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
Maria says
Would this recipe help with the melting issue most buttercreams have?
Kate says
Hi! Since it’s butter-based, this frosting will soften when warm. Does that answer your question?
Tracey Hill says
Kind of unclear about the direction is it 1 and 1/2 cups sugar. If so I did it correctly but still gritty to the touch (using a hand mixer)
Kate says
Yes, it’s 1 and 1/2 cups of granulated sugar. If it’s still a little gritty, go ahead and add the milk/flour mixture. Some brands of sugar seems to have a little larger or smaller crystal. I’ve found that adding the milk mixture will smooth out any remaining grittiness. Hope that helps!
LEah says
Is the flower/milk mixture supposed to be the consistency kind of like sweetened condensed milk? I can’t seem to get it any thicker than that and it’s to the point that it’s even boiling.
Kate says
No, it should be thicker than sweetened condensed milk. I have a photo of what it should look like in the post, and there’s also a video that shows what the mixture looks like. Did you add 7 tablespoons (scant 1/2 cup) of flour?
Margaret says
Wonderful recipe! I was looking for a non-powdered sugar frosting and this did not disappoint. I was a little too fragile at first with the milk/flour mixture so it took 25 minutes to thicken. Once I turned up the heat and let it sit unstirred for 10 seconds at a time, it got to the paste texture. I followed the instructions to a tee and it was the fluffiest frosting I’ve ever seen. Very yummy too!
Kate says
I’m so glad that you liked the frosting! And I’m glad that turning up the heat helped. Thank you for taking the time to comment! =)
Dawn says
Would this recipe work if I added the sugar to the milk and flour and heated it all together? I’m thinking the sugar would dissolve and not be gritty. But would it thicken properly?
Kate says
Hi! The only time that I’ve ever had gritty frosting with this recipe was when I used a large grain natural sugar. I haven’t tried adding the sugar in with the milk/flour mixture. I’ve heard from a couple of people who have, but I haven’t tried it that way.
Ashley says
I’ve been working on the milk and flour mixture for about 30 minutes now and it will not thicken up to a paste. Is the picture you have what it’s suppose to look like? Is it suppose to thicken on the heat or off?0
Kate says
Hey! It shouldn’t take anywhere near that long. If it isn’t thickening, the first thing I would suggest is to try turning up the heat a little. I’ve found that stoves, like ovens, can really vary in their heat settings. If that doesn’t help, please let me know, and I’m happy to help you troubleshoot. Yes, that picture was taken right after I took the mixture off the burner. It will continue to thicken a bit as it sits and cools.
Ashley says
So, I let it thicken off the heat and it turned out okay but kind of gritty with the sugar.
I tried again tonight because I wanted to make a cake for my brother’s birthday and he doesn’t like overly sweet icing. This time I turned the heat higher and it made a paste while on the heat, but the bottom and sides started to stick when it was still runny, there were these clumps that were different because of it and it messed up the icing. There was a lot of milk flour chunks. I put on a timer so I know I mixed it long enough. So it worked out better letting it thicken up off the heat after a certain point for me.
I read a comment here about adding sugar to the milk and flour to help it from being gritty. Have you tried it? Do you think that’ll work? It wasn’t *too* gritty the first time, just enough to annoy me because I’m a bit of a perfectionist when I’m making desserts. The second time it was really gritty. Maybe the butter softened too much.
But anyway, I think letting it sit to thicken up produced nearly the same result as yours. My granny said it reminded her of icing people made years ago and it always too a bit of time to make it. My mom, daughter, grandparents, and my mother’s friend thought it was great the first time.
Thank you for replying.
Kate says
Hi! One thing I would suggest is to make sure that you’ve really combined the flour and milk before you begin cooking it. Otherwise, it can cause lumps if the flour isn’t well-incorporated.
Also, the only time that I’ve ever had gritty frosting was when I used a larger grain organic sugar. Are you using sugar like that by chance? The other thing that you could try is using superfine sugar or giving regular granulated sugar a few pulses in a food processor.
No, I haven’t tried it yet, but I have heard from a few people who have added the sugar with the milk and flour. They’ve said that it worked well for them.
Dorothy Moellenhoff says
I didn’t mix the flour and milk together, I was in a rush and didn’t pay attention. So I softened butter, whipped for a few minutes, put flour, sugar, milk and vanilla in it whipped some more. It was very gritty. I placed in microwave for 20 secs. Whipped again for 4-5 min then put it back in microwave for another 15 secs. Whipped again for a few minutes and it’s the creamiest, fluffiest frosting I have ever had!
Kate says
Wow!! I’m so glad that it came out well that way! I’m really intrigued, and I think I’ll have to make a batch and try it your way. Thanks for commenting! =)
Megan says
I came across this recipe 1/2 way through a midnight cake baking session. I realized that I didn’t have any powdered sugar.
Followed the recipe, creamed the butter, salt and sugar a little longer than suggested. Probably about 10-12 minutes….but that was really because I was admiring the work of my new stand mixer. ?
Frosting turned out perfect! It was a big hit with the four others in my house as well as two other neighbor kids. So much so, they’ve eaten an entire cake and requested another.
We will be keeping this recipe for sure! Thank you!
Kate says
I’m so glad that you liked the frosting! =) Hope that you find more recipes to use with your new stand mixer. Thanks for commenting!
Mini says
This is a great recipe and it tastes great but mine came out runny!! The milk and flour was cooled down but now I think I could have stuck it in the fridge for 5 mins. How do I get this to thicken up? I put it in the fridge I hope it makes a quick difference i need this for tomorrow!! If made correctly can I use this to put into a piping bag for cupcakes?
Please reply soon!
Thanks
Kate says
Hi! Was your milk/flour mixture runny, or was it the frosting that was runny? Yes, it should be pipeable. I’m happy to help troubleshoot.
Tammy Nguyen says
Hello, I was making the frosting but when I tasted it. It wasn’t gritty like sugar but it looked lumpy. Do you know the reason and maybe how I can fix the problem?
Kate says
Hi! Was the milk/flour mixture lumpy? You can pass the frosting through a fine mesh strainer, and that should help to get the lumps out.
Tammy Nguyen says
Thank you so much
Kate says
You’re welcome! If you have any other questions, please let me know!
Tonya says
Which % milk do you use and have you tried A variety?
Kate says
I have! I’ve tried everything from skim to whole milk and even non-dairy milks. The frosting is a little creamier with whole milk than with skim milk, but there isn’t a big difference. So, I just use whatever I have at the time. Hope that helps!
Isabel Fabia says
Hi! I have not tried this recipe yet but I would like to know if I can use coconut milk as a substitute.
Kate says
Hi! I’ve used almond milk, and it worked well. I haven’t tried refrigerated coconut milk, but I think it would work well, too.
Lainey says
I LOVE THIS !!!!!!! This worked so very well. I’m 13 years old and I wanted to make a cake for my mom for mother’s day. This happened to be my first time making frosting and it is perfect. I would definitely 100% recommended this!!!!
Kate says
Thank you so much!! That’s a sweet thing to do for Mother’s Day! I’m glad it turned out well. =) Thank you for taking the time to comment!
Tammy Nguyen says
May I ask does the butter have to be salted or can you use regular unsalted butter
Kate says
No, you could use unsalted butter. You will just want to add a few pinches of salt to taste. Hope that helps!
Nicole says
Can you pipe this into thick flowers? I like a pretty stiff icing that holds it shape?
Kate says
It doesn’t crust the way that some frostings will, but I’ve piped rosettes and borders without any issue. Hope that helps!
Ashley says
How long does it take to get your flour and milk to thicken to a paste? This is my 2nd attempt and it’s been on the stove for over 30 mins and it’s not a thick paste yet. Last time I took it off too early and my frosting didn’t turn out.
Kate says
It shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes. I’ve made this frosting with a gas stove, and it only takes about 5 minutes for the milk/flour mixture to thicken. When I’ve made it with an electric stove, it took around 10 minutes. I’ve also found that stoves can vary quite a bit. You may need to try cooking it over medium heat to see whether that helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Renee says
I was going to make this for my daughter’s birthday this weekend, but does it freeze well? I was going to crumb coat it tonight, freeze it, then finish it Friday night… but now I’m hesitant.
Kate says
I’ve frozen cupcakes that were frosted with this frosting, and it worked out well. I didn’t have any issues when it thawed. Hope that helps!
Julie says
This recipe was perfect for decorating cupcakes!
Kate says
Yay! I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for commenting. =)
Karen young says
This sounds just devinne. I can’t wait to make it. Can this be made ahead and stored?
Kate says
Thank you! It can. However, if you make it ahead of time, it will set up some in the fridge. You’ll need to let it come up some in temp before using. Hope that helps!
Shelley says
I have used this recipe for years. You can add the sugar to the milk mixture and will completely dissolve and have same results. You can also use cornstarch if gluten free.
Kate says
Thank you for the tip! I’ll have to try it that way the next time that I make it. =)
Amy says
Can you use Half & half instead of regular milk?
Kate says
I haven’t tried using half & half, but I think it would work. Good luck! =)
T Katz says
Would this frosting hold up under fondant? I’ve been asked to make a note so sweet frosting and would love to try this.
Kate says
Hi! Unfortunately, I haven’t tried using this frosting under fondant, so I’m not sure how it holds up.
Karen says
Hi, have you used it under fondant yet?
Joan Johnson says
I have been searching for about 30 years looking for a not sweet buttercream frosting! My search is over! Your recipe is beyond! Thank you so much. Also thanks you for getting back to me with an answer to my question. I made mini cupcakes for my granddaughters birthday party! I can not wait for everyone to try them.
Lynda says
Was looking for a butter cream icing that wasn’t too sweet, came across this one. Made it as directed and it turn out perfect, not too sweet and very nice to decorate a cake with. defiantly will save this recipie and make it again.
Great job on your instruction!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you liked the frosting! And I’m glad that the instructions were clear. =) Thank you for commenting!
Laura says
I made this with gf flour and it was perfect! Is it possible to replace the butter with a non dairy substitute?
Kate says
Yay!! I’m so glad! I haven’t tried it, but I’ve heard from people who have used vegan butter subs, and they’ve said that it worked out well for them.