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
Caroline says
For once I was sooo happy to not have powdered sugar in the house. This recipe has changed my life. Literally amazing!!!! I wont be buying powdered sugar for a long time. This was sooo good on the cut out sugar cookies I made. Let alone thinking of this on a cake or cupcakes is making me drool. This is a frosting you will find yourself just straight up eating on its own. This recipe yields alot by the way so more than what you need.
Kate says
Yay!! I’m so glad that you liked it!! Thank you for coming back to comment! =)
Melissa j Marano says
My Entire Family loved this frosting!!! I Did too!!! Not too sweet but a hint of sweetness made this frosting delicious!!!!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that it was a hit! Thanks for commenting! =)
Alison says
Thanks for the recipe! Question about cooling: do you cover the milk and flour mixture? I end up with a “skin” forming on the surface which makes lumps in the final icing.
Kate says
Hi! I don’t cover it because I haven’t had any issues with it forming a skin. However, if you find that it is (especially if that’s causing lumps in the final frosting), I would press plastic wrap into the surface of the mixture (like you would when making pudding).
Kelly says
I’ve been looking for a lemon frosting and this sounds like the perfect base. Do you think I could add a few tablespoons of lemon juice to take it in that direction?
Kate says
Hi! I’m not sure how adding lemon juice will work. You might have better luck with lemon flavor or extract and a bit of zest. Good luck! =)
Michelle says
This is my new FAVE frosting!!! I was totally skeptical (frosting in flour??), but it’s super light and fluffy!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you liked it! I was skeptical the first time I made it, too. =) Thanks for commenting!
Talula Hortz says
Hi Kate I love your website but when i tried to heat the milk and flour together it all just clumped up!!Thanks anyway.
Kate says
Hi! It definitely sounds like something went wrong. Either the milk and the flour weren’t combined well before they were heated, or the mixture wasn’t whisked well as it cooked. I’ve had to step away from it before, and when I came back, it was clumpy. I’m happy to help you troubleshoot if you’d like to give it another try!
Kira Sawatzky says
Hi there. Just wondering if this is stable enough to do a unicorn decorated cake?
Kate says
Hi! I think so. The frosting holds up well to piping (rosettes, basic cupcake piping, borders), and I would guess that it would work well for that, too.
Shanna says
So yummy! I made a cake and realized I didn’t have any icing sugar so I made this recipe instead. It was a hit with the family and is my new favorite!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you liked it! Thanks for coming back to comment! =)
Kathy Wurstr says
Frosting was gritty so I beat it 10 minutes. It was still gritty but once I mixed in the flour/milk mixture, the grittiness went away and it was smooth, creamy, and delicious! I would definitely use this recipe again. I cut it in half and it was more than enough to frost a 13×9 cake.
Kate says
Thanks! I’m so glad! I’ve wondered if different brands of sugar incorporate differently. Glad to hear that it came out well for you though! =) Thanks for commenting!
Tammy says
Hi Kate,
I am wondering if i can make the frosting and refrigerate it over night to frost the cake tomorrow??
Kate says
Hi! I haven’t tried doing that. It does firm up in the fridge, so you’d likely need to set it out to come up to temp before you use it.
Tessie says
OMG so delicious!!!! I made the chocolate frosting and it is a perfect chocolate taste!!! This is the first time I follow your recipe, but have made a vanilla recipe from another website a few times. Every time I make it, my icing looks curdled. I whip for 10+ minutes and it’s still curdled-looking. Taste is good but it doesn’t look nice. The other website suggested taking out 1/4-1/2 cup of icing and microwaving it, then slowly adding it back in while beating on high. That usually helps to smooth the icing, but then I find it’s too runny to work with when piping. Any other suggestions? Am I not beating long enough before adding the flour paste? Am I not beating long enough between adding spoonfuls of the flour paste? I made my flour paste the night before making the icing and had it in the fridge, so I know that the issue wasn’t my paste being too warm… TIA
Kate says
Hi! I’ve never tried microwaving part of the frosting, so I’m afraid I can’t comment on that part. How thick is your cooked flour mixture?
Tessie says
To reply to your last reply, my flour paste if very thick. Thicker than pudding even, especially after watching your video tutorial and comparing with your flour paste! I’m making a second batch today and will whip my butter/sugar for longer before adding in the flour paste, and then I’ll let it whip longer in between adding my paste too! I’m also trying with a bit of hot chocolate powder this time instead of cocoa powder so we’ll see how that turns out too!
Marissa says
Hello, I am looking to use this frosting for my daughters first birthday smash cake, love that it is less sugar/ sweet. Just wondering if the frosting would hold up if I made it the day ahead and frosted the cake the next morning? It would be much easier for me to make ahead and stick it in the fridge. Have you tried making it ahead?
Kate says
I’m sorry, but I haven’t tried that. I’ve made frosted a cake (and cupcakes) and then chilled them until it was time to serve. It does firm up in the fridge, so you would likely need to set it out to come up to temp before using it.
Teri T says
Hi Kate, thank you for sharing your recipe which I really eager to try, I have been looking for a frosting/icing recipe that don’t use powdered sugar and here it is. I have one question though, can this frosting be great in cake decorating and hold it’s shape for the duration of the celebration? I’m planning to decorate a birthday cake using your recipe. Thanks.
Kate says
Hi! Thank you! I haven’t had any issues with the frosting holding its shape at cooler room temps (around 70F and below). However, when I’ve made it and my kitchen was warmer (around 80F+), it’s gotten softer. I hope that helps! If you have other questions, please feel free to ask.
Mommyof2 says
Is this enough frosting to cover a 9 in layer cake and do a border?
Kate says
I would probably make a 1.5 batch just to have plenty. I hope that helps!
Sarah says
Can you replace the milk with coffee creamer to play with flavors?
Kate says
I haven’t tried using coffee creamer to say for certain. I’ve heard from people who have used heavy cream, so it might work. If you try it, I’d love to hear how it works out!
Tessie says
This is the only type of buttercream frosting Ive been making for the past 2 years now!!!! It is so amazing and light, and everyone always loves it! It was a life-changer in my baking life LOL. My son’s birthday is on Saturday and I wanted to make a chocolate buttercream frosting… do you think I can I substitute the vanilla in this recipe with either cocoa powder or melted chocolate?
Kate says
I’m so glad that you like it! =) I have a chocolate version of this recipe if you’re interested. Hope that helps!
Tessie says
OMG so delicious!!!! I made the chocolate frosting and it is a perfect chocolate taste!!! This is the first time I follow your recipe, but have made a vanilla recipe from another website a few times. Every time I make it, my icing looks curdled. I whip for 10+ minutes and it’s still curdled-looking. Taste is good but it doesn’t look nice. The other website suggested taking out 1/4-1/2 cup of icing and microwaving it, then slowly adding it back in while beating on high. That usually helps to smooth the icing, but then I find it’s too runny to work with when piping. Any other suggestions? Am I not beating long enough before adding the flour paste? Am I not beating long enough between adding spoonfuls of the flour paste? I made my flour paste the night before making the icing and had it in the fridge, so I know that the issue wasn’t my paste being too warm… TIA
Shanice says
Beautiful! Is this frosting sense enough to hold up a three layered cake?
Kate says
Thank you! You would need to make either 1 1/2 batches or a double batch for a three layered cake unless it’s a naked cake.
Amber says
yo this is the first frosting ive ever tasted that the CAKE is sweeter than the FROSTING. i literally love this recipe so much. the milk and flour mixture hardened and became like a thick jelly while cooling, but I still added it and it came out perfect !!
Kate says
I’m so glad that you liked the frosting! It sounds like you made it just right. =) Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment!
Tina Barber says
Thank you. i’ve only had frosting that i actually really like a couple times in my life. I don’t know if this is the same recipe but it sure taste like it. Many times we eat cakes and cupcakes with no frosting and i take the frosting off of the bakery bought from the store. This is delicious and we eat it quite a bit. On bakery items of course. Not just frosting. Tempting
Kate says
I’m so glad that you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to comment! =)
G.G. (greatgrama) says
This was my Aunt Janie,s recipe in the 50,s, ,I had misplaced it,, THANK YOU ,so very much, it’s the best ,anyone thats had it raves about it
Kate says
Yay!! I’m so glad that you found it again. =)
Marie says
I want to make a ice cream cake, can I freeze this frosting?
Kate says
Hi! I’ve frozen the frosting, and I didn’t have any issues with it. Hope that helps!