Quick and easy cooked flour buttercream (Ermine frosting) recipe that's stable, smooth and creamy. Perfect for piping and decorating cakes and cupcakes.
This cooked flour flour buttercream (Ermine frosting) recipe is from a very old FAMILY cook book.
I have used it on my chocolate cake , moist red velvet cake and even my mango cherry cake and it always tastes amazing.
This frosting is soft, creamy, FLUFFY and tastes very light and airy.
This recipe is very different than my classic American buttercream frosting and between the two, I think I like this one better.
The addition of FLOUR is the key to the VELVETTY texture of this unique frosting.
People worry that they would taste the flour but NO! You WON'T taste it at all!
Unlike typical frosting recipes, this one takes a bit longer to prepare but it's absolutely WORTH it!
Ermine frosting is known by so many NAMES such as:
- Cooked frosting
- Boiled milk frosting
- Boiled icing
- Cloud frosting
- Flour frosting
- Cooked roux frosting
- Heritage frosting
- Mock buttercream icing
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Does Ermine frosting need to be refrigerated?
Yes, it needs to be refrigerated. It has milk, which can go bad if the frosting sits outside at room temperature.
How to store Ermine frosting?
Store it in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
How do you make vanilla frosting without powdered sugar?
This Ermine frosting traditionally has no powdered sugar and it would the perfect choice.
What is Ermine frosting used for?
It can be used to frost cakes, cupcakes, brownies and can even be used as a filling in desserts.
How to make Ermine frosting? How do you make boiled icing?
It's very SIMPLE. Start off by cooking the milk, sugar and flour on medium heat until it thickens. Let this "flour pudding" mixture, also known as "roux" to cool down completely. In a separate mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add the flour mixture and vanilla extract. Mix everything together until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar to enhance the sweetness, if you like (optional).
What is Ermine frosting?
It's an old fashioned frosting that is light and fluffy just like whipped cream but has more flavor. According to family and friends, it used to be the frosting of choice for red velvet cake until cream cheese frosting became more popular.
- Use clear vanilla extract since regular extract can discolor the frosting slightly.
- The flour mixture must have NO lumps or else you will end up with lumpy frosting. If necessary, run the "roux mixture" through a fine mesh sieve to remove all lumps OR run a hand held immersion blender through the mixture.
- To prevent lumps from forming in the flour mixture, make sure to constantly whisk while you are cooking it.
- To make VEGAN Ermine frosting, replace whole milk with vegan milk such as soy milk, coconut milk, almond milk AND replace butter with shortening.
- This frosting is NOT pure white. It's slightly "off-white." You can easily add white gel coloring to make it truly white frosting
- If you want your icing to be RED, I have noticed Americolor's red gel color works best. It seems to have a deeper shade of red than compared to Wilton's red gel color.
- Refrigerating the frosting for 30 minutes prior to frosting will make it easier to pipe.
DON'T use liquid food coloring since that will thin the consistency of the frosting. Only use gel food coloring. - I like to make Ermine frosting with shortening and butter together so as to make it more stable but traditionally, it's made with ALL butter.
- I also like to add powdered sugar to this frosting so as to ENHANCE the sweetness a bit and also make it thicker but traditionally, it has not powdered sugar at all.
- If the frosting is too thin, CHILL it for 30-40 minutes. If that still doesn't work, mix in a little powdered sugar to make it thicker.
- If the frosting is too THICK, add a little milk to thin it out.
- To make peppermint icing, replace vanilla extract 1 teaspoon peppermint extract.
- To make rose icing, replace vanilla extract with 1 tablespoon rose water or even more if you want a very strong flavor and fragrance.
- To make coconut icing, omit all other extracts add 1 tablespoon of coconut extract. If you like a slightly chunky coconut frosting, add ⅓ cup finely shredded coconut. You might need to add a little more milk to smooth out your frosting.
- To make chocolate ermine frosting, add ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder in this recipe.
By the way, I also tried making Ermine frosting with cream cheese but it was just too weird and I DON'T recommend it.
Well, that's all for today.
Best Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Seven Minute Frosting
Mango Frosting
Recipe
Cooked Flour Buttercream (Ermine Frosting)
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Ingredients
- 1 cup Milk Whole
- 5 tablespoon All-purpose flour
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- ½ cup Butter Unsalted
- ½ cup Shortening
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract Clear
- 1-2 cups Powdered sugar Optional
Instructions
- In a non-stick saucepan, add milk, flour, granulated sugar and cook on medium heat, while constantly whisking everything together.
- When the flour mixture starts to thicken, remove from heat and pour it into a bowl.
- Cover the bowl with saran wrap quickly, making sure it's directly touching the surface to prevent any "skin" formation.
- Place this bowl in the fridge and let it cool down completely until it has the consistency of a pudding.
- In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and shortening.
- Add the flour mixture and vanilla extract, while constantly mixing.
- Add powdered sugar (¼ cup at a time) and continue mixing, until you have the desired consistency and flavor. This step is optional
- Use this frosting to pipe your cakes/cupcakes and enjoy!
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftover frosting can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 7 days.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Until next time, tata my lovelies!
Manju
Hey Abeer,
Even I've heard/seen recipes for buttercream that use flour in it. Nice to know it turns out great...will try it next time. So how many cups of icing does this yield?
Bev
Use clear vanilla and it'll be true white. It's a not overly sweet recipe so most men like it too!
naffisa
can vegetable shortening used even or 2 cups of butter?
cakewhiz
@Nafisa... Flavor wise, using only vegetable shortening or even using only 2 cups of butter is fine. There might be a minor difference since butter adds a nice subtle flavor. But, using all butter will not be suitable for areas with high temperatures and humid climate. Shortening adds stability to a frosting and without that, your frosting will be very soft and melt very easily. Hope this helps
Sadie
Just made this frosting with my Son to fill cookies for school it turned out amazing we added peppermint oil and made sandwich cookies. This was easy and I will be making this my go to frosting. Thanks for the pictures and recipe.
cakewhiz
@Sadie...I am very happy to hear that! This is my favorite icing ever!
Yinka
What can i substitute for the meringue powder and what quantity?
Abeer Rizvi
I have never tried anything aside from meringue powder. So, I am not sure what else you can use. You can omit it completely, if you like. The icing may not be very stable though, especially in heat...
dona
have you tried cornstarch instead of flour? We us a variation of this in my area as the frosting for Red Velvet Cakes. Cornstarch leaves frosting a whiter shade
Abeer Rizvi
Hey Dona,
I haven't tried this frosting with cornstarch but that's a great suggestion. I will give it a shot soon coz I am personally not too fond of the off-white color and white frosting would just be awesome! I will be sure to update the post when I try that modification
Melody Duncan
For a true white frosting, use only shortening and add 1 tsp butter flavor extract.
Abeer Rizvi
Actually, this frosting will never be truly white because of the use of flour. It's always going to be slightly off-white color but that's fine with me coz I usually color my icing anyways. Someone mentioned in the comments above you that using cornflour instead of all purpose flour can retain the white color. I have to try that out though...
Sarah
This is an amazing frosting, wow! I was a bit concerned when I made it that it was so soft it would collapse, but it's held up very well, even with decorations on it. I also think it's a bit easier to color, because it starts closer to white than a "normal" buttercream, so I was able to get a gorgeous icy blue on the first try.
Abeer Rizvi
That's awesome! I am always so happy to hear when people enjoy one of my recipes
Karen
Can this be made the day before and refrigerated? If so what needs to be done to the frosting before it is used for piping? I made some yesterday for cupcakes and it was delicious.
Abeer Rizvi
Absolutely! You would need to leave it at room temperature for 30 minutes to let it soften a bit so that piping is easier. Sometimes, I dump the frosting in my KitchenAid and whip it again to make it fluffy. Glad you liked it!
Becky
Can I use almond flour
Abeer Rizvi
I haven't tried that and don't know how that would affect this recipe. If you try it, please let me know how it goes.
Melissa Glasco
How do you double the recipe for the ermine frosting?
Abeer Rizvi
You just double all the ingredients.
Kam
Hi can i use cooking cream (12% fat) instead of milk? Thanks.
Abeer Rizvi
I have only tried that once and preferred milk over cooking cream. The consistency was much better.
sam
Do you think i can use it for a wedding cake with some heavy fondant flowers on? Will the buttercream be able to hold the flower?
Abeer Rizvi
I have used this with fondant flowers without any problems but I am not sure how heavy yours are. You can always test it out first.
Leona Lloyd
can you icing cupcakes and freeze for later use ?
Abeer Rizvi
I don't freeze my frosted cupcakes. However, you can freeze the frosting and cupcakes separately in sealed freezer bags.
Lynn Arnow
This is a great ermine recipe! Not only is this melt-in-your mouth frosting delicious, but the shortening adds flexibility and smoothness which makes perfect for piping and decorating. It’s become a family favorite! Thanks for the terrific recipe!
Abeer Rizvi
Great to hear that!