Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

I love the cream cheese frosting from my Pumpkin Cider Whoopie Pie recipe. It's the lightest one I've tried and just sweet enough so that I can still taste the cream cheese.

It truly is the perfect recipe, but I've always wondered whether I could make a vegan version of it and still have it taste delicious. Surprisingly, I only needed to make a couple simple substitutions like using vegan cream cheese and butter - easy, and instead of whipped cream, whipped refrigerated coconut milk instead.

Tofutti Cream Cheese

Earth Balance Butter Spread

Now, I have a couple of tips for this recipe. First, vegan cream cheese and butter turn a lot softer after whipping than normal cream cheese and butter, so it's important to whip them at a lower speed and for a shorter amount of time. If the frosting seems softer than you would like, I would put it back into the refrigerator to stiffen up and then use gentle mixing motions to get the frosting into the right consistency.

In terms of whipping coconut milk, you need to refrigerate it overnight first because you want the fat and liquid to separate. You then need to strain the coconut milk and keep only the solid cream that has risen to the top. If you don't refrigerate the coconut milk, none of this is possible. Coconut milk whips up fairly well, but again, is a softer form of the heavy cream version. Still, it lightens the cream cheese frosting and still makes it taste luxurious.

Directions

1. Spoon strained coconut milk into a bowl and whip with balloon whisk for 3-4 minutes. Set aside in refrigerator.