Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Advice needed.
I have to make dairy free cupcakes and dairy free buttercream for the topping.
I will use a soya based butter I.e. Vitalite.
Do I just use in he same way as butter/marg or is there anything I should know before I start.
Will the buttercream hold its shape or should I use Trex or go 50/50 I.e. Vitality and trex?

I’ve made buttercream using the Trex method and yes it holds up very well in hot conditions. However I just don’t like the taste. Even with strong flavourings I still seem to be able to taste it. I much prefer adding ganache to the buttercream. If you whisk on high speed it makes a wonderful light mousse texture topping. Not good for filling (don’t want to incorporate too much air) but on cupcakes you sort of get a great “99”.

Hi Jackie

When I make dairy free buttercream I just use margarine and a little extra icing sugar. Margarine or the substitute spreads tend to be softer than butter so a little extra sugar helps stiffen it up a bit. Out of curiousity I googled ‘dairy free buttercream’ and was amazed at the all the lovely recipes there are.
Now I’m going to be giving them a go instead of sticking with the basic recipe which I use. I can’t help with the trex as I’ve never used it for making buttercream. However I understand it makes a good buttercream which holds up well in hot weather. I expect othe members will share their recipes so you’ll be able to make a more informed choice. x