Vegan blueberry frosting naturally flavored and colored with real blueberries OR freeze-dried blueberry powder! This creamy frosting is perfect for topping cupcakes, layer cakes or your favorite dessert.
Ingredients you’ll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the gray recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes about the ingredients
Vegan block butter. A firm butter is always better in buttercream frostings as they are more stable and can support the weight of cake layers and decorations. You can use a spreadable butter, but your frosting will be softer.
Blueberries. This frosting works well with either fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries!
Dairy-free milk to smooth out the frosting and to make sure it’s spreadable. Alternatively, you can use a dash of fresh lemon juice.
Alternatively, you can use freeze-dried blueberry powder. I bought whole freeze-dried blueberries and blitzed them in a small food processor.
Using freeze-dried blueberry powder
It’s easy to make blueberry buttercream frosting with freeze-dried blueberry powder! It’s also a little quicker than using fresh blueberries. However, the downside is that freeze-dried blueberries can be expensive and difficult to find, depending on where you live.
First, we need to beat the room temperature butter using a hand mixer or stand mixer. This removes any chunks of butter so it mixes better with the other ingredients.
Add the powdered sugar, blueberry powder and vanilla the bowl and mix on low speed until everything is incorporated. Then increase the speed to high and beat until combined.
For a softer frosting, add a dash of milk until the frosting has reached your desired consistency.
Using fresh/frozen blueberries
Fresh fruit puree contains a lot of water and, when combined with a frosting, it can make the mixture curdle – this is not ideal! To prevent this, we’re creating a blueberry reduction to reduce the amount of water/liquid in the blueberry puree.
To create a reduction, we’re simply cooking blueberry puree on the stove until a lot of its moisture has evaporated. This can take just 10 minutes, depending on your stove. The blueberry reduction should be very thick and have the consistency of a paste.
Once you’ve created your reduction, you can add it to your frosting ingredients, just like what we did for the freeze-dried blueberries.
What’s the difference between the two frostings?
There is no right or wrong. Both frostings have similar levels of blueberry flavor and are almost indistinguishable (however, this will depend on the flavor of your freeze-dried berries versus your fresh berries).
The frosting made with the fresh blueberries had a slightly softer consistency, due to some remaining moisture in the blueberry reduction. This frosting also had larger specks of blueberry skin.
The frosting made with freeze-dried berries was slightly more pink in color and the color was more distributed/even.
I would choose a version based on whether I could get fresh/frozen blueberries or the powder. Fresh/frozen blueberries are more accessible to me, and I don’t mind cooking them on the stove for 10 minutes!
How can I use this blueberry frosting?
This fruity frosting pairs well with:
Can I use other berries? Or can I add cream cheese?
Other berries will work similarly! Or check out my strawberry buttercream frosting recipe.
For a blueberry cream cheese frosting, I suggest using my strawberry cream cheese frosting recipe and replacing the strawberries with blueberries.
More blueberry recipes
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Vegan Blueberry Frosting, 2 ways
Vegan blueberry frosting naturally flavored and colored with real blueberries OR freeze-dried blueberry powder! This frosting is perfect for topping cupcakes, layer cakes or your favorite dessert.
Servings: 16 cupcakes or 3 cups (approx)
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Instructions
If using fresh or frozen blueberries:
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Use a food processor or blender to puree the blueberries until smooth. Add the puree to a saucepan over high heat. Boil the mixture while stirring constantly for about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low then cook for at least 5 minutes or until you have a very thick paste. The reduction should be about 3 tablespoons (~50g). Set aside to cool.
Make the blueberry frosting:
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Add the butter to a large bowl (if using an electric hand mixer), or the bowl of a stand mixer (with the paddle attachment). Whip until it’s pale, light and fluffy.
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Add the powdered sugar, blueberry reduction OR blueberry powder and vanilla. Whip on low speed for 1 minute to combine the ingredients then increase to high speed and beat for 5 minutes or until fluffy. You may have to stop and start the mixer a few times to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
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If your frosting is too firm or not whipping easily, add a dash of dairy-free milk (the consistency of your frosting will depend on the consistency of your butter). If your frosting is too soft, add some more powdered sugar. ¼ cup of blueberry powder is enough for me, but if you prefer a stronger blueberry flavor, add more powder.
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Use the frosting as needed. Or store leftover frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let the frosting come to room temperature and whip it up for 1 minute to revive it.
Notes
- This recipe yields enough frosting for about 12-16 cupcakes. It will also frost a double layered 8-inch round cake in between the layers, on top of the cake and a thin coating on the sides.
- Vegan spreadable butter or margarine (in a tub) will create a softer frosting. This is great for spreading on desserts but may not be firm enough for layered cakes etc. If you can only use vegan margarine, I recommend increasing the amount of powdered sugar, substituting some with vegan shortening or keeping your dessert chilled.
- More powdered sugar will create a firmer frosting whereas less sugar will create a softer frosting. Feel free to add more or less until your frosting reaches your desired consistency. The amount of sugar you’ll need will depend on the type of butter you use and the consistency of your blueberry reduction (if using).
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