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.7 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 ½ cups milk
- 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.1 ½ tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- 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.1 ½ cups salted butter, 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, Pinch of salt
- 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
Stephanie says
I have tried this 4 times already and everytime it has separated, I tried cooking it longer thinking that would help and still nothing..I tried mixing longer still nothing..I’ll have to find a different recipe now because this one obviously dont wk for me
Kate says
I’m sorry to hear that! I’d be happy to help you troubleshoot. At what step is the frosting separating?
Dorothy P says
I was wondering if I put this on cupcakes and left it over night if it would stay.
Kate says
Absolutely! I recommend chilling the frosted cupcake, and I’ve never had any issues with it keeping that way.
Julia says
Yummy! Just made this with espresso coffee instead of vanilla and it’s lovely – light and fluffy and not too sweet. It was a bit “gritty” before I added the milk mixture but it smoothed out when I beat the two together. One thing though, no one has mentioned the revolting skin that forms on top of the milk mixture whilst it is cooling. I skimmed it off and threw it away, and next time will cover the pan. Great recipe though ???
Kate says
Thanks! I’m glad that you liked the frosting. =) Thanks for coming back to comment!
Ag says
I’ve been cooking and stirring the milk and flour for 30 minutes and it’s thick but runny. Help!
Kate says
Once it thickens up, it should thicken up a lot pretty quickly. You could try to take it off the heat and let it sit. It should continue to thicken as it sits. Hope that helps!
Kate says
Is it possible to make the thick paste portion ahead of time and save it in the fridge over night, before adding it to the butter mixture? I thought maybe it would give me a little baking respite and save me time tomorrow AM if I remove it from the fridge and let it warm to room temp…not sure if this is a bad idea though. Thanks for any advice you can give!
Kate says
I think so! I’ve made the flour/milk portion about 8 hours before I used it, and I chilled it until I was ready to use it. Mine was still a little cool when I used it (not cold but cool room temp), and it worked just fine. You just won’t want it too cold. Good luck! =)
Lauren says
Do I have to take anything into account if I want to add coloring ?
Kate says
It’s going to depend on how much you’re using. I’ve heard from people who have used both gel and regular food coloring without any issue. The only way I could see there being an issue is if you were using a lot it might loosen the frosting up. Hope that helps!
Kara Moore says
Does this recipe work well to make in large batches for a wedding cake?
Kate says
I’ve doubled it, but I don’t have a large enough mixer to make more than a double batch. FYI – My largest mixer is a 6qt. Hope that helps!
Sarah Stonebraker says
Holy s***! I added lemon juice and extract with the vanilla and it’s amazing. Exactly what I was looking for. I used a hand mixer so it did take a little long but worth it.
Kate says
Thanks!! I’m so glad! Also, thanks for the note about using the hand mixer.
Alison says
Absolutely LOVED this recipe. I know this sounds weird but Iv’e always hated powdered sugar in frosting. This Is a million times better than the store bought icing. I did have some trouble with the texture so I added half a stick of butter to make it more creamy. Thank you so much for this delicious recipe!
Kate says
I’m glad that you liked the frosting and that you were able to make it work! Thanks for coming back to comment! =)
Roxy says
Can I make this the night before frosting the cake?
Kate says
That should be ok. The frosting does set up some in the fridge, so just allow a bit of time for it to sit out before you use it.
Kaye lindgren says
Love this recipe so much! I did however make a small change and halfed the recipe since I knew I didn’t need that much frosting. I used 1/2 cup of butter and 1/4 cup of margerine because it’s all I had left lol it turned out really great and is totally going to be my go to recipe!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you liked it! And thank you for your note about using part margarine! I’ve gotten a few questions recently about using margarine and hadn’t tried it out myself. Thanks again for your comment! =)
Michelle Porter says
Best recipe for icing without powdered sugar I have found. I will use this every time now. Big hit with everyone today! I used a stand mixer and followed the directions paying attention to the temperatures of ingredients and this turned out to be a fluffy, whipped cream textured icing. I may try using different flavors with cupcakes/cookies with the holiday recipes. Imagine almond on pound cake or a hint peppermint on chocolate or lemon on oatmeal cookies!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad it was a hit. I’ve made cinnamon, peppermint, and chocolate versions of this frosting, so it’s definitely possible to play with the flavors. Thanks for commenting! =)
Sherry says
Excellent great instructions love this recipe
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad that the instructions were easy to follow. =) Thanks for commenting!
Erika says
Quite possibly the yummiest icing I’ve ever made! Mine was a little gritty though. Is it caster sugar or normal every day sugar that should be used?
Kate says
Thank you! =) I use regular granulated sugar. Even if the butter/sugar mixture is a little gritty, adding the milk/flour mixture usually smooths everything out. However, if you find that it’s still a little gritty, you could give the sugar a pulse or three in a food processor or blender.
Nichole says
Everything seemed fine until I mixed the milk/flour with the butter mixture. It separated and still very runny even after mixing for 10 minutes. The milk/flour wasn’t warm and it sat out for a good 30 minutes or more. I even stirred it a few times to make sure warmer parts cooled. :( :( :(
Anything I can do???
Kate says
I would try chilling it and then try re-whipping it. That may help everything set back up. Good luck!!
Jessica Keegan says
Wow! Best frosting recipe. I love the whipped texture and buttery taste. I am sharing this recipe with friends. I replaced the sugar with Truvia, to cut down on sugar.
Kate says
Thank you so much! Your note about using Truvia is really helpful. I get questions about sugar replacements, but I haven’t had a chance to test them. It’s great to hear from people who have. Thanks for coming back to comment! =)
Stacie says
Excellent recipe! Just what I was looking for. Not too sweet. Nice and light.
Kate says
Thank you so much! I’m glad that it was what you were looking for. =) Thank you for coming back to comment.
Ernesto says
when i mixed the milk mixture with the butter mixture it was liquidy like pancake mix. i just put it in the fridge, how can i fix it??
Kate says
The milk mixture should have been thick and shouldn’t have been runny. Was it still wet when you added it, or was it warm and melted the butter?
Ally Swan says
Literally the best frosting I’ve ever had! It tastes like ice cream! I made it for a friend’s gender reveal party and the cupcakes were a hit! I’m making it again for my friend’s baby shower! My new go to recipe!
Kate says
Thank you so much! I’m glad that the cupcakes were a hit. =) Thank you for coming back to comment!
Diane Wiles says
I do not like using powdered sugar in my frostings. I have a recipe for chocolate chip cookie dough frosting that i want to make without the powdered sugar. Would subbing the white sugar in your recipe with brown sugar work? Maybe slightly more butter, slightly more vanilla? Thoughts?
Kate says
I have a brown sugar version that might work better if you’re looking for more of a brown sugar flavor. I’m not sure how close that would get you, but maybe it would be a better starting point. Good luck! =)