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
Tonya Bomia says
Baked a cake yesterday. When I went to frostin it I found that I didn’t have enough powdered sugar to make the frosting . No way was I going to the store. Went online found this recipe and so glad I did. This is by far the best frosting that I have ever had. Thank you.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you found it and that you liked it! It’s always nice when things work out that way. =) Thanks for coming back to comment!
Long says
I used corn starch. Instead of flour. Worked great. No flour taste
Kate says
I’m so glad! I’ve tried cornstarch and found it difficult to work with. I’m really glad it worked out for you! =)
Amy Garcia Morales says
My icing does not seem to be fluffing up. It looks separated. Been mixing it for about 10 minutes now. Using a hand mixer on high.
Kate says
I’m sorry you’re having trouble with it! Two questions – how warm was your butter, and how warm was your milk mixture? I’m guessing that one was on the warmer side because that’s usually what causes what you’re describing. At this point, you could try to chill it (maybe 15 or so minutes) to let it firm up and then try whipping it again. Hope that helps!
sonia says
I love buttercream frosting but its a little too “rough” for my cakes since I don’t use eggs in my recipes — this was EXACTLY what I was looking for! Thank you so much! I made it yesterday and its delicious. I do have a question – I put it in the fridge to hang out while my cake cooled and I plan on frosting today. Whats the best method you use to get that creamy consistency back now that its hardened?
Kate says
Good! I’m glad you found it! It should soften back up if you leave it out to come up to temp. Good luck! =)
Leslie says
Hey I am going to try this frosting today. I’m so excited. I’ve tried the American buttercream and it was wayyy to sweet. I want to make it today but I am going to frost the cupcakes tomorrow. Do I have to re whip it tomorrow? Or will it be ready? Do I store it in the fridge? And if so do I need it to come to room temp before using it. Sorry for all the questions!
Kate says
No worries! You shouldn’t need to re-whip it after it’s chilled. The only time people need to do that is if it separates, but it shouldn’t separate if it’s well-combined to begin with. It will set up after it’s been in the fridge, so you’ll need to set it out to let it come up to temperature. Hope that helps! =)
Deb Q says
This recipe worked great for me with my hand mixer. It is quite high powered. I kept trying it to figure out if I would know it had flour in it. Still not sure, but I keep eating it! Lol My husband loves it!
Kate says
Good! I’m so glad to hear that it worked with your hand mixer and that your husband loves it! Thanks for coming back to comment! =)
Judy says
This really is – The. Best. Buttercream. Thank you for a wonderful recipe. I am wondering if I might try adding a small jar of salted caramel. I know there is a salted caramel frosting recipe on your site, but this buttercream is so very good. I’d love to try it with the caramel flavor, but don’t want to ruin the texture or waste ingredients if it won’t work. Would appreciate your thoughts.
Kate says
Thank you so much!! I’m always a little hesitant to add much to this frosting because I worry about ruining the texture. I do have a brown sugar whipped buttercream frosting that might get you closer to the caramel flavor while still keeping the same sort of consistency. If you used dark brown sugar and maybe some extra kosher salt that might give you more of what you’re looking for. I hope that helps!
Katelyn says
I just made this frosting and it was WONDERFUL right after I made it. I put it in the refrigerator for an hour while my cake cooled. I pulled the frosting out and it was separated and had big chunks of butter in it! What am I doing wrong? :(
Kate says
It sounds like it needed to be mixed longer. Once it has been whipped, it shouldn’t have any chunks of butter in it. I would try to whip it to see if it will come back together. Good luck!!
Tiffany owens says
I made this recipe vegan, and everyone was so impressed with it. I used coconut oil and almond milk to sub and it was fantastic. Thank u. This us a winner
Kate says
Thank you! It is so helpful when people share subs that worked! I get lots of questions about subbing different ingredients, and I really appreciate hearing what has worked for people. Thanks again! =)
Arwyn Geary says
Hi, I wanted to know if I can you something else other than butter, with making cupcakes I would not have enough butter left over. I need to know by 3:00 PM at the most. Thanks!
Kate says
I’m sorry, but I’m not sure how this would work with margarine or shortening. You certainly wouldn’t get the same flavor if you used shortening, but I haven’t used either one to say how well they would hold up.
Tammy Brabham says
I have made this with a 50/50 of butter and spectrum shortening and it came out great and tasted wonderful. It’s especially helpful if you live in a humid area in the summer. So anybody wondering, it works just fine.
Kate says
That’s very helpful! Thank you! I appreciate hearing how different variations have worked out. =)
Krista says
Wonderful recipe! I do not like an overly sweet icing and this was perfect. I used cool brown butter and a touch of Kahlua instead of vanilla and it was really good.
Kate says
Thank you! Brown butter is one of my favorite things, and those sound like delicious changes. =) Thanks for commenting!
Jenny says
Hi! Wondering what % milk you use
Kate says
I’ve used everything from skim to whole milk when making this recipe. If you use a higher fat milk, you’ll get a creamier frosting. Hope that helps!
Jade says
Thank God for this recipe I had the munchies but nothing sweet in my house. Just the bare minimum. I skipped the baking powder and used self rising flour. I also did a full teaspoon of vanilla extract and microwaved for 2minutes. It was beautiful
Kate says
Hi! You were able to microwave the milk/flour mixture for the frosting?
sim says
is it stiff to make roses
Kate says
I’m not sure how stiff you need the frosting to be, but I don’t have any trouble piping with it.
Sim says
Can we use cornstarch instead of flour
Kate says
I’ve tried using cornstarch instead of flour, and I’ve found it difficult to get the right consistency with the cornstarch.
Natassia says
Can I make this with raspberry preserves? How would you recommend I mix it in?
Kate says
I’m not sure! You might be able to mix a little bit of preserves in at the end, but I’m not sure how it will come out. Sorry that I don’t have a more definite answer for you.
Samantha says
I’m using this recipe for a cake it’s really good, but wanting to know does the cake have to be refrigerated once’s iced or is it okay to be at room temperature overnight?
Kate says
Thank you! I refrigerate the iced cake. Hope that helps! =)
Linda Berry- Newborn says
Did the frosting and it turned out great just as you said. The taste was grand better than store brought. I’m so Glad I tryed this. Will be recommended this site to everyone I know.
Kate says
Yay!! I’m so glad that you liked it and that it came out well for you! I appreciate the recommendation. =) Thanks for coming back to comment!
Debbie Stewart says
I am looking for a light but sturdy butter flavor filling for doughnuts. This sounds great. Is it stable to sit out for a day after using ?
Kate says
Thank you! Would it sit out all day? I’ve heard from people who have used it on a wedding cake, and that sat out for several hours. Hope that helps!
Celia leventhal says
Can it be refrigerated if made ahead
Kate says
Yes, I recommend refrigerating the frosting. It does set up a fair amount once chilled, so you may need to set it out for a while before working with it. Good luck!