Easy cooked flour buttercream (Ermine frosting) recipe, homemade with simple ingredients. It's stable, smooth and creamy. Perfect for piping cupcakes, spreading on dessert bars and cake decorating.
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According to my family and friends, this used to be the frosting of choice for Red Velvet Cake (From Scratch) and Red Velvet Cupcakes until Cream Cheese Frosting became more popular. It goes by many names such as Cooked frosting, Boiled milk frosting, Flour frosting, Cooked roux frosting, Heritage frosting, or Mock buttercream icing. It is soft, creamy, fluffy and tastes very light and airy.
It is very different than my Best Classic American Buttercream Frosting and between the two, I like this one better. The addition of flour is the key to its velvet smooth texture. People worry that they would taste the flour, but I promise 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.
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Key ingredients for cooked flour buttercream
- Flour- This is truly the secret ingredient that really makes this frosting.
- Sugar- Both granulated and powder forms were used in this recipe.
- Milk- I suggest using whole milk for the creamiest texture.
- Vanilla- Adds a nice warm flavor.
- Butter- Be sure it is unsalted.
- Shortening- This adds stability to the frosting.
Variations
- Peppermint flavor- Replace vanilla extract 1 teaspoon peppermint extract.
- Rose icing- Replace vanilla extract with 1-2 teaspoon rose water or even more if you want a very strong flavor and fragrance.
- Try coconut flavor- Omit all other extracts add 1-2 teaspoon 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.
- Chocolate version- Add ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder in this recipe or you can try my Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (Ermine) which is incredible.
- Vegan option- Replace whole milk with vegan milk such as soy milk, coconut milk, almond milk. Also replace butter with more shortening.
- Add coloring- 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.
How to make Ermine frosting recipe from scratch?
1. Heat ingredients in nonstick saucepan- This includes milk, flour, sugar.
2. Let this "flour pudding" mixture- Also known as "roux" to cool down completely.
3. In a separate mixing bowl- Cream together butter and sugar.
4. Add the flour mixture and vanilla extract- Mix everything together until light and fluffy.
5. Add powdered sugar- To enhance the sweetness, if you like (optional).
6. Enjoy- On cakes, cupcakes, and other desserts.
Tips and techniques
- 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.
- This frosting is not pure white- It's slightly "off-white." You can easily add white gel coloring to make it truly white frosting
- 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 it with shortening and butter together- So as to make it more stable but traditionally, it's made with all butter.
- Add powdered sugar to this frosting- To enhance the sweetness a bit and also make it thicker. Traditionally, it has no powdered sugar at all.
- If the frosting is too thin- Chill it for 30-40 minutes in the fridge. If that still doesn't work, mix in a little powdered sugar to make it thicker.
- If the frosting is too thick- Add milk a little at a time in order to thin it out.
Recipe FAQs
It's an old fashioned frosting that is light and fluffy just like whipped cream but has more flavor.
It can be used to frost cakes, cupcakes, brownies and can even be used as a filling in desserts.
This traditionally has no powdered sugar and it would the perfect choice.
Storage
- Refrigerate- In a sealed container for up to 1 week.
- Freeze- In a sealed container for up to 1 month. Thaw in fridge overnight and then whip again to make it fluffy.
- Room temperature- This can stay out for 2-3 hours, but because it has milk, be sure it is kept in the fridge after that.
- Make ahead- This can be made 1-2 days in advance.
More homemade frosting recipes
- Blackberry Buttercream Frosting
- White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Coconut Cream Chocolate Frosting
- Strawberry Frosting (With Fresh Strawberries)
- Seven Minute 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, Room temperature
- ½ cup Shortening
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract Clear
- 1-2 cups Powdered sugar
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.
- Chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour to make it even firmer and then use it on your desserts.
Notes
- You can color this icing with gel food coloring if you like.
- Try adding other extracts or even zests for a different flavor profile.
- Use nonstick saucepan to make flour mixture to prevent sticking and burning.
- The flour mixture must cool completely before it is added to the butter and shortening or else that would melt.
- Use full fat whole milk for maximum richness and creaminess.
- Make sure you are using unsalted butter to prevent the end result from being too salty.
- Read additional tips and variations above.
- Leftover frosting can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
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.
mary
Forty years ago, I THINK this is the recipe I used to fill Lady Locks(cream horns) while living in Pittsburgh, PA. Could it be?!? Sure was similar...always added powdered sugar though. Thank you!
Melody
My mom's recipe for her age old red velvet cake uses all shortening no butter for this frosting. White frosting with no food coloring and brown vanilla doesn't make a dent in the color LOL. It's her favorite frosting for that cake. Agreed it takes a VERY old family cookbook to find this frosting recipe.
Sandy
I had a recipe like this and lost it 39 years ago. Just on a whim today, I thought I'd search the internet and on my first try I found it!!! Thank you so much, it brings back a lot of memories!!!
Abeer Rizvi
Awwww. I am so happy you found this recipe.
Lesley
This is fabulous frosting! I have an old recipe for “Baker’s Frosting” that’s similar, but the flour and milk are cooked together, then the granulated sugar and butter are creamed with the cooled flour/milk mixture added a tsp at a time afterwards. This works MUCH better! The milk/flour mixture is much thinner, so it blends so much easier and there is no chance of graininess.
Thank you for sharing
Gerica
Hi Abeer! My daughter's tried making a triple batch of this frosting and something went wrong! They ended up with a giant bowl of frosting soup! The roux was nice and thick, measurements were correct, not sure where they went wrong. We were hoping NOT to add the powdered sugar so it wasn't so sweet but had to in an attempt to thicken it up. It's been int he fridge overnight. I am hoping you can help me figure out a way to salvage what we have. I'd hate to waste all of that! Thank you!
Abeer Rizvi
Hi Gerica... I am so sorry your daughter had trouble with the recipe. Did she cool the flour mixture completely? If it's hot, that can sometimes happen. Also, has the chilling overnight helped bring it together to thicken it?
I can't think of any other reason why it would have ended up with such a thin frosting :S
Christine
Can I use 1% milk instead of whole milk?
Abeer Rizvi
I highly recommend whole milk for maximum creaminess but you can get away with 2% too. I really don't recommend 1%. It has very little fat content.
Dana
Will this hold up as a filling for a layer cake?
Thanks!
Abeer Rizvi
Yes, it works very well for that.
Dana
Awesome!! Thank you. I’ll let you know how it turns out. This is my first attempt
Kay
Hi Abeer, thanks for sharing this lovely recipe. I hate overly sweet frostings so can't wait to try this. But please help.. I made a batch of regular buttercream using half butter and half veg shortening which came out too sweet.. I hated it but I froze it hoping I can fix it. Can I make a batch of Ermine w/o sugar and add to it to make it less sweet and smooth or do you have any other suggestions. Please reply ASAP. Much appreciated!
Thanks!
Abeer Rizvi
You can add the flour mixture to the buttercream but make sure to thaw your frozen buttercream and whip it first. I am worried than your frosting might get thin though. I would suggest adding a little amount of flour mixture at a time. Let me know how it goes. I am curious now too.
Jessica
Do you use regular shortening (like crisco) or do I need to purchase a higher ratio shortening online (like spectrum). Thanks!
Abeer Rizvi
I use regular shortening.
Beverly Jacquez
Is the "tbsp" (tablespoon?) of vanilla correct? All the other recipes I've found for Ermine frosting use only 1 tsp. (teaspoon).
Abeer Rizvi
I really like vanilla and always use a tablespoon.