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
Ginger H. says
Made this in January for my daughter’s cake and LOVED it. Want to do for my son’s cake, but I’m in more of a time crunch. If I make the frosting a couple days ahead of time & refrigerate it in a sealed container, will it still spread smoothly on the cake when I make it or will it get too dried out? If it’ll work, are there any tips or tricks to make sure it stays ok while in the fridge?
Kate says
I don’t know that the frosting will work as well after it has been in the fridge for a few days. It does set up quite a bit once it’s been chilled, so I’m not sure that it will work as well. Hope that helps!
Melanie Roussell says
Salted butter? Is that right?
Kate says
It is! If you prefer to use unsalted butter, I recommend adding salt to taste as the salt really helps to balance out the frosting.
Christine Pagorogon says
This is my new favourite frosting. Just perfect when it comes to sweetness. I followed your procedure and it turns out perfect. Thanks for sharing your recipe
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so happy to hear that. Thanks for commenting!
Lisa says
Hi, can this frosting be frozen?
Kate says
Hi! I’ve frozen cupcakes that were frosted with this frosting, and there were no issues. However, I haven’t tried to freeze the frosting before using. Hope that helps!
Karen says
Hi…. I live in Houston TX. It is always humid and hot here I found that even though it’s set to room temperature it’s best to put it in the refrigerator for at least 5 minutes, before mixing the paste stuff to the butter and sugar. Also if it’s not thinking up as you beating. My apparent is 81 even though the ac is set to 75. In a larger bowl added ice and set your frosting on that. Mine started soupy and wouldn’t thicken at all. And I know that butter will become a sold from a melting state. This worked for me lite and fluffy and in the fridge for tomorrow.
Kate says
Hi! Thanks so much for sharing that! It’s helpful to hear the things that have worked for other people. =)
Tobin says
Can mix this with water instead of milk?
Kate says
I haven’t tried to use water in place of milk in this recipe, but I can’t see how a water/flour mixture would work well in this frosting.
Sabrina says
Hi!
I was wondering, is this recipe good for high heat? I live in Texas, and it’s extremely hot right now. I wanted to use this recipe for an outdoor birthday party. Also will it be okay if I use it as a base to cover a cake with fondant? Thanks
Kate says
Hi! I haven’t tried to use this frosting under fondant, so I’m afraid that I can’t help with that question. This frosting should hold up about as well as any butter-based frosting in the heat, which is to say that I don’t know that it will hold up well outside in the heat.
Audrey Howell says
Followed the recipe and directions perfectly and had an awesome result. Fluffy, creamy, light, not too sweet. This specific recipe made considerably more than I needed, so be smarter than i was. The refrigerated leftovers just don’t measure up..
Kate says
Thanks! So glad that you liked the frosting! Yes, it makes enough to easily frost 24 cupcakes. =)
Joy says
Wow, I had no idea you could make frosting like this, it’s delicious! Best of all my kids didn’t detect at all that they were eating healthier cupcakes today, love it! I’ll definitely be using your recipe again. Thanks so much for sharing :)
Kate says
Yay!! I’m so glad that it was a hit! Thanks for coming back to comment!
Brittany Husolo says
Love this frosting! Couple questions. Could I make this as chocolate? If so what would you suggest? Also do you think the cake will last about 6 hours out of the fridge?
Kate says
Thank you! Yes, you can! Here is the link to the chocolate version. How well it lasts out of the fridge will depend on how warm it is. If it’s just at room temp, I think it would be ok. You can also chill the frosted cake first because the frosting will set up a fair amount in the fridge, and that should help once you set it out. Hope that helps!
Afua Mensah says
Hi, i wanted to know if i can use margarine instead of butter for this recipe, thanks.
Kate says
I haven’t used margarine, but I’ve heard from people who have said that it worked well for them. Hope that helps!
KJ says
Hi! What type of milk do you use? I may have missed it here but do you use whole milk, 2%, or another variety?
Thanks!
Kate says
Hi! I usually use 2% because it makes the frosting a bit creamier, but I’ve used everything from skim to whole milk in this recipe. I’ve even used almond milk, and it will all work. Hope that helps!
KJ says
That is great thank you!!
Kate says
You’re very welcome!
Katie says
Almond milk worked perfectly!
Katelyn says
I think I curdled my milk because it looks awfully lumpy. Followed everything perfectly, checked instructions three times over and it’s a bit wet and lumpy as if the milk is off. I know my milk is in date so don’t know where I went wrong. I’m sure the frosting is perfect when done right.
Kate says
Hi! I’m happy to help you troubleshoot. =) Is it lumpy like there are cooked bits of flour in the milk, or does it look separated?
Summer says
Hi I’m making this right now and I’ve been mixing (final stage) for about 25 minutes on high it will not fluff, it is super soupy and I followed the instructions to a T. What can I do? :(
Kate says
Hi – It shouldn’t be soupy at any point, and I don’t know that any amount of mixing will help that. You can try chilling it to see if that will help it to solidify. Was it the milk/flour mixture that was soupy, or did it become runny once you added the milk/flour mixture to the butter?
lee says
This icing is perfect. Followed the instructions and had no issues. thanks so much.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that it turned out well for you. Thanks for commenting! =)
marie says
hello.. i tried this frosting and it wont came fluppy.. what should i do
Kate says
Hi! I’m not sure what mean. Can you please give me more information so that I can help you?
Tatiana Selner says
Best tasting frosting I’ve ever had. Mine was a little runny but I think I should have cooked the flour/milk mixture a little longer to thicken it just a tad more. I was wondering however … how many days can it be kept in the fridge ..
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so happy to hear that you liked it. =) I’ve kept this frosting in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Rebeca says
I added freeze dried raspberries that I crushed into a powder into the roux. Delicious! Best frosting ever…
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that that worked out well. Thanks for coming back to comment! =)
Crystal says
For anyone making this recipe, I usually end up doubling it because of the volume of cupcakes or minis I’m making but I have tried making it as the recipe directs and it’s great but I found the butter/sugar mixing was fairly long. So I followed another suggestion to add the sugar to the milk/flour mixture but I found that changes the texture to more like a traditional buttercream texture, heavier than the original method. So I finally tried doing half and half…I mix half the sugar into the milk/flour mixture and half into the butter. This method gives you the same great whipped texture of the original recipe but less time whipping!
My go to recipe for frosting, it’s just the right amount of sweetness :) PS. This recipe worked great with my Russian Tips :)
Kate says
Thank you for your notes! I haven’t tried adding the sugar at any other point, but it’s good to hear that adding half to the milk/flour mixture worked out well for you. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Kay Goode says
I made this recipe for a birthday cake and received raves for the icing. Thanks for posting it.
Kate says
You are very welcome! I’m glad that the frosting was a hit, and thank you for taking the time to comment! =)