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
Love this recipe?
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Comments & Reviews
Linda says
Best icing.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it!
Renee says
Nice! I doubted but it really worked and it’s super fluffy!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad you liked it! =)
Tracie says
Love this frosting. I cut the sugar by 1/4 cup and substituted half of the granulated with light brown then added organic maple syrup.. it came out fantastic . I topped a banana cake with it.. Thanks for the recipe.
Kate says
Yay! I make a brown sugar version of this frosting, but I have wanted to try making a maple version for fall. I’m excited to hear that it worked, and banana cake sounds like the perfect partner for that frosting. Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment! =)
Lolah says
Hello Kate, sent a message earlier don’t know if you got it and also made a mistake with the rating so I had to do it properly again. This frosting recipe is a winner and my go to any time T even though I am yet to get it right. Have made it twice and both times it wasn’t as thick as yours ( watery) and it coagulated. I need to know what I am doing wrong cos I just need to get this right.
Thanks.
Lolah says
Hello Kate, thanks so much for sharing this frosting recipe and I must say you’re doing a great job. I have made it twice but I just don’t seem to get it even though both times it tasted amazing and people liked it and asked if it was cream cheese frosting. The issue I have is that both times it wasn’t thick like yours and it coagulated. What did I do wrong? I seriously need to get this right. Please help.
Thanks
Kate says
Hi! Thank you! If the frosting is loose, it’s usually one of three reasons.
First, the flour mixture wasn’t thick enough. I just added a new picture above showing what the flour mixture should look like.
Second, butter that’s too soft. This can happen if the flour mixture wasn’t cool enough when it was added to the butter or if the butter was too soft to begin with. If the butter melts, the frosting will be runny. You want the flour mixture to be completely room temperature before adding. Also, the butter should be cool room temperature (if you poke it, it dents, but it shouldn’t be even close to melting).
Third, not beating the frosting long enough. It often looks a little curdled when the flour mixture is added to the butter/sugar mixture. I just keep mixing, and it all comes together.
I hope that this helps and that the pictures I added showing what the flour, butter/sugar, and final frosting should look like help!
If you still have questions, please let me know!
Jess says
Thank you for the recipe, it was a life saver earlier this month! I have experimented with the recipe and found that my favorite is a coffee infused one! I just made two shots of espresso and stired it in while making the milk/flour paste. It took longer to thicken up since I had to evaporate the majority of the water, but it’s so rich when paired with chocolate cake! I sprinkled some coffee grounds (safe to eat) on top for am extra kick too.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you like it, and it’s always great to hear how variations have come out! Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment! =)
Jaylynn says
Made this recipe but instead of milk used a strawberry and blueberry smoothie it turned out great. Went really good with the very berry muffins I made.
Kate says
How creative! I’m glad that it turned out well for you! Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment! =)
Marcella Cabral says
Hello ! I’m thinking of trying this frosting as a filling. Does this need to be refrigerated? I want to use something that doesnt require refrigeration as the cake im making is all buttercream with fondant detail. Also can i flavor this with strawberry jam ? This frosting looks sooo good !
Kate says
Hi! Thank you! Yes, due to the high butter/milk content in the frosting, I suggest refrigerating it. I’ve never tried flavoring it with jam, but that sounds delicious!
Lynne says
Hello, is there any chance you can post this recipe in grams please? I only seem to be able to work when I weigh everything.
Many thanks
Kate says
Hi! Absolutely! I measure both by weight and by volume so that I can provide both if needed. I’ve added the grams in, but sometimes it takes a bit for them to show up.
Lauren says
Just want to thank you-this is the BEST whipped frosting! (Without having to worry about melting or whipped cream stabilizers). Used it on a lemon cake last month and made cupcakes today (also tried the chocolate version- delicious too). Made them both with a hand mixer and no problems. My new go-to frosting :)
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad you like it! Lemon cake sounds like it would be a great match with this frosting! And thank you for mentioning that you successfully used a hand mixer to make it. I’ve only made it with a stand mixer, and it’s helpful to hear from people who have been able to use a hand mixer to make this frosting. Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment!
Kathy says
Does anyone have an educated guess as to how long this icing would be good in the fridge?
Kate says
I’ve had frosted cupcakes in the fridge for three days, and they were fine. It does set up after being chilled, but it softens back up after sitting out for a bit.
Kate says
Is vanilla soy milk ok to use instead of reg milk?
Kate says
I haven’t tried vanilla soy milk in this recipe, so I’m not sure how it would work out.
Eibhlin says
I used hemp milk and it turned out fine, so soy milk should work ok
Kate says
Thank you! I get a lot of questions about using different types of milk, and it’s so helpful to hear from people who have tried something other than dairy milk.
Diane Gillen says
My apologies if this was already asked, but can this be made with skim milk?
Kate says
No worries! Yes, skim milk should work. I’ve used 1% milk, and it was just slightly less rich and creamy.
Kayla says
I just tried making this recipe and the icing is like separating itself. It’s oily. I’ve been using the beater for a good 20 mins and it don’t mix together. Is there a way to fix it?
Kate says
My guess is that if it’s oily, then the butter may have melted. You can try covering and chilling it. Once it has chilled, try beating it again to see if it will come together. Good luck!
Samantha Springer-Miller says
I have a question I’m not sure you can answer!
I’m making this frosting with some substitutions for my allergic son’s first birthday. I just tried today with rice milk and smart balance dairy and soy free margarine. It stayed looking slightly separated though. Is this due to the changes or maybe the milk/flour wasn’t thick enough? It was a thick pasty pudding texture when I mixed it together.
Kate says
I’m not sure that I can fully answer this either, but I’ll share what I do know. Usually, when the frosting stays separated, it’s either because the milk/flour mixture wasn’t thick enough or the mixture wasn’t whipped enough. I have heard from people whose frosting was separated at first, and then they chilled it and then successfully re-whipped it. Also, rice milk is thin, and I’m guessing that it has a higher % of water. You may need to try adding a little flour to get it as thick as you need. I hope this helps, and maybe someone else can jump in with an answer for you about using smart balance.
Cheryl says
I’ve been making this frosting for 40 yrs. My mother made it way before that. It’s THE BEST!!!!! Light, not sickening sweet & you can do a lot with it. Change flavor, color, pipe decorations with it. I love cold cake & with this frosting if you chill it on the cake it’s heaven to me. Thanks Kate for posting it so others can enjoy it as much as I have for over 60 yrs.
Kate says
I love it when people can share memories like this! Food has such an amazing ability to bring back great memories. Thank you for taking the time to comment!
JD says
This is my go to frosting recipe! Any tips for making it peanut butter flavored?
Kate says
Glad you like it! I was just thinking about making a pb version of this frosting! I’ll have to see what I can come up with. =)
Elissa says
Life changing!!!! I’ve never been a fan of powdered sugar. It just tastes funny to me. This frosting is silky smooth, with just the right amount of sweetness. I could eat it by the spoonful! (In fact, I may have. ?) This will be my go-to recipe for all things frosted. Thank you!
Kate says
That’s a huge compliment! Thank you!! And thank you for taking the time to come back and comment! =)
K. Simmons says
So I’m guessing I can’t use margarine????
Kate says
I highly recommend using butter in this recipe for the best flavor. I haven’t tried to make this frosting with margarine, so I’m not sure whether or not it would work out.
Vanessa says
Hi there!! Thank you so much for posting this recipe. This is the BEST frosting recipe I have tried to date! I am not a frosting fan, never have been. I’ve always found them to be overpowering on the sweet front. This recipe?? I couldn’t stop tasting it. I wanted a lighter frosting for my daughter’s classroom Valentine’s cupcakes. This could not have been more perfect! I tinted it a pretty blush pink. :) This is now my go to buttercream frosting recipe. Thanks again!
Kate says
I’m so glad you like it! The cupcakes sound so pretty! Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment.
Elle says
Hi, I’m about to attempt to make this tonight. Is there anyway to make this with chocolate flavor? Thanks!
Kate says
Hi! I’m working on a chocolate version and hope to have it posted soon. In the mean time, this is my favorite chocolate buttercream.
Kat Foster says
This frosting came out wonderful, everybody loved it!! I have a lot leftover and was hoping I could use it to decorate some Christmas cookies. How long will it last in the fridge and would it work on cookies if left out at room temperature for awhile? Will shape hold on the cookies? I was thinking of just keeping it white and adding some red and green sprinkles. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Kate says
Thanks! I’m so glad that you liked it! It stays good for a couple days. It does set up quite a bit once it is chilled, though. I think it would hold its shape on a cookie like the frosting holds once it has been piped on a cupcake. I’ve left the cupcakes out at room temperature for a few hours. As long as the room isn’t too warm, it has been fine. Hope that helps!
Nicole says
can i use heavy whipping cream instead of milk?
Kate says
I’m not sure! I’ve never tried to use heavy whipping cream. I’m just not sure whether it would get overwhipped with the long mixing time.