different.  This seems like an obvious thing to say, but it bears repeating – taste the cream cheese first before making frosting out of it.  If it doesn’t taste good as it is, it won’t taste good in a frosting.

Spectrum Organic All-Vegetable Shortening -  This palm oil fat keeps the frosting smooth and soft.  Palm oil never hardens, so that’s why we need a little bit of coconut oil to go with it (see below).

Coconut oil – A little bit of coconut oil helps to get the frosting to a texture that is a firm enough to pipe and will keep its form on top of a cupcake, especially after being refrigerated.  This recipe uses a very small amount of coconut oil.  You cannot taste the coconut oil in the frosting – it is there for texture purposes alone.

Cornstarch – Each starch has a different texture and taste even though many recipes state that they can be used interchangeably.  In this recipe, the starch is one of the main players, so the texture and the taste have to be absolutely spot on.  Arrowroot starch had a good texture, but the taste was surprisingly bitter.  Potato starch is just potato-ey.  Cornstarch is perfect in this recipe.  The texture is perfect, and the taste is mild and just the tiniest bit sweet.  Cornstarch is a must for this recipe – no substitutions, please.

Coconut milk – Use full fat in baking (always).

How to Make Sugar Free White Frosting From Scratch

The most important thing is to bring the cream cheese to room temperature before making the frosting.  Otherwise, if the cream cheese is cold straight from the fridge, it won’t emulsify properly with the Spectrum Shortening or the other ingredients.  If I know I’m making frosting that day, I just take the cream cheese out in the morning and let it sit on the counter until I’m ready to use it.

When you’re ready to make your frosting, get your stand mixer out and start with a paddle attachment.  Beat the cream cheese with the shortening.  Add the stevia, vanilla, maple syrup, and coconut oil.  Beat until smooth.

Add the cornstarch.  You can just add it all at once.  But, keep the mixer on low unless you want to be cleaning starch off of every surface in your kitchen (including you).

Switch to a whisk attachment.  Turn the mixer on low, and with the mixer running, slowly add 1 tablespoon of coconut milk in at a time.  Stop when you have the right consistency.  Beat until the frosting is smooth and airy.

Put the frosting in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to make it easier to pipe.  You can add food coloring at this point if desired.

Frosting is now ready to use on cupcakes or cakes.  Use an offset spatula or a butter knife to spread it on, or get your piping bags out and all those piping tips that sit in the back of the cupboard and go wild.  If you want to make the roses like I did in the photos, don't miss the last paragraph of this post.

After frosting has been applied, refrigerate the baked goods for about 30 minutes to allow the frosting to set up well. This step is not totally necessary, but it’s helpful, especially if you need to transport a cake or cupcakes somewhere else. By the way, if you’re toting cupcakes around, I highly recommend this cupcake carrier. It might seem excessive, but it works beautifully and provides ample space for fancy frosting decorations. And if you’re taking cupcakes somewhere, you’re probably taking a lot of them. It’s nice to have plenty of space and not be squeezing your beautiful cupcakes into a Tupperware. That’s just my opinion, but sometimes you gotta have the right gear.

If you want to make the two-toned roses like I did in the pictures, read on. First, separate some of the frosting, about ⅓. Dye it whatever color you like with food coloring. I did pink, because it looks pretty with chocolate cupcakes. Get your piping bag ready. You need to assemble your piping bag a 2D piping tip. Here's a great video to show you to assemble a piping bag. My personal preference is to always use a coupler, because I feel like it keeps the piping tip more secure so that it doesn't move around.

Once your piping bag is assembled, you need to put the frosting in the bag. For two-colored frosting, put the smaller amount of frosting in the bag first, and try to push it to the side of the bag (not all towards the bottom where the piping tip is). Then, add the white frosting and press it against the other side of the bag. It doesn't have to be perfect - it's going to be a little mushed-up in the bag. That's okay.

Now, you're ready to pipe some beautiful roses. Take a deep breath. It's going to be great. And remember, worst case scenario? You can scrape the frosting off and try again.

Start in the center of the cupcake and pipe moving in a swirl from the center to the outside. It only takes about 3 circles to fill a regular sized cupcake. Your first cupcake might be all one color, so you might want to do a few practice roses on a plate or a piece of parchment paper so that the frosting starts to come out of the piping bag with two colors.

After doing this on a dozen or so cupcakes, you're going to get very comfortable. Once you feel good doing it, frosting a couple dozen of cupcakes is a breeze. But people will be so impressed. Just smile and say, "Oh yes, it took me ALL day to make this." And then treat yourself to a beautiful cupcake. You deserve it.

Use this Sugar Free White Frosting with these Recipes:

Gluten Free Nut Free Vanilla Cupcakes

Best Gluten Free Sugar Free Cinnamon Rolls

Pumpkin Roll

Nut Free Chocolate Cupcakes - Gluten Free Sugar Free Dairy Free