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
Irene blackwell says
can i use coconut or almond milk?
Kate says
I’ve used almond milk, and that worked well.
Irene blackwell says
Hi can i use sunflower spread instead of butter, i’m looking for a vegan frosting
Kate says
Hi! I’ve only made the frosting with butter, but I have heard from people who have used Earth Balance, and they’ve said it worked well. I’ve also heard from people who have used margarines, and they’ve had mixed results.
Danielle Bernard says
My new FAVORITE buttercream. I use morena raw sugar and the taste is amazing. I also use coffee instead of vanilla and it’s great. My daughter who hates traditional buttercream because of the sweetness loves this one.
Kate says
Yay!! I’m so glad that you and your daughter like the frosting!
Terri says
The absolute best icing I have ever made. Any suggestions to make this with peanut butter for a chocolate cake?
Kate says
Thank you so much! I have a pb version on my list of recipes to make. In the mean time, I’ve heard from someone who said that they used pb powder in the frosting. Also, I have a peanut butter frosting, but it’s more of a traditional American buttercream.
Jackie says
Would this recipe do ok for a wedding cake? Would the frosting hold up while sitting out during the reception?
Kate says
It’s really going to depend on how long it has to sit out, how warm it is, etc. The frosting sets up quite a bit after it has been refrigerated. So you could frost the cake and then chill it until the reception. However, it’s for a wedding, I would highly recommend testing it out ahead of time to see how it does in your location.
betty says
very good how many grams of icing does this make ?
Kate says
I haven’t weighed the icing to say.
falaya says
Thanks its very helpful i like it.
Kate says
Thank you!
Sugarcrystalscakes says
It was my first time making this recipe and I tripled it. I was nervous at first because when I creamed the butter and sugar it was still a little gritty but like she said once you add the milk/flour mixture it all smoothed out nicely! and I had a great buttercream in the end. I did develop a film on the milk/flour mixture as other stated but I skimmed it off and threw it away. ***Life hack: if you plastic wrap on directly on top (touching) your sauce (all kinds of sauces, gravies etc) it helps prevent that film. So I did that for the reminder of the cooling time and no further hiccups ??
Kate says
Thank you for sharing that! I haven’t had any issues with it forming a skin, but that’s a great way to prevent one from forming!
Emma says
BEST FROSTING EVER!!!!
Kate says
Thank you so much!!
Phaedra says
Love this recipe. I have had a request to make it with peanut butter. Any suggestions? Please and Thank you!
Kate says
Thank you! I’ve had a few questions about adding peanut butter recently, so I’m going to have to give it a try. In the mean time, I would add some pb in place of part of the butter and see how that works!
Phaedra says
Hello! I used the recipe for the chocolate version of this frosting, but used unsweetened powdered peanut butter in the pace of cocoa powder and it was awesome! Thanks again for the amazing recipes!!
Kate says
Thank you so much for coming back to share that! I hadn’t thought to try pb powder in the recipe. I’m glad it worked out! Thanks again for sharing that!
Jessica says
I love this recipe but I was wondering if you think this recipe would work as a chocolate whipped buttercream? if i add cocoa powder to it, would i need to add more sugar? thanks!
Kate says
Hi! I’m glad you liked it! I have the recipe for the chocolate version here.
Laura says
The BEST frosting I’ve ever made!!!! I followed the recipe to a “T”, and it was silky and not too sweet. The pictures help.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad that the pictures helped!
Maryann says
I just made this frosting and it didn’t work quite right. The only thing I can think of is that the “butter” I used is the blue bonnet kind which has oil in it instead of pure butter. But it was the only thing in the kitchen. I followed the recipe exactly otherwise. The frosting split and as instructed I kept beating it but it’s still a little split. Taste wise it’s not horrible to me but my family said it was bad. And it’s a little oily in the mouth which probably goes back to the type of butter used. I guess I’ll just use it on my own slices of cake since nobody else likes it
Kate says
Using a spread instead of butter makes a difference. I’ve tried out different margarines and spreads, and I’ve found a big difference among the brands in how they work in recipes. That, along with the taste, is why I call for butter.
I completely get using what you have, but, unfortunately, spreads like that one are made from oil and water, which is why you got that oily taste. In some recipes, it doesn’t make as much of a difference, but you’re going to notice it more in a recipe like this. Also, I’m not sure whether you used the sticks or the tub spread or a lite version, but they all have varying fat and water contents, so that can also affect how they work in the recipe.
Eryn Grace says
My milk and flour turned into a jelly like paste that wasn’t able to be mixed or moved.
Kate says
Did that happen while you were cooking it or after it cooled?
Shamar says
Can I use powdered sugar still in this recipe even though its not needed?
Kate says
I’ve heard from a few people who have used powdered sugar with the butter, and they’ve said that it turned out well for them.
Nadine says
Made and EPIC smooth and creamy and mmm. I even used cheap imitation vanilla. Easy and excellent receiore.
Kate says
Thank you so much! =)
Latasha says
Do you think I could use vegan butter??
Kate says
I haven’t tried it myself, but I’ve heard from people who have successfully used Earth Balance in this recipe. Hope that helps!
Leah says
I was very sceptical about this recipe, but I swear this is the best icing I’ve ever made and tasted! The texture is so silky and smooth. This will be my go to icing from now on! Amazing!
Kate says
Thank you so much!! I’m so glad that you liked it! =)
Esmeralda says
I want to make a strawberry frosting could I add strawberry purée? Or would it mess the whole thing up
Kate says
I’ve never tried adding fruit puree to this frosting. I have heard from people who have added jam, freeze dried fruit, and different flavorings. I think jam might work better just because it has a thicker consistency and won’t add a lot of liquid to the frosting the way that puree would.
Hannnah lane says
Mine turned out awful I don’t know what happened
Kate says
Could you give me more info about what happened? That way I can help you troubleshoot.
Tafie says
It’s perfect. Makes the best frosting ever. Officially my favourite.
Kate says
Thank you so much!
PD says
Excellent adaptable recipe, and always tasty. I use this for cakes all the time now – no more pure fat buttercream for me! I am so glad I found this. Thanks so much!
Kate says
Thank you so much! I’m glad that you found it, too! =)