Whipped Buttercream Frosting is the best frosting ever! This frosting is made without powdered sugar. It has the rich creaminess of a buttercream & the light, airy texture of a whipped cream frosting!
This recipe was originally published on 12/22/12. It was updated with new pictures on 7/25/16.
This Whipped Buttercream Frosting recipe pretty much blew my mind.
I owe a big thank you to my other mother, Marilynn, for this recipe (She was married to my father, and “other mother” is more fitting than “step mom”). I’m not a big frosting person; most buttercream frostings are just ok, and I can take them or leave them.
Also, I used to have trouble getting my powdered sugar incorporated into the buttercream. It would just end up being lumpy.
Well, this buttercream frosting takes care of that because 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, it 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 much frosting will this recipe make?
This recipe will make enough to frost a 2 layer 9-inch round cake or 24 cupcakes.
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.
See how easy it is to make this whipped buttercream frosting!
More frosting recipes (made with granulated sugar)!
- 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! You can SUBSCRIBE to receive my latest recipe newsletters or FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for even more delicious food.
Whipped Buttercream Frosting
Light and fluffy buttercream frosting made without powdered sugar.
Ingredients
- 7 tablespoons (53 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups (330 g) milk
- 1 ½ tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (283 g) salted butter at cool room temperature*
- 1 ½ cups (297 g) granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
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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 paste. Make sure that you whisk the flour and milk together well before you begin cooking it to avoid lumps.
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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.
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Stir in vanilla.
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While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter, sugar, and salt together until light and fluffy on medium high-high, about 5 minutes. Make sure that you scrape down the sides and really incorporate the butter and sugar to avoid gritty frosting.
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Then add the completely cooled milk mixture.
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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.
Recipe 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.
Also, 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.
To get the best flavor, you'll want to use real butter and pure vanilla extract.
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.
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.
Want to try a buttercream made with powdered sugar instead? Here is my favorite vanilla buttercream frosting that's made with powdered sugar.
Charla Arnold says
This is called milk roux frosting and was the traditional frosting for red velvet before cream cheese. It is also VERY VERY yummy using cream instead of milk. Be aware. Its not as easy to pipe as other frostings and needs to be kept refrigerated esp in the summer.
Kate says
Thank you! I have heard it called ermine frosting, but I hadn’t heard it called milk roux frosting. Yes! It is wonderful with red velvet cake. I haven’t tried it with cream, but I can imagine that that would be delicious. Thank you for your comments! It’s great to hear from people who can offer tips about the frosting. =)
Holly says
This recipe is completely perfect!!! If I have extra how long can I leave it in the refrigerator?
Kate says
Thank you! It will keep in the fridge for about 3 days. It will set up, and you’ll want to leave it out to soften up before you use it. Hope that helps! =)
Autumn Candy says
I can’t tell if my last comment went through lol. Can I sub the vanilla extract for lemon juice?
Thanks
Autumn Candy says
Hello!
I want to make a lemon frosting, do you think replacing the vanilla extract with fresh lemon juice will curdle the milk?
Thanks
Autumn :)
Kate says
Hi! I haven’t tried to add lemon juice to the frosting. It might curdle the frosting, but I can’t say for sure. You could also try using a lemon flavor and lemon zest.
KAITE says
I tried this 2 times the first time was great but the second time the butter melted what should i do now ?
Kate says
What step are you at in the recipe?
monica f says
my flour and milk texture didn’t thicken and i don’t know why?
Kate says
I’m happy to help you troubleshoot. Can you give me more information? How long did you let it cook, and what did it look like when you stopped cooking it?
Jolene says
LOVE this receipe and thank you for sharing. Every other one i have tried comes out too sweet. I love how light and airy this turns out. I usually double it and add some almond extract as well.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you like the frosting. =) Almond extract is a great addition. Thank you for coming back to comment!
Bb says
I’d give -5 stars if I could….
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad that you liked the frosting. Thank you for commenting! =)
Virginia says
Well…maybe I should have finished the frosting first. It was still grainy after creaming the butter and sugar but once you add the flour/milk mixture the grainy texture went away!! woohoo!!!
Kate says
I’m so glad that it worked out for you! I’ve used larger grain organic sugar and have had varying results with it. I’ve found that giving it a few zips in the food processor helps. Thank you for coming back to comment! =)
Virginia says
I used Organic granulated sugar. After over 10 minutes of beating on high with my Kitchenaid mixture it was still grainy. Oh well, the kids will probably still love it. I guess I just wanted to put it out there if anyone was wanting to make this, it probably is best to only use a super fine granulated sugar…
Kacey says
I am making my 3rd batch THIS WEEK right this second. I’ve dreamed of a buttercream with all the flavor but without the density and finally… Dreams come true! I’m not like a regular mom, imma cool mom so I belt out my own rendition of whip it by DeVo while the kitchenaid whips it. The teens roll their eyes so hard they get stuck! 🤣🤣🤣 Anyway, this is the best and now my go to! Ps… if you’re a spoon sampler like me, be careful bc it’s so light you can give yourself a tummy ache bc you’ve eaten it all before you know it.
Cassy says
This was absolutely perfect! Best frosting I’ve ever tried. Thanks so much
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you liked the frosting. =) Thanks for coming back to comment!
Deveshree says
Hi there.. I tried this frosting today to frost a last minute eggless cake order. It’s a great tasting frosting, however, I had small lumps of flour paste on my buttercream. I put the whole batch through a sieve, even then I had tiny bits of the flour paste in my buttercream. I followed the recipe exactly. I made sure the milk and flour paste was completely cooled. Is there anyway to avoid this. I would really like to try it again but I am terrified.
Kate says
Hi! There is! The flour and milk need to be completely incorporated before you heat it. If the flour isn’t fully incorporated into the milk, then it will create lumps as it cooks (think the lumps in gravy if you just stir flour into hot gravy). I hope this helps, and please feel free to ask if you have more questions! =)
Deveshree says
Yes it was completely incorporated. It was a beautiful smooth paste before I let it sit to cool down. However while cooking I did notice it starting to look lumpy, kind of like what would happen to custard if it’s left to cool. Is there a way it should be cooled down. Like do I need to cover it or keep stirring while it cools.
Kate says
Hmmm, how thick was it when it started to look lumpy, and how high was the heat? I’m wondering if your stove might cook hotter than mine. I just leave it uncovered and let it cool.
Charla Arnold says
I have been making this for years and it sometimes does this. Things like cooking the milk too high, weather and mad elves can make this sometimes happen. I learned to pass the flour paste through a mesh sleeve before adding to the butter sugar to get lumps out before not adter.
Kate says
Thank you! I sometimes feel like I have mad elves in my kitchen. =) I haven’t had any issues with lumps in the flour mixture, but that sounds like a great solution should that occur. Thank you for the tips!