Whipped Buttercream Frosting is the best frosting ever! This flour frosting (ermine frosting) is made without powdered sugar. It has the rich creaminess of a buttercream & the light, airy texture of a whipped cream frosting without being too sweet!
This Whipped Buttercream Frosting recipe pretty much blew my mind. I’m not a big frosting person; most buttercream frostings are just ok, and I can take them or leave them.
Well, this buttercream frosting is amazing, and it uses (are you ready for this?) granulated sugar!
Yep! Regular, old granulated sugar. So, if you’ve ever wondered how to make frosting without powdered sugar, this is it!
Don’t worry – it’s not gritty at all. In fact, this ermine frosting has the texture of a light whipped cream with the flavor of a sweet, vanilla buttercream.
It’s honestly the best frosting (buttercream or otherwise) that I’ve ever had. It’s sweet but isn’t overwhelmingly, make-your-teeth-ache sweet.
I’ve put answers to a lot of the questions I’ve received in the recipe notes. Please take a second to read through those notes before making the frosting.
How to make frosting without powdered sugar
Step 1 Whisk the milk and flour together in a small heavy saucepan before beginning to heat.
Step 2 Once combined, heat the mixture over medium-low heat until it has thickened. At this point, it should be the consistency of a thick paste.
Step 3 Remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla extract.
Step 4 Let the mixture cool to room temperature before continuing. This step is key. If the mixture is warm, it will cause the butter to warm up, and you’ll end up with a thin, runny frosting.
Step 5 In a separate large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and salt together on medium-high to high until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides to avoid gritty frosting.
Step 6 Add the completely cooled milk/flour mixture to the beaten butter/sugar mixture, and beat on medium-high to high for 5 minutes. It may look separated at first, but keep whipping the frosting until it is light and fluffy.
FAQs
This recipe has been posted for nearly 10 years. During that time, I’ve made and re-made this frosting countless times to be able to answer the thousands of questions that I’ve received. Here are some answers to the most commonly asked questions.
The recipe will make enough to frost a 2 layer 9-inch round cake or 24 cupcakes.
I recommend chilling any unused or leftover frosting because of the high dairy content.
This recipe uses granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar to make frosting.
I’ve used almond milk to make this frosting, and it worked well.
I’ve tried this recipe with skim milk, 1% milk, 2% milk, whole milk, and nondairy milk. I’ve successfully made the frosting with all of those types of milk. However, using whole milk will give you a richer, creamier frosting than using skim milk.
I’ve tried the recipe with both salted butter and with unsalted butter + salt. I prefer the version with the salted butter because the unsalted butter + salt version tastes flatter.
You can. Clear vanilla doesn’t have as much flavor as pure vanilla extract, so you may find that you need to use more clear vanilla for the frosting to have as much flavor.
You can! Feel free to substitute another type of flavoring or extract for the vanilla.
You can! I’ve used both gel and regular food dye. Both have worked well. If you’re going to use a large quantity of food coloring, I would recommend a gel to avoid making the frosting runny.
I’ve doubled this recipe. It filled my 5 quart stand mixer, so be sure to use a larger mixing bowl.
I use regular granulated sugar. Using a larger grain (natural) sugar can give you gritty frosting. If you’re worried about the frosting ending up gritty, you can give the sugar a couple of zips in a blender or food processor to break it down.
Yes, you can use an equal amount of vanilla bean paste in place of the vanilla extract to make vanilla bean buttercream.
I’ve frozen cupcakes that were frosted with this frosting. They froze and thawed beautifully.
What flavors of cake go well with this frosting?
This frosting has a light, sweet vanilla flavor that works well with a number of cake flavors. Here are a few ideas!
- Red velvet – This type of frosting with the classic frosting for red velvet cake.
- Chocolate cake
- Carrot cake – Cream cheese frosting is the classic carrot cake frosting, but you could get adventurous and try out vanilla for a change.
- Zucchini cake
- Spice cake
- White cake
Can I make this frosting in other flavors?
You can! Here are some of the different flavors of this frosting that I’ve made.
Troubleshooting tips
- First, not cooking the milk mixture long enough. The mixture should be a thick paste. If it’s too wet, the frosting will be too loose.
- Second, the cooked milk mixture needs to cool completely. If it’s too warm, it will melt the butter, and you’ll end up with loose frosting that doesn’t come together.
- Third, using butter that’s too warm. The butter should be at cool room temperature. It should dent if pushed, but it shouldn’t be too warm and certainly not beginning to melt.
- Fourth, using other types of sugars. This frosting needs to be made with granulated sugar, not powdered sugar.
- Fifth, not whipped the frosting long enough. The frosting needs to be whipped to get the right light and airy texture. Cutting the time short could leave you with a grainy frosting or a frosting that separates.
- If your frosting is still a little gritty after beating it for 5 minutes, go ahead and add the cooled milk/flour mixture. That will usually smooth out any remaining sugar.
- A couple people have reported that a film has formed on their milk/flour mixture. I haven’t had this happen, but another person said that she’s had good luck with blending the milk/flour mixture with a blender before cooking it. She said that it removed any lumps and helped prevent a skin from forming.
If you’ve tried this whipped buttercream frosting recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from people who’ve made my recipes!
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Whipped Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 ½ tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups salted butter at cool room temperature1
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk together over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. It will be the consistency of a thick paste2. Make sure that you whisk the flour and milk together well before you begin cooking it to avoid lumps.
- Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. This step is key. If your mixture is warm, it will melt your butter, and you’ll end up with runny frosting.
- Stir in vanilla.
- While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter, sugar, and salt together until light and fluffy on medium high-high3, about 5 minutes4. Make sure that you scrape down the sides and really incorporate the butter and sugar to avoid gritty frosting.
- Then add the completely cooled milk mixture.
- Beat it for about 5 more minutes on medium-high to high until it looks like whipped cream. It may look separated at first, so keep beating it until it comes together and looks like a whipped cream.
Video
Notes
- Make sure that your butter isn’t too warm! The butter should be at cool room temperature. You want it to dent if you press it, but you don’t want it to be so warm that it’s near melting.
- When cooking the milk/flour mixture, you don’t want it to look wet. It should be like a thick paste. If it’s wet and runny, your frosting will be too loose.
- If you’re using a hand mixer, beat it on high. This recipe work well with a stand mixer because it has the power to really whip the frosting.
- Please don’t cut the mixing time short! I know it’s tempting, but it’s important to beat the butter and sugar together for the time the recipe calls for to keep it from being gritty. If you cut the mixing times short, you won’t end up with the right texture of frosting.
- To get the best flavor, you’ll want to use real butter and pure vanilla extract.
- Want to try a buttercream made with powdered sugar instead? Here is my favorite vanilla buttercream frosting that’s made with powdered sugar.
- I recommend chilling any leftover frosted cake or cupcakes.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
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More frosting recipes that are made without powdered sugar!
This recipe was originally published on 12/22/12. It was updated with new pictures on 7/25/16. Updated again on 2/10/22 with additional information and tips.
Reader Interactions
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Comments & Reviews
Laura says
I only have unsalted butter- will this make a huge difference? Should I add an extra pinch of salt? Thanks so much!
Kate says
I’ve used both unsalted butter and salted butter, and I greatly prefer salted butter to unsalted butter + salt. That may just be my taste though! If you use unsalted butter, you’ll need about 3/4 teaspoon of salt (each 1/2 cup of salted butter has about 1/4 teaspoon of salt). Hope that helps!
Laura says
Hi! Can I make this the day before I use it? Will it be ok in the fridge overnight, then let it warm up a little bit before icing the cake the next day? Thanks so much!
Kate says
I find it easier to use it when it is freshly made. It does set up quite a bit in the fridge, so you would need to let it come up in temp some before using.
Safia says
Seems wonderful. The amount of beating suggested will surely make my buttyer go watery and it will start leaving whey… any idea to stop that from happening?
Kate says
Thanks! If your butter is at cool room temperature, it shouldn’t separate.
Jessica says
I was hesitant about this recipe as you start it by making gravy, LOL! However, fears aside, this turned out PHENOMENAL!! My go-to is Swiss Meringue, but it is humid, and the event is outside, which calls for a disaster. We didn’t want to do the traditional buttercream, which is too sweet with all the powdered sugar. Tremendously happy I found this recipe!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you like the frosting!
LadyFlip says
This is my go to recipe!!! I have changed it to a few different flavors including chocolate, strawberry and peanut butter!!!!
Kate says
Thank you so much!
Sijel says
This is definitely my new favourite frosting!! Quick and easy and stable enough to frost cupcakes and cakes!
I was wondering if I add a little bit of lemon to it, will it make the milk split or something? Will it ruin the integrity of the frosting? The lemon can bring a tartness to the frosting, perfect for carrot/red velvet cake
Sijel says
Hello!! I will be making this recipe for the first time. I’m from Pakistan and over here the granulated sugar has relatively bigger crystals and I am not sure if those crystals will beat into the frosting. Should I grind the sugar just a bit to make it finer?
Kate says
Hi! Yes, grinding the sugar should help.
Sijel says
Alright! I am making it for a 4 year old’s birthday, I am sure the frosting will turn out great!
Kate says
Great! This frosting is a bit different than traditional buttercream frosting, but there are photos, lots of tips and information above the recipe, and there’s also video if that helps.
Nancy says
Can the frosted cake stay out on the counter for a couple of days, or will the frosting spoil?
Kate says
No, because of the high dairy content in the frosting, I recommend chilling the frosting or the frosted cake.
Tshepiso says
First time in my life making frosting and I absolutely love this recipe. Easy to follow and tips come in handy. Well done to the person who made this.
Kate says
Thank you!
Danielle says
Loved the recipe. My only question/concern is the finished product had some little beads that looked/tasted like gelatin!….what would cause this? I sifted the flour before I whisked it into the milk, and then whisked them together while turning the mixture into a paste. It seemed to take forever to thicken, so I’m not sure if I had the heat high enough or if cooking longer than usual would cause it….the beads were like the size of tiny grains of salt
Kate says
I’ve never had that happen, but a few years ago, someone commented that they ended up with tiny lumps in their mixture. They said that they put it into the blender, and that solved the issue for them.
Lisa Lord says
This is amazing! So fluffy and delicious I prefer it to frosting made with icing sugar it’s not too sweet I won’t be using icing sugar again ! Thanks for sharing 😊👌
Kate says
Thank you so much!
Kelly says
Thank you Kate! I tried this recipe for my cupcakes. I normally make swiss meringue buttercream. I have to say, the recipe worked out beautifully. The taste and texture, the instructions – Yes, you need to read the entire recipe and make sure the milk and flour becomes very thick, like paste. And, I kept mine in the refrigerator for about 2 hours spread on a plate, covered in saran wrap so it cooled quickly. I also used almond extract instead of the vanilla.
Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad that the notes were helpful!
Michele says
So excited to make this! How many days in advance can I make this before frosting a cake? With the milk, I wasn’t sure.
Kate says
Hi! I’ve had the best luck when frosting a cake just after making the frosting. The frosting sets up quite a bit in the fridge, which makes it a great keeper on frosted cakes. However, when once it has set up, it just doesn’t frost as well.
Enid says
I love this recipe. I’ve made it several times. Tastes delicious! But- I’m having trouble with the consistency. The flour/milk paste is thick. But when I mix it with the butter/sugar, it then becomes almost runny. My cake looks like it melted. LOL. What can I do to thicken it after mixing everything together? Maybe I over-beat it?
Kate says
Hi! I would try briefly chilling the cooked milk/flour mixture and then add it to the butter mixture.
Enid says
The milk/flour mixture is already completely chilled. Unfortunately, that’s not the issue. This most recent time, I actually had it sitting out for a couple of hours, accidentally forgetting about it. Lol.
Unless- did you mean maybe putting it in the fridge?
Kate says
Yes, you could try chilling it in the fridge. Also, is your butter sitting out for a few hours, too?
Lori says
I was wondering if I can substitute peanut butter for the butter?
Kate says
Hi! I haven’t tried using peanut butter in this recipe to say for certain.
Lori says
The peanut butter did not work to substitute. It tasted ok but did not get fluffy.
Kate says
That’s too bad, but thank you so much for letting me know!
Jane says
Very very good!!
Kate says
Thank you!
Vanessa Dalbec says
Make sure to use a whisk attachment and not the paddle, it made all the difference in trying to whip!
Kate says
Thank you!
Kathleen Trepagnier says
This was delicious. Ran out of powdered sugar and tried this alternative. My husband loves it
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad it was a hit!
Lori says
So good!!! I totally messed this up and was able to recover. I didn’t read the directions. I dumped all the ingredients in my mixer and turned it on, it got lumpy. I transferred everything to the saucepan and whisked while heating. Totally smooth but runny. I refrigerated until cool. It was great tasting but surprisingly still runny. I assed a smidge of powdered sugar to thicken and it was amazing! Thank you for this delicious and robust recipe
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that it worked out for you!