The traditional frosting for red velvet cake, vanilla-scented ermine frosting (also called boiled milk frosting and cooked flour frosting) is velvety, light, and not too sweet. It is wonderful spread between cake layers or spooned into a piping bag to decorate cakes and cupcakes.
Flour in frosting might seem surprising, but the cooked flour paste (or roux) adds thickness and stability to the frosting while keeping it airy and fluffy. For more frosting recipes, try my chocolate frosting, cream cheese frosting, or French buttercream.
What Does Ermine Frosting Taste Like?
Think of ermine frosting as a lighter, fluffier, less sweet version of a classic vanilla buttercream frosting. It is velvety, smooth, and has the perfect subtle vanilla flavor. I know cooking flour for frosting might seem bizarre, but trust me when I say you do not taste it at all! This roux frosting has a similar consistency to Swiss meringue buttercream.
Ingredients
Sugar — while granulated sugar isn’t the typical type of sugar used for fluffy buttercreams, it gets cooked with the flour and milk, so it dissolves completely.
Flour — an all-purpose flour and butter roux acts as a thickening agent in the frosting.
Milk — whole milk is cooked with the flour to create a thick paste.
Butter — use unsalted butter so the ermine icing does not turn out too salty. If salted butter is all you have, leave out the additional salt.
Salt — salt helps balance and enhance the flavors.
Vanilla — since vanilla is the star flavor in this ermine frosting recipe, be sure to use high-quality vanilla extract.
How To Make Ermine Frosting
1. Whisk together the flour and white sugar in a large pot. While whisking constantly, pour in the milk and continue to whisk until smooth.
2. Cook the milk mixture over medium-high heat, whisking frequently, until simmering. Cook until the mixture thickens like pudding, then remove it from the heat.
3. Pour the flour mixture into a medium bowl and press parchment paper or plastic wrap into the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Let it cool completely to room temperature, which will take about 3 hours.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the room-temperature butter and salt on medium speed for 2 minutes until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
5. Add the cooled flour mixture, 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, making sure it’s completely incorporated before adding more.
6. Add the vanilla extract. Increase to medium speed and beat the mixture until the ermine frosting is smooth, light, and airy.
Why Is My Frosting Runny?
There are a few reasons why your ermine frosting may be runny. The first is that the roux wasn’t cooked long enough. The flour mixture must cook for about 10 minutes or until the mixture thickens to a pudding- or paste-like consistency.
In addition, the roux needs to cool completely before you add it to the creamed butter. If the roux is too warm, it will start to melt the butter, and the frosting will become runny and curdled.
How Much Frosting Does this Make?
My ermine frosting recipe yields about 5 cups of frosting, which is enough for:
- One 8-inch or 9-inch two-layer cake
- Generous filling for 3-layer cakes
- 12 cupcakes generously frosted
- 24 cupcakes lightly frosted
- One 9×13-inch sheet cake
Can I Add Flavorings?
While vanilla is the classic flavor, it’s easy to adapt this recipe to a flavor of your choice.
- Make a chocolate ermine frosting: Mix in 1 cup of room temperature chocolate ganache or melted chocolate after all of the roux has been added and the frosting has been whipped.
- Add other extracts: You can replace the vanilla with or add any extract you like to play with the flavor profile. ½ a teaspoon of lemon, orange, almond, or peppermint extract would all be delicious additions to the vanilla.
- Beat in citrus zest or fruit jam: Beat up to 1 tablespoon of lemon, lime, or orange zest into the butter. You can also add in 2 to 3 tablespoons of fruit jam, like strawberry jam, after the roux has been added.
- Use brown sugar: Swap the white sugar for brown sugar for a more caramel-like flavor. Just keep in mind this will change the color from creamy white to a pale brown.
Ways To Use Ermine Frosting
Ermine frosting is very versatile. It makes a great filling for cakes, like whoopie pies, a ding dong cake, or a pumpkin roll.
It’s also super easy to pipe, which makes it a great contender for frosting cakes and cupcakes like red velvet cupcakes, red velvet cake, chocolate cupcakes, coconut cake, or chocolate cake.
How To Make Ahead and Store The Frosting
Both the cooked flour mixture and the prepared frosting can be made ahead.
To make the flour paste a night in advance, follow the recipe as written until the end of step 3. Then, pop it into the refrigerator overnight. Make sure you set it out in advance and bring it back to room temperature so it is not cold when it goes into the creamed butter.
You can make the frosting and refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Set it at room temperature for 30 mins to 1 hour, and lightly beat it again before use.
Once you have used the ermine frosting to fill or frost cakes, they will keep covered at room temperature for 1 to 2 days but should be refrigerated for longer storage.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Once the roux starts to bubble, don’t stop whisking. If you do, you risk the mixture sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning.
- Use softened butter. It is important to use butter that has been softened to room temperature and that the flour mixture is also at room temperature. If either part is too warm or too cold, it will not emulsify (or mix together properly), and the icing will appear curdled and split. If you forget to set the butter out ahead of time, follow my easy tutorial for how to soften butter in a few minutes!
- If the mixture is too warm: Put it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes, then beat it again on medium speed for about 30 seconds.
- If the mixture is too cold (cold to the touch): Allow it to sit in a warm place for about 20 minutes, then re-whip it on medium speed for about 30 seconds.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s very important to make sure that the flour mixture is fully incorporated into the butter before adding more. Adding too much flour paste at once can cause it to split. So take your time with this step. Additionally, if the butter or flour roux is too warm or too cold, the frosting can split. See my Pro Tips just above to fix the frosting if that happens.
This cooked-flour buttercream is more stable than regular buttercream, but it will soften at warm temperatures (above 85°F). So, if you use it to frost a cake and the temperature is quite high, it’s best to keep it refrigerated until you are ready to serve the cake and set it out for 15 to 30 minutes before slicing or serving.
Yes! To freeze this frosting, place it in an airtight container with plastic wrap pressed to the surface and store freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the frosting completely in the fridge, set it out to bring it back to room temperature, and beat it again before use.
If you’ve tried this ermine frosting recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Ermine Frosting Recipe
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with paddle attachment
- Medium pot
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar (400g)
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour (80g)
- 2 cups whole milk (480mL)
- 2 cups unsalted butter softened (1 pound, 450g)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large pot, whisk to combine the sugar and flour. Pour in the milk while whisking constantly until smooth.
- Cook the milk mixture over medium-high heat, whisking frequently, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until simmering. Reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer. Whisk constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes, until the mixture thickens like pudding. Remove it from the heat.
- Pour the mixture into a medium bowl and press parchment paper or plastic wrap into the surface. (This prevents a skin from forming). Let it cool to room temperature, about 3 hours. (This can be made in advance and refrigerated overnight; just be sure to return it to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.)
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and salt on medium speed for 2 minutes until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- To the bowl with the butter, add the cooled flour mixture 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, mixing on medium-low speed until fully combined, in between each addition. Stop and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl frequently to ensure the mixture is fully mixed together before adding more of the flour mixture.
- Add the vanilla. Increase the mixer to medium speed and beat the mixture for about 1 minute or until the frosting is smooth, light, and airy.
Notes
- Once the roux starts to bubble, don’t stop whisking. If you do, you risk the mixture sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning.
- Use softened butter. It is important to use butter that has been softened to room temperature and that the flour mixture is also at room temperature. If either part is too warm or too cold, it will not emulsify (or mix together properly), and the icing will appear curdled and split. If you forget to set the butter out ahead of time, follow my easy tutorial for how to soften butter in a few minutes!
- If the mixture is too warm: Put it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes, then beat it again on medium speed for about 30 seconds.
- If the mixture is too cold (cold to the touch): Allow it to sit in a warm place for about 20 minutes, then re-whip it on medium speed for about 30 seconds.
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