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 Whipped Buttercream Frosting
Whisk the milk and flour together in a small heavy saucepan before beginning to heat.
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 (far left picture above).
Remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla extract.
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.
In a separate large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and salt together on medium-high to high until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (middle picture above). Be sure to scrape down the sides to avoid gritty frosting.
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.
How Much Frosting Will This Recipe Make?
This recipe will make enough to frost a 2 layer 9-inch round cake or 24 cupcakes.
Do I Need To Chill The Frosting?
I recommend chilling any unused or leftover frosting because of the high dairy content (all of the milk and butter).
Troubleshooting Tips
- 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.
Can I Use Food Coloring In This Frosting?
Can I Use Food Coloring In This Frosting?I’ve never tried to use food coloring with this frosting. However, I have heard from several people who have successfully used both regular and gel food coloring.
More Granulated Sugar Frosting Recipes
- Whipped Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting
- Whipped Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting
- Whipped Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Cream Cheese Frosting
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 Information
This recipe was originally published on 12/22/12. It was updated with new pictures on 7/25/16.
Ashley Preston says
I did it with imperial margerine and it turned out fantastic, I personally didn’t have any problems whether it be with the rue forming a film or it not combining . This tastes amazing and it is so nice and fluffy.I tried this recipe because every icing I have ever made has always been good in taste but melts of my cakes.This recipe is one that I will definitely be using from now on (It doesn’t melt of my cakes 🎉🎉🎉!!!)
Jessica says
Can you use heavy whipping cream in place of milk?
Kate says
I haven’t tried it, but I’ve heard from a number of people who have replaced part or all of the milk with heavy whipping cream. They’ve said that it worked well for them and that it made the frosting very rich and creamy.
kayla says
what do u do if it is like soup
Kate says
What point in the recipe were you when it turned to soup?
Amber says
I followed the recipe but it was not one of those “Nailed it” moments. I used Almond Milk instead…not recommended.
Kate says
Hey! That’s too bad! I’d like to help you figure out what went wrong. I’ve used almond milk several times, and it’s always worked well for me. I’m not sure whether it’s the brand (I’ve always used Silk) or something else. Did you make any other changes?
Lana says
can i use evaporated milk? And can i add different flavor extracts
Kate says
I haven’t tried using evaporated milk in this recipe. Since it has less moisture, you may want to reconstitute it and try it that way. You can absolutely add different flavors of extracts! I have made it with all sorts of other flavors like peppermint and cinnamon.
Leslie says
This frosting is DELISH! I love a light, fluffy frosting and it’s hard to come across a good recipe. This one is definitely a keeper. Thanks!
Kate says
Thank you so much!! I’m really glad that you liked the frosting! =)
Candace says
This icing was delicious and so easy to make. I added about an additional 1/8 cup of sugar, to suit my sweet tooth. I did get the film over the flour mixture, but it still blended perfectly.
Kate says
Thank you so much! I’m glad that it worked out well for you. Thanks for commenting! =)
Fefe says
I love this recipe. It will be my new go to. I found this recipe because to went to back a cake for my son’s birthday and last minute I realized I didn’t have any powdered sugar. Who needs powdered sugar anymore. That you for posting this recipe it was a lifesaver. I did add a little more vanilla than the recipe called for
Kate says
Yay!! I’m so glad that it helped! Happy birthday to your son, and thank you for commenting! =)
Yen Say says
This is great recipe. Loved how it came out. I cut the sugar because don’t like it too sweet and it was perfect. The only thing is when I refrigerated the leftover, it turned hard lime at paste.
Kate says
Hi! Thank you! Yes, it does firm up in the fridge. It should soften back up if you let it come to temperature out of the fridge.
KCalSh says
I made this frosting the other day and it was perfect. Can it be modified for chocolate? How?
Kate says
Thank you so much! I have a chocolate, Oreo, and cinnamon version of this frosting. =)
Jennifer Flores says
This recipe is fantastic!
I have powdered sugar but didn’t want to yse it all on snack cupcakes for my kids on Spring Break
The butter & sugar stayed grainy for me no matter how long I mixed but I assumed it was the low moisture content of the butter 😄 when it was as fluffy as could be, maybe 7 or 8 minutes of mixing and giving up, I added the milk/flour mixture and beat the heck out of it again. It stayed grainy for quite a while and the consistency didn’t change much if at all. But at some point, whipping around with what moisture was left from the milk, the sugar had dissolved and left a soft silky smooth buttercream! I love this so much. It does have a lightly brown color to it like an antique white. I assume from the canned milk I used and the vanilla.
Kate says
I’m so glad that you liked it! Did you use evaporated milk? Yes! The vanilla can lend a slight tint. You can use clear vanilla if you want a whiter frosting.
Sarah says
I only have unsalted butter. Will that work also?
Kate says
It will! You can just add a pinch or two of salt to taste.