You will love this cream-cheese-based vegan Chantilly cream frosting recipe! Perfect for cakes, cupcakes, trifles, or for simply enjoying alongside fruit.
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🧁 What is Chantilly Cream?
Chantilly cream basically means sweetened whipped cream whose peaks can hold their shape. The name is from Château de Chantilly in France, where the cream is believed to have originated in the 1600s—although historians believe that whipped cream was discovered way before then. The chateau in Chantilly even currently hosts workshops to teach how to make their famous cream... whipping it for almost 10 minutes by hand!
You may have heard of "Chantilly cake" as well. It's a famous Whole Foods offering with a strong fan base! There is no vegan version yet, so I haven't tried it. Their cake is filled with berries and the frosting is made with mascarpone cheese.
We'll make this vegan version with cream cheese. The mild tartness pairs beautifully with cakes and sweet fruits, and it gives the frosting more staying power without having to add more butter.
🥛 Vegan Chantilly Cream Frosting Ingredients
Vegan cream cheese — Best U.S. brands to use for this frosting (or for vegan cheesecakes) are Tofutti, Trader Joe's, Kite Hill, and Simple Truth. Daiya and Violife do not work well so please don't use them in this recipe even if you enjoy their flavor as a spread. Don't forget to bring the vegan cream cheese to room temperature before beating as they are usually much firmer than dairy cream cheese like Philadelphia, etc.
I personally wouldn't use homemade vegan cream cheese for this since most recipes are raw cashew-based. However, if you absolutely don't have access to vegan cream cheese, this recipe looks like a good one to try as it's made with vegan yogurt.
Powdered Sugar — Same as confectioners' sugar or 10x sugar. If you only have regular granulated sugar at home, mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch per 1 cup of granulated sugar and blend them in a high-speed blender or grind them down with a mortar and pestle.
For a 100% vegan cake, also pay attention to the kind of sugar you're using. Many refined sugars are processed with bone char to take on a bright white color. In the U.S., the sugar will definitely be vegan if it's organic, “unrefined”, or made from beets.
Butter — Use unsalted non-dairy butter if possible. I like the unsalted Earth Balance butter sticks. Make sure to bring it to room temperature before use.
Vanilla Extract — Vanilla intensifies the sweetness without adding more sugar and goes wonderfully with tangy cream cheese. You may use a vanilla bean pod or vanilla bean paste to substitute—there'll be little black specks in the frosting but it'll taste even better.
Cornstarch — There is already cornstarch in the powdered sugar, but we're adding a tiny bit more to stabilize the frosting further.
🥣 Instructions for Making Vegan Chantilly Cream
1. If planning to frost cakes with this recipe, make the vegan chantilly cream as the cakes are cooling down. Start by bringing the vegan cream cheese and butter to room temperature.
2. Place all ingredients into a large bowl and mix until smooth. Some vegan cream cheese brands don't smoothen out when warm and get lumpy no matter what temperature you have it at or how long you beat / mix it. If you see lumps, simply blend the frosting until smooth in a blender or in the same bowl with an immersion blender.
3. Taste to see if you think the frosting is sweet enough. I like the contrast of a mildly tart frosting with a sweet cake sponge, therefore the original recipe lists a lower quantity of sugar than usual. If you want to make it sweeter, add more powdered sugar in 25-gram increments, mix, and taste again.
4. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours prior to using. This chantilly frosting can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days before use.
Note that cakes made with this frosting can't be left at room temperature or above for longer than 2-3 hours—they will melt down due to the melting cream cheese base. So if there's any leftover cake after cutting it, wrap it with cling wrap and refrigerate.
🍫 Variations
Chantilly cream can be made with chocolate as well! In fact, this Serious Eats recipe makes it with only chocolate and water (or coffee). Completely vegan when you use a vegan chocolate bar! I haven't tried this more mousse-like variation of Chantilly cream as a frosting yet. I would still prefer to add cream cheese as a base for more staying power and fold in some melted chocolate.
There is also the Hawaiian version where the Chantilly cream frosting is stabilized with evaporated milk and butter. It looks easy to make this recipe vegan by using canned (or homemade) non-dairy evaporated milk and vegan butter.
❓FAQs
Chantilly cream basically means sweetened whipped cream whose peaks can hold their shape.
The name Chantilly comes from Château de Chantilly in France, where the cream is believed to have originated in the 1600s. Historians believe that whipped cream was discovered way before then. The chateau in Chantilly currently hosts workshops to teach how to make their famous cream by hand.
Chantilly cream is originally made with heavy cream and sugar. This vegan version of Chantilly cream is made with cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and cornstarch.
Chantilly is a type of cake made with Chantilly cream. It just means the cake is frosted with sweetened whipped cream. There are different types of Chantilly cake like the Hawaiian version made with evaporated milk, or the berry version made with mascarpone cheese frosting.
Unfortunately no, the Chantilly cake at Whole Foods is not vegan as of 2022. It is made with egg and dairy-based ingredients. But it is easy to make a homemade version of the Whole Foods Chantilly cake!
Original Chantilly tastes like regular whipped cream that's a bit sweeter. Cream cheese Chantilly cream also tastes sweet and is mildly tangy.
Some vegan cream cheese brands don't smoothen out when warm and get lumpy no matter what temperature you have it at or how long you beat/mix it. If you see lumps, simply blend the frosting until smooth in a blender or in the same bowl with an immersion blender until smooth.
The best U.S. vegan cream cheese brands to use for this frosting (or for vegan cheesecakes) are Tofutti, Trader Joe's, Kite Hill, and Simple Truth. Daiya and Violife do not work well so please don't use them in this recipe even if you enjoy their flavor as a spread.
Whichever brand you go with, don't forget to bring the vegan cream cheese to room temperature before beating it as they are usually much firmer than dairy cream cheese like Philadelphia, etc.
🍮 More Vegan Desserts on Aegean Delight
Make this Chantilly cream with our tender vanilla cake to maximally indulge! Want a different dessert? Try our syrupy semolina cake with a unique texture... or enjoy delicious pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, burned pudding, and more!
Did you make this vegan Chantilly cream recipe? I'd love to hear about it! Please comment and leave a star🌟 rating below. This helps me run Aegean Delight and I always appreciate it 🙂
Print📖 Recipe
Vegan Chantilly Cream (Cream Cheese Whipped Frosting)
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 3 Cups 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
You will love this cream-cheese-based vegan chantilly cream frosting recipe! Perfect for cakes, cupcakes, trifles, or for simply enjoying alongside fruit.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (16 oz; 450 g) vegan cream cheese (See Note)
- ⅓ cup (80 g) vegan unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup (150 g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon (2.5 g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
*Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature
Instructions
1. If planning to frost cakes with this recipe, make the vegan chantilly cream as the cakes are cooling down. Start by bringing the vegan cream cheese and butter to room temperature.
2. Place all ingredients into a large bowl and mix until smooth. Some vegan cream cheese brands don't smoothen out when warm and get lumpy no matter what temperature you have it at or how long you beat/mix it. If you see lumps, simply blend the frosting until smooth in a blender or in the same bowl with an immersion blender.
3. Taste to see if you think the frosting is sweet enough. I like the contrast of a mildly tart frosting with a sweet cake sponge, therefore the original recipe lists a lower quantity of sugar than usual. If you want to make it sweeter, add more powdered sugar in 25-gram increments, mix, and taste again.
4. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours prior to using. This chantilly frosting can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days before use.
5. Note that cakes made with this frosting can't be left at room temperature or above for longer than 2-3 hours—they will melt down due to the melting cream cheese base. So if there's any leftover cake after cutting it, wrap it with cling wrap and refrigerate.
Notes
Vegan Cream Cheese — Best U.S. brands to use for this frosting (or for vegan cheesecakes) are Tofutti, Trader Joe's, Kite Hill, and Simple Truth. Daiya and Violife do not work well so please don't use them in this recipe even if you enjoy their flavor as a spread. Don't forget to bring the vegan cream cheese to room temperature before beating as they are usually firmer than dairy cream cheese like Philadelphia, etc.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: French
This recipe has been adapted (veganized) from Sugar Geek Show's Chantilly cream recipe.
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