There are two kinds of people: those who lick the frosting off a piece a cake and then those who eat the cake and not the frosting. What do I prefer? Do you even have to ask? Both, together…in copious amounts. For those who aren’t frosting people, their reasons usually are that it’s too sweet. I’ve never had that feeling but most of you know my sweet scale by now is a little skewed. This frosting is for those that don’t like it too sweet. I’ve been wanting to try this frosting ever since I saw it on the Pioneer Woman but was a little hesitant because it was flour based which didn’t sound appetizing at all and then it said to cook the frosting. Cook the frosting? The result is silky, light, whipped cream-like frosting.
Ingredients
- 5 Tablespoons flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature (see note)
- 1 cup granulated white sugar (not powdered sugar)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. It took me around 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn it. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. You can place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools if you are in a hurry. Stir in vanilla. This mixture must be completely cooled in order for the frosting to work.
- While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then add the cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat until it all combines and resembles whipped cream. Make sure you scrape down the sides every so often so that it all gets incorporated and whipped. If it's not looking like whipped cream, keep on whipping. This frosting is great for piping. Best served the same day.
Notes
Note: Your butter must be room temperature for this to work. Don't microwave it to get it soft. Bring it to room temperature on the counter.
Source: recipe from The Pioneer Woman
My mother has made this frosting since I was a very young child. I’ll be 48 next month LOL. It is especially delicious on Red Velvet Cake!!
I grew up thinking this was THE icing for Red Velvet.
I just discovered your blog and might be in love. I love to eat but I actually LOOK like I love to eat. Then there is you who are gorgeous and thin. Not fair. I want to try this recipe, wonder if it would work with dairy free margarine and soy milk. Soy is no always a good item in cooking but my family is lactose intolerant.
It looks like a pretty simple frosting but i like how it doesn’t use powdered sugar. Whenever i use powdered sugar in frostings it’s always too sweet. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
My SIL grew up with this frosting on everything and loves it too. I’m curious, did you think it was better than cream-cheese frosting? I made some carrot-cake cupcakes that are waiting for frosting in the freezer. Cream cheese is just so perfect on carrot cake. It’s a wonderful alternative when we are out of powdered sugar too. Thanks!
How sweet of you to make those for Kevin.
Thanks for sharing – I’m going to have to try this.
Earlier this week I made a swiss meringue buttercream (my first time making a cooked frosting) that was lighter and delicious too.
@Gnee,
Personally I’m a traditionalist and love cream cheese frosting on carrot cake. But hey, I’ve never tried this on carrot cake so maybe…?
Christy
I can’t wait to try this frosting! When I was looking at it, Ash came over and yelled, “Yum” and then “Christy!”
I love this frosting. My grandma taught me the recipe 10 yrs. ago. But it calls for shortening and butter. It is the best and everyone that has it says so. So your title is very fitting
Making this right now. Just baked a carrot cake and my father doesn’t like cream cheese, so I can’t use the typical frosting for it. But this will probably be perfect!
interesting…. so what is the final texture like when you finish it?
I’ve heard of using flour in frosting although I haven’t tried it yet. I hear it cuts the sweetness!
If I were Kevin I would have probably run in and hugged you. Asleep or not.
Very interesting! I might have to try that one! I, myself, am like you. Is there really such a thing as too sweet??? Come on!;P
Love your blog! Just discovered it!
what Valerie said… It’s a staple frosting on Red Velvet cake and now i can’t resist using it on almost everything else too!
This sounds delish!!! i was looking for something yummy for my mother in laws birthday cake lol i shall try it.
I’ve made a cooked frosting before but the directions weren’t that great so in the end I didn’t cook it long enough and it was kind of runny. I might have to try your version.
Oh my goodness. This looks amazing. I am one of those who don’t like frosting that makes my teeth hurt. For this reason, I usually go for a cream cheesy frosting, but that doesn’t really fit with all the cakes I make all the time. This looks like it would be a great one. Can’t wait to try it!
I just found your blog (going to be making those apple muffins tomorrow!) and I’m so excited to see you have this frosting recipe.
My mom has always made that frosting and everyone always wants the recipe!
Well it looks gorgeous! And I think I’ll have to make some later today. Love your blog.
Please tell me what I did wrong!! It tasted wonderful but maybe I didnt whip it long enough because it seemed to be melting as I put it on the cupcakes (and they were cool…made them last night. It had kind of an “airy” consistency to it if that makes any sense.
@Hamiltons,
I think either you didn’t whip it long enough (whip the heck out of it) or you didn’t cook it long enough. You really want a thick consistency. Hope this helps. And you don’t want room temperature butter. More on the cold side but not rock hard.
Christy
Yum! This was really really yummy! I made it on a whim and than realized I didn’t have anything to put it on. I searched my kitchen and found a box of brownies. To make it a little more chocolaty I added a box of chocolate instand pudding mix to the frosting and it turned out like chocolate mousse. SO GOOD!!! Thanks for sharing!
I made this frosting today and it is really perfection. It has the richness and balanced sweetness of cream cheese frosting without the weight of it. I took a portion and mixed in a tablespoon of freshly ground peanut butter (with no sugar) and it made a sublime peanut butter frosting/filling. I am going to use it when I make ‘funny bones’ cupcakes later this month. Thank you!
Does this tint well?
@Rebecca,
I actually have never tinted it but I think it would tint well.
Christy
Wow!!! I’ve been looking for a cupcake frosting recipe and this looks like something i might try tomorrow. Also, do you have a recipe for that cupcake in the picture? It looks really good!
Thanks,
Sarah
http://treatsforthesweettooth.tk
This really is great frosting! Not at all like most overly sweet ones. It came together easily and didn’t need much beating, maybe 1 or 2 minutes. It’s been 3 days almost and it has held up well on my cupcakes.
Can this frosting be put in the fridge and then brought to room temp later?
nicole
@Anonymous Nicole,
I have frosted cupcakes and stored them in the fridge then brought them to room temperature but sometimes the frosting will separate in the fridge. You should store the frosting in a well sealed container outside of the fridge if you want to frost the next day.
I just made this frosting for Christmas sugar cookies. It is gorgeous with the food coloring in it as it still leaves some white showing. Also, The taste is…. AMAZING! My husband hates sweets and he has been eating these cookies like crazy! I also gave some to some friends who fought over who got the last cookie!
Have you made this in a chocolate version?
@Melanie,
I haven’t made it chocolate version but the girls over at OurBestBites have a version here: http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/05/chocolate-frosting/
Does this recipe make enough to frost a two layer cake?
@Peter,
To be honest I’ve only used it for 24 cupcakes. I think it would be enough but I like a LOT of frosting on my two layer cakes so you might have to do 1.5x the recipe.
Yup, you give new meaning to food lover!! Thanks for doing what you do!! Lots of inspiration and fun here.
http://www.poppylopparties.com
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to powder sugar frosting again. It was so easy and I added fine crushed Oreos to it for Cookie’s N Cream cupcakes. Again, thank you for a wonderful recipe!
I have tried this recipe 3 times. I usually make Swiss or Italian meringue and I was looking for a substitute. This icing while it resemble whipped cream it was still broken and curdled. The taste was still smooth and great but it never cohesively came together and it looked like the SMBC or IMBC would look when it’s not whipped long enough. However, no matter how long I whipped it still looked that way. I could actually see it breaking when I stopped whipping. My butter everytime was no warmer than 70 degrees. Is this normal?
@Alicia,
The only time I haven’t had this turn out Is if I didn’t cook the flour long enough or if my flour mixture was too warm. So sorry it didn’t work for you! Did you cook the flour part long enough?
My granny taught me this recipe to go on Red Velvet Cake, and I love it on all sorts of cake. Def make sure you cook & cool the flour mixture long enough. Stand mixers are a plus to WHIP IT GOOD! Granny called it Cooked Frosting.
My MIL gave me this recipe in 1968. I love that it takes so few ingredients and so little sugar. I’ve used it more often that any other frosting. It can also be flavored in many ways by adding jam or jelly, or bottles flavors, cocoa, finely ground coconut or use your imagination. My favorite is always vanilla and almond extracts.
Can i make this frosting using gluten free flour? I want to make Gluten free red velvet cup cakes for a bake sale (since so many people seem to be allergic to gluten these days) I’m looking for the perfect frosting and this one looks perfect except for the gluten factor.
thanks!
As long as the flour and milk thickens when cooked together, I don’t see why you couldn’t use it. It gets really thick, more like paste than glue. Good luck.
@sandra, I agree with debnjim, I think the gluten free flour would work!
My grandmother has a variation of this frosting. We called it Fluffy Icing. She would add maple flavoring in addition to the vanilla and it made a wonderful maple walnut cake. (Put walnuts on the sides)
@Mart,
I’m not going to lie, this isn’t a simple recipe. If you don’t cook the flour long enough or let it cool long enough it won’t work. Also, you have to beat it forever. What seems like a mess will eventually whip up into frosting.
this looks awesome and I am really going to try this tomorrow. I am wanting to make a fresh strawberry frosting…but when I tried it with cream cheese frosting it was too runny and to sweet… would this work with fresh strawberries? Thanks so much! What a fun blog!!
@Rhett and Tiffanie Jackson,
Honestly, this frosting is a bit tempermental and I do not know if it would take to the fresh strawberries. I would have to try it out…
What does this frosting taste like? Would it be good with a yellow cake?
I’m wondering what this tastes like…if it’s more like the whipped frosting on bakery cakes or something? I absolutely hate the lighter cool whip type frostings. I tend to like sweet like buttercream or cream cheese icing–not the airy types. I would never use anything other than creamcheese frosting on a red velvet cake. Do you think this recipe would be worth trying given my preferences (since I really cannot get a good idea how this one compares to other types)or should I stick with what I know? Thanks…it sounds interesting!
@Unknown,
This frosting is not that sweet. It’s like and airy. It would be good on yellow cake.
@savingssally,
It’s definitely more like a whipped frosting. Very airy. So if you prefer buttercreams it’s probably not for you.
@savingssally,
It’s definitely more like a whipped frosting. Very airy. So if you prefer buttercreams it’s probably not for you.
Just had a quick question on the butter….is the butter salted or unsalted that is needed for this frosting?
@taralynn1006,
I always use unsalted butter when I make frosting. Great question.
Thanks for the reply Christy
I am glad I asked! I think I might like this on something like a strawberry shortcake rather than a regular cake. I don’t mind the more airy type icing on shortcake. I just have to have a heavy and sweet icing on regular cake lol. Thanks again!
When you say this frosts 24 cupcakes is that with a knife or piping tall swirls with a pastry bag?
Also, ever tried part or all brown sugar instead? Wonder how that would taste on chocolate cake. Hmmm. What do u think?
This frosting really is the best! I’ve made pomegranate and chocolate versions too. To. Die. For.
@Emily,
Yes that’s 24 cupcakes frosted with a knife. You would definitely need more to make the tall swirls.
Has anyone tried splenda instead of sugar.
I am a diabetic and would LOVE
to find a good tasting frosting.
I tried this recipe, but it didn’t work out for me, even though it tastes sooooo good.
x
I want to know how long did you cook the flour? cz when I cooked it got thicker and thicker like glue, so I stopped.
thanks
@Wahu,
I cooked it for about 5 minutes until it got to a thick pudding like consistency. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out. Did you let it cool all the way before you whipped it?
Hey Christy,
I made this frosting and added color. Now my whipped frosting looks like it has freckles. should i use powdered sugar?
Also is it a refregirated cake? i sorda tried to do circular flowers with it and it started to sorda melt. Any tips?
Thanks My hubby loved your whipped frosting
@Jeanette,
If you were to color it I think maybe you could add it to the flour mixture before you whip it. Since it’s based on butter anytime you work with it, it will soften. It’s usually fine though. Are you sure it was cooled before you whipped it?
Fantastic frosting, I use it all the time! Works well with almond milk (seriously) and want to try it with coconut milk! Sometimes I add other extracts to change the flavor, and it’s oh so yummy! I also use this recipe for black forest cake instead of whipping cream!
funny that so many people can’t get this frosting right!! come on. seriously??? its not that hard! i think people are too impatient and don’t let the milk/flour get thick enough. or maybe they don’t stir constantly. who knows!! all i know is it always works for me and i agree, best frosting EVER! maybe non experienced bakers just shouldn’t make this
I’m an experienced baker and was looking forward to trying this recipe. The flavor is good and I liked that it was so airy but the granulated sugar made it gritty. Is this normal?
This comment has been removed by the author.
@Anonymous,
It should not be gritty. Try whipping it longer.
Can’t believe I’ve just tried a buttercream recipe with flour…but it works, thank you! Been searching for something without the heaviness of pure buttercream. Now I’ve found it! I did find I could taste the flour a little though, did I do something wrong? I just added a little powdered sugar and that seemed to do the trick…it also made it a little firmer for piping, without making it too sweet/heavy. Thanks again!
Oh my!!! Just made this frosting tonight and it was so amazing! I’m not a fan of your average thick sweet buttercream but this buttercream is absolutely delicious! It’s very light like a whipped cream but oh so buttery and silky smooth. Pipes very nicely onto cupcakes also. I will be using this recipe over and over. Thank you!
My mom always made this frosting! One of her variations is to make it with a re ally good chocolate milk then after you whip it all up add some melted (cooled to room temp) German chocolate. Voila! A truly yummy chocolate whipped cream frosting!
Just wondering… if I make these for a party the night before and frost them… how should they be stored? In the fridge or at room temp? I read some of the comments and you recommended leaving the frsoting at room temp… *I am piping the frosting using star tip 21
thanks!~
@Anonymous,
Ahhh. I recommended storing them at room temp because this frosting is best when made and served the same day. The frosting does harden up in the fridge. I’m not sure how it will hold up.
I was a little skeptical when I read this recipe. I honestly have never heard of using flour and cooking a frosting! I just made this , like literally 5 minutes ago, and it turned out FANTASTIC! I was a little worried for a few moments when cooking the flour mixture. I walked way for only 45 sec max and when I came back to stir it, it had started sticking to the pan and became a bit clumpy but I kept stirring until it smoothed out. I colored mine yellow using a gel frosting and the color distributed evenly. You’ve gotten a great big thumbs up from my girls on this frosting. My 8yr old has already stated whenever we need frosting we have to always make this one. She even asked me to make sure I had it written down so we don’t loose it. Thank you for sharing!!
have you tried leaving cupcakes with this frosting at room temperature for more than 12 hours? I have fondant cutouts and dont want to place them in the fridge for fear of it getting ruined. thanks! ~ jane
hi dear,
i wanted to ask whether this frosting can be stored for 10 days ? and how to store it
thanks in advance fro your reply
@Anonymous,
This is best when used the same day. It’s not a good frosting to make in advance. Sorry.
I just made this frosting & it’s FANTASTIC! I was afraid the granulated sugar will make it grainy & it was, at first. I continued whipping it & it was all good. And I live in a tropical country, frosting melt in room temp easily & this frosting didn’t. In fact, I’ve left the cupcakes out for a while now & the frosting still holds. Which is great! Best frosting!
Would this recipe work with a non-dairy milk – almond or coconut milk? I’m not sure if the milk & flour mixture would thicken properly.
@Anonymous,
I haven’t tried it with anything other that regular milk. I’m not sure if it would work because it is a little bit of a touchy recipe.
Hi,
from the look of it the frosting is great
i just wanted to ask will it hold to pipe flowers i am looking for a recipe that holds well for piping roses and flowers and also stand in a rather warm weather
and onether question can i reduce the amonut of butter in it ? ( i am not a very big fan of Butter )
thnx in advance
Manal,
This frosting is good for piping but I would not say that it would stand well in warm weather. The butter is an important part to the flavor here since it’s flour based. I think maybe a sturdier frosting would be better for your situation. Good luck!
As I followed directions on how to make this recipe mine did not turn into a whipped texture at all. After following all directions carefully, I’m not sure why the texture didn’t turn out as whipped frosting. It still taste verrrry delicious but for sure is not whipped enough to put on my cupcakes. . .
How long should it take to have to whipped final product for piping?????
Keep on whipping! Did you cook it long enough?
thnx christy
i tried it today with adding some brown sugar the taste came out great but it kept on spearting even after 15 minutes of constant whipping now its in the fridge (in its spearted form )
don’t know what went wrong … :/
We’ve been making and eating this frosting for 43 years. My mom’s best friend Marge put it on all of her cakes and cupcakes. And she always topped it with chopped walnuts. Brings back lots of happy memories. In fact I put this on a cake I made for my husband and he couldn’t believe it was cooked on the stove!
Hello,
Just found your website as I was looking for a frosting which is creamy and light but not too sweet. Had it once on a shop-bought cupcake and it was a case of ‘once tasted never forgotten.’ Whenever I ask people who bake what type of frosting it might be nobody ever knows. But I think I may have found it or something very similar with this frosting. So I shall be giving it a go in the next few days. If in the meantime you can post the weight of the ingredients in grams or ounces that will help me a lot as I only am familiar with metric or UK measurements.
Linda,
Ahh! I know there are conversion charts out there but I’m not sure how convert it correctly.
help help! i’ve been whipping for a half hour and it doesn’t seem to be working.
the ingredients still seem separated, the look like a vanilla frosty as opposed to whip cream. what did i do wrong?
Was your flour mixture completely cooled? That’s very important.
Hello! this look delish.. Should the butter be straight from the fridge or room temp?
I think it should be a little soft but still cold. Somewhere in between the two.
Oh my word! This was AMAZING! Tried this directly from Pioneer Woman and it completely failed a couple years ago. Saw this post, didn’t realize it was from Pioneer Woman and tried it again, this time really paying attention to the directions and her stress on proper heating, cooling then whipping. Delicious, not gritty, airy, perfect sweetness and richness; just perfect. Did the middle layer of a tiered cake normal, but for the outer layer frosting I melted milk chocolate and whipped it into the frosting to make it chocolate… Divine! Doubled it for a three tiered cake and had plenty to spare.
what kind of flour?
Tracia,
Just all purpose flour.
I’ve tried this today, at first I was a bit dissappointed because the taste of cooked flour is over empowering all the other ingredients so I added a tsp of almond essence and voila! the taste was perrrfect, so creamy and nice….also, just so you know, I’ve used caster sugar instead of granulated or regular white sugar because i was worried it may come out gritty, the result was smooth and lovely to pipe icing, the best of all the icings I’ve tried before. I would definitely use this again.
Thank you for this recipe, it was what I have been looking for for years!! The normal butter cream is always too sweet even though I only use 2 cups compared to 4 the recipe calls for. But this flour one was amazing. My flour/ milk cooked up in less than 30 seconds, I was actually scrambling to get it whipped up before it burned. I also used 1/2 skim and 1/2 half and half (what I had). this will most definitely be a staple, love it!
Thank you for this recipe. It is an amazing technique to substitute the icing sugar. I have never been much of a fan of icing sugr bcause of its uncanny sweetness. But, this cooked frosting will cenrtainly give you an edge with that. BTW, isn’t this recipe using almost the same technique as of making Bechamel sauce?
Yes, you’re right. I love a good Béchamel sauce.
Hi there! I’m hoping to use this recipe (+coloring and mint extract) for some wedding cupcakes I’m making this summer.
Have you ever doubled or tripled this recipe? I’m doing 60 cupcakes with large swirls of frosting, so I’m thinking I might need to make this recipe times 5, but I’m wondering if it wouldn’t work well if I tried to do it all at once…
I think you could double or triple it for sure. You would have to have a really big bowl to do 5 batches all at once!
Should I use unsalted butter?
Could I use peppermint extract??
Cant wait to lick the spoon
You should use unsalted butter and peppermint extract would be great.