This is known as Ermine Frosting, or sometimes referred to as boiled milk frosting, because it begins with a cooked roux of flour and milk. That might sound incredibly strange for a frosting recipe, but trust me! I’d say it’s the perfect frosting. It’s not so thick and sweet that you need a gallon of milk to get it down your throat. It’s mild and smooth, and light as air. I also love it because it doesn’t take away from a good cupcake like other really rich frostings can. It’s often the traditional frosting used with Red Velvet Cake. This frosting has a similar taste and texture to a Swiss Buttercream, but with way less effort. Try this unique frosting recipe and you’ll be hooked!
Instructions
The frosting starts out with a mixture of all purpose flour and milk.
And even though I’m showing it here being whisked together, I’ve actually found you’ll get a much smoother result if you mix this part in a blender first and then pour it in your pan.
Now comes the weird part. You’re going to cook this mixture until it gets thick–it happens fast and you’ll want to have a rubber spatula and constantly smash/stir it to keep it smooth.
I usually take it off the heat when it looks like this photo above. There are still some wet spots but as you stir it all comes together like this:
Don’t taste it. It’s not frosting yet! Pop it in the fridge; it needs to cool completely (I sometimes pop it in the freezer if I want it to cool fast.) Put it in a bowl and smoosh it around and stir every few minutes to cool it off.
While it’s chilling, place some real, high-quality butter (definitely no margarine) and granulated sugar (not powdered sugar!) in a stand mixer.
Whip it up for a few minutes so it’s light and creamy. I use the whisk attachment on my kitchenaid, but any paddle should work. Then you’ll add that glob of flour. I know. Weird!
I’m warning you right now it’s going to look weird at first. Like, what the heck did I do weird. But keep going. You’ve got to whip it for a long time for all the sugar to dissolve and everything to come together. Don’t be startled if it looks curdled and weird. Eventually it will look like fluffy soft clouds of heaven.
I usually give it a little taste and if I can still feel quite a bit of granulated sugar I keep on whipping. Sometimes it takes 5 minutes, other times I let it go for almost 10 or so! It’s worth it for this silky, fluffy, magical mixture.
Pipe it or spread it or fill it or whatever. Anyway you eat it, it’s fantastic.
Helpful Tips
1. Use real butter, and a good name-brand. Cheap butter does weird things.
2. If you beat for the 6-8 minutes and the mixture still looks strange, beat longer and at a higher speed if you can. It should come together, but it takes a little patience!
3. I personally think this frosting is best eaten fresh. You can store for a few hours at room temperature, or try storing in the fridge overnight, letting it come to room temperature on its own, and then re-beating to fluff. If you want to frost cupcakes or a cake the day before, refrigerate and just let come to room temp after.
4. Add extracts to your hearts content; lemon and almond are both wonderful! Food coloring is also okay.
5. The white sugar can be exchanged for brown. Try 1/2 white 1/2 brown for a warm caramel flavor.
6. Do not try to make other substitutions or additions. Sour cream, fruit purees etc. can do disastrous things. Some people have had amazing success, just experiment at your own risk.
7. If trying to decide whether or not to double it- double it. Chances are you’ll want more. It’s a rather small batch, but on purpose.
1 batch will not look like much, but it can spread on (just with a knife, a normal amount) 24 cupcakes. If you want to pipe it thick, definitely double it.
Looking for Chocolate? This isn’t exactly the same, but very similar!
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Perfect Cupcake Frosting and Filling
Description
This light, creamy, dreamy frosting is THE perfect cupcake frosting and filling!
Ingredients
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk (whole milk is best, but I’ve used non-fat when it’s all I have and it’s actually fine)
1/2 cup real butter, slightly softened (I prefer salted, but you can use also unsalted and add salt to taste)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or other flavor if you wish)
Instructions
Whisk together the flour and the milk. Heat in a small sauce pan on medium heat.
Whisk continuously until it starts to thicken. Let it cook, while stirring with a rubber spatula, until you can start to see the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook until mixture has the consistency of thick pudding or paste.
Put mixture in the fridge and let it cool completely; it’s fine if it stays in there long enough to get chilly, you just don’t want it warm at all. As it’s cooling, feel free to stir it occasionally to speed up the process and keep it from forming a crust on top. You can also do this quickly in the freezer, just keep an eye on it so it doesn’t freeze.
Using the whisk attachment on an electric stand mixer, beat the butter and the sugar for a minute or two until well combined and fluffy. While beating, add in the thickened milk mixture and the flavor extracts. Beat to combine and then scrape down the sides. Mixture will separate and look messy, keep beating! Continue beating until mixture comes together and is light and fluffy, about 7-8 minutes, but time varies. Take a sample of frosting between your fingers; frosting is done when light and fluffy and sugar granules are dissolved.
Related Recipes:
Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes
Chocolate Glazed Cupcakes with Vanilla Creme Filling
Colorburst Cupcakes
Questions & Reviews
my frosting (end result) turned out lumpy – I guess from the flour, I had to strain it, any idea why this happened, I followed exactly the recipe. tq
I’ve made this frosting for years for red velvet cake. Use a strainer as you pour the flour milk into the pot to get rid of your lumps.
I made your frosting recipe with one change: I substituted half the milk with French vanilla nondairy liquid creamer. The flavor was AMAZING!
Hi! What is the shelf-life of this icing/filling? You said it’s better used “fresh.” How will it hold up, for instance, if I use it to decorate cupcakes on a Friday night for a party Saturday afternoon? Or even Saturday evening?
Thanks! And I look forward to trying your recipe!
Yep, a day is just fine.
I don’t know- never tried!
Hi 🙂
Can I use it for a cake under the fondant ?
sure 🙂
I love this icing! It is absolutely heavenly. I was never a huge fan of regular icing because it is always to heavy and rich for my taste, but this is delightful. Light and delicate, but not too much. Beautiful. I followed the recipe and realized that the end product didn’t hold it’s shape enough for my taste, so I added some marshmallow fluff into it. It gave a thicker consistency, but still kept the light taste for the most part. However, if you plan on putting in marshmallow fluff, put it in a little bit at a time. Hope you enjoy this icing as much I did! 🙂
Made this tonight for a yellow cake, topped it with fresh strawberries – omgosh so yummy! I love how light and fluffy it is, and how it uses way less butter and sugar than other recipes. It’s a keeper!
Oh boy….I had my doubts but let me say this frosting is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing.
I made this today to try on some of my cupcakes and was not super thrilled. It turned out perfect consistency and texture and piped beautifully but my husband and I did not care for the taste. I feel like its too buttery and definitely not sweet at all. With the cupcakes it just tasted bland-sorry. I don’t like an overly sweet frosting either but this just didn’t do it for me.
This is the best frosting EVER. My son is allergic to wheat, so I used rice flour. Our cupcakes were pina colada so I used coconut extract instead of vanilla. Stupendous!
Tried this with horchata instead of milk and it was delicious!!!
Can anyone comment if turbinado raw sugar (from Trader Joe’s) can be used? I read through all 600+ comments and saw no reference. And why granulated vs powdered? Just curious….Thanks! I’m ready to make it but don’t have granulated =)
After 15 years of watching my mom make this icing, followed by 35 years of making it myself, I found out that if you let the flour/milk paste cool to room temperature, rather than putting it in the fridge, it will be just warm enough to melt the granulated sugar so you don’t have to worry about it being grainy.
I made this for the first time yesterday for my son’s birthday. Best ever! I’ve made lots of cakes and cupcakes for family birthdays, always using the typical buttercream frosting. This was so much better. It didn’t give me a headache like buttercream usually does. Afterwards, by brother sent me a text saying that he had just eaten his cupcake and it was the best he had ever had! I know it was the icing and not the Duncan Hines boxed cake mix! 🙂 I will never go back to buttercream again.
I made this recipe for the first time and got TONS of compliments on the delicious frosting! I made it the night before, and I just brought it to room temp before re-whipping and icing my cupcakes. I stored my cupcakes in the refrigerator since I made them a few hours before the baby shower. This allowed the frosting to firm up and look very silky. Not only did they taste amazing, but the frosting looked beautiful. I made a cupcake bouquet, and several people thought they were real yellow roses! I used 1/2 white sugar and 1/2 brown sugar. I wouldn’t recommend this if your icing needs to be a light color b/c it was definitely beige and not too attractive before I added a lot of yellow food coloring. Huge success! Thanks!!
Oh my Goodness! I found my new Frosting. I don’t think I will ever go back to Buttercream again! So easy and much less mess. No powdered sugar all over. I had no problems at all. I used Sweet cream Butter off brand. That was just what I had on had, I used a hand mixer and in no time at all it was made. I did not put my milk flour mmix in the refrigerator. I left it out on the counter to cool off. I did mix my milk in flour very well before heating it to get out all the lumps. My frosting had no flour taste what so ever. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe I love it! doesn’t make much so I think I will quadruple it next time. yep its that good!
I just made this recipe today and I have to say that if you follow it exactly as directed, it will turn out excellent. My family does not tend to like frosting but they loved this one. It was especially delicious on top of homemade banana cake. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Anyone made this for a birthday party that they had to travel to? I have a 2 hour drive and no time to make it when I arrive. Will the frosting survive on the cupcakes in a vehicle that long???? I love this frosting!!!! I could use a different recipe if needed but this one is my first pick!
I made my cupcakes well in advance and refrigerated them. Then, the frosting was nice and firm. I didn’t have to travel with them, but I did have them out of the refrigerator and displayed for about 2 1/2 hours before we ate them. I think they would be fine–especially if you keep them in a cupcake carrier in a cooler. Good luck!
My daughter wanted bubblegum flavored icing for her birthday. They have these flavor packets in the cake isle that you can just mix in the canned frosting. Well, I despise canned frosting so I tried using this recipe and mixed in the bubblegum flavor and omitted the vanilla. It turned out great. The kids loved the bubblegum flavor!! It tasted great if bubblegum is your thing. Next I’m trying it with the cotton candy flavor!!! Thanks again for your wonderful recipes.
Need urgent advice on coloring the frosting. Making pull-away cupcake cake for my son this Sunday (Minecraft Creeper) and wanted to make the frosting emerald green and black. Can this recipe be amended to include color? If so, what should I use? First time ‘from scratch’ baker, in case you can’t tell 🙂 Thanks a bunch!
I’m probably far too late but the wilton gel colors work wonderfully
and use it with a toothpick to put just a drop in at a time, this stuff is crazy strong
A little late to the party, but I tried this today. And even though it says “No substitutions” I gave it a whirl with almond milk and gluten-free flour and it STILL worked. Soooo yummy!
Made this for a babyshower , frosting is amazing and holds shape very well. great taste and doesn’t have that nasty frosting texture.
Just wondering I made this tonight and it tastes like butter. I feel like I followed the directions so I’m not sure where I went wrong? After it mixed, i added more sugar to it to tone down the butter taste but it never desolved. Thoughts? I put it in the fridge and plan on mixing it in the am to see if it taste any better
Thanks
my g’ma used to make this frosting, as frosting waaaaaay back when were started with a roux.
my question is how can I get it to be white? its always an off white color, even though I’ve used clear vanilla extract.
thank you as I want to frost cupcakes for a wedding–really needs to be white.
I’ve used theirs recipe a few times and it has been amazing. I still have yet to get the granulated sugar completely dissolved though. Is there a trick to this?
Is it possible to make this into a cream cheese frosting? I love the whipped consistency of this frosting and would love to make it into a cream cheese style frosting. Just wondering!
Yes Becca, and it’s AMAZING. Basically you just whip in some softened cream cheese at the end to taste. Since cream cheese is dense and the frosting is light and fluffy, I beat the cream cheese until it’s really soft, and then slowly beat in about 1/3 of the frosting. Then you can either fold it together, or gently beat it until combined. I just go by taste on the cream cheese- so maybe start with about 4 ounces per one batch of frosting and add more if you want a stronger cream cheese flavor. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Made this yesterday for my daughters 4th birthday party. I made the milk/flour mixture the night before, but then ran out of time to finish and so I left that it in the fridge overnight. I took it out a few hours before finishing to let it come back to room temperature, but it was definitely still a bit chilly. I mixed it with the butter and sugar, and beat it for what seemed like forever. I still had little balls of the milk/flour that would not break up, though. I tried piping it anyway, but my tip got clogged. I was ready to throw in the towel and start over when my husband decided to run it through a mesh strainer, and it worked! We got all the clumps out, and we still had enough to cover all the cupcakes! It was delicious!! Next time I won’t put my mixture in the fridge for so long, and I may not cook it as long, either.