Frosting that will get you hugs
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.
My husband teaches early morning seminary at our house. For one of his student’s birthday’s he asked if I could make cupcakes. What teenager, or adult for that matter, doesn’t want cupcakes at 6:00 AM? I’m always looking to make goodies so I said of course.
I was still sleeping when the birthday boy, Kevin, ate his birthday cupcake but my husband said he kept declaring that it was the best frosting he ever had.
I said, “Did you tell Kevin that’s actually the name of the frosting?”
My husband said, “No. But he liked it so much he did ask if it would be too weird if he gave you a hug.”
Hmm…at that moment it might have been a little weird since I was in bed…sleeping.
Frosting that will get you hugs
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.
Recipe 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.
Me too! And I still think so! This was my Nana’s “go-to” red velvet frosting and I asked for it specifically for every birthday!
Me as well, my favorite as a child and still is to this day 🙂 I’m thinking we all must have grown up in the Midwest?? You cannot find the “real” red velvet cake anywhere, so thankful to have the original tucked away……
Duncan Hines (US not Canadian)
has a real red velvet mix, that is definitely red. The Canadian version looks like regular chocolate with. very slight red tinge.
I accidentally forgot to use a whisk and it came out as chunky jiggly icing floating in butter … it was gross but it was my fault 😅
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. 🙁
I just tried this recipe with no sugar added almond milk and it turned out amazing!!
Have you ever teyed almond milk. I love it and have used it in my coffee. O would give it a try
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 frosting didn’t turn out! I live in Colorado where it’s high altitude. I think the flour/milk mixture wasn’t thick enough
Oh shoot. Sorry to hear that.
I studied pastry at Johnson & Wales, and have been baking for many years. I also live in Colorado, it is not the altitude or the climate. I believe you needed to cook your milk/flour mixture a bit longer.
I live in Colorado and have made this recipe a handful of times. I have found if the butter is even a little bit cold it won’t turn out. However, all the times I have made it and the butter was on the counter over night it came out perfectly!
Good to know. Thank you!
Try cooking as long as it keeps thickening without burning, then put in the fridge until completely cooled. I’ve been making this for around 50 years, first in Florida,then the mtns. of NC. I lived in Los Alamos until I was 13 and remember the problems we had cooking in the high altitude, so I hope it’s enough to make the frosting turn out well for you.
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
Everyone on her plus the recipe calls 4 the butter to be room temp. Said if the butter is even the lest little bit cold it will not turn out. So which is it? Room temp or cold? Thank you
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!
Good idea!! I was scrolling to see if anyone used chocolate in their recipe. Thanks!!
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
Do you think I could airbrush it? Do I need to keep it refrigerated to keep it looking good?
I would keep it refrigerated but I’ve done both. I’m not sure if you could airbrush it but it’s worth a try.
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!
Hi all, I just wanted to chime in on how I made and stored this great frosting. First of all, I am not a master chef by any means, but this frosting came out perfect for me, white, fluffy, and medium to low sweetness. I didn’t think it was hard or complicated. First, I think the whisk I used when cooking the flour is a BIG help. It’s the IKEA one that comes in the $3 set of 2 whisks, the one that’s got a spiral of wire bent in a half circle, so it’s flat on its side. On their website it shows someone using it to make sauce in a pan. Flour into cold water, whisked it up good, no lumps with this great whisk… put over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, it got saucier, another minute, got really thicker and just bubbly, another 30 seconds, and that was it. Took it off and let it sit for an hour or so, then stirred in the vanilla. Meanwhile, I forgot to let the butter get to room temp, so I sat it in the warmish garage for 20 minutes. It was still kind of cold but not like a rock. Beat it with the sugar in the stand mixer maybe 2 minutes. poured in the cooled thick paste, beat it maybe 2 more minutes. Voila! Perfect white cloudlike frosting. Slathered it on all sides of a chocolate bundt cake. Ate 2 pieces. It’s been in the fridge all day and I just had to go get another piece. It’s kept great in there, firm and cold and amazing!! My opinion is this, it would be great on any chocolate, or fruit flavored (orange, strawberry, lemon) cake, but I don’t know about yellow cake. Neither one is going to have much intense flavor so I’m not sure on that. I’m going to put it on a lemon cake next week.
@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.
Me too. I first made this on a red velvet cake in my sophmore home ec class.
@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.
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 🙂 x
@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!
I’ve tried this in warmer weather (I live in Texas) and I guarantee it is not a warm weather frosting.
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 … :/
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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.
This is genius. Super easy and delicious! I used a 1/4 cup of almond milk in place of the regular milk, however. Turned out perfect yet! Deffinently one of the best frosting recipes I’ve tried 🙂
I tried this recipe the other day. Did everything as it says to the note. But when I had whipped it (with an electric hand beater) it didn’t whip up like cream, it stayed like the consistency of a cake mixture. I put it in the fridge for 30 minutes to see if it would thicken up, but no…. Was very disappointed…
I love this frosting, but it’s tradition name is “cooked flour frosting.” It is, indeed “the” frosting for red velvet, though I like it on devil’s food too.
Hi! This looks amazing! I’m thinking of using it for cupcakes at a graduation party! I wanted to know, how many cupcakes could I ice (liberally) with this one batch?
I would say that it frosts about 12 liberally. If the party is outside it may be better to use a different frosting. This one does not hold up well to heat.
From what I’ve read on other sites of this recipe, it holds up very well in hot and humid climates. I have made it a few times with a well cooked and cooled flour mixture, turned out great, brings to mind old school butter cream frosting from my youth. Btw, this is the original frosting of red velvet cake.
I just made this and tossed the whole thing. It had gooey lumps in it and tasted like milky icing. Not my favorite or my best. Now I have naked cupcakes until I can make some bc tomorrow.
Mosey,
I will say that this is a tempermental recipe. When in doubt whip it into submission. I’m sorry it did not turn out for you!
I just made this and tossed the whole thing. It had gooey lumps in it and tasted like milky icing. Not my favorite or my best. Now I have naked cupcakes until I can make some bc tomorrow.
did you let the cooked flour and milk cool completely? Also it may have happened because the mixture wasn’t cooked completely – don’t give up on it. It’s worth it.
Yep-This is the icing that was meant for Red Velvet Cake – if you haven’t tried it on one YOU MUST 🙂
I haven’t tried it on other cakes but when I saw it, I was like…yeah, that would work on other cakes too.
I’m not a fan of cream cheese icing on red velvet cake and understand why a lot of people think this icing is hard to do but it’s not and it’s worth the little extra work!
Thanks
Pat
Hi – how many cupcakes does this frost? Thanks!
It frosts about 24 cupcakes.
Hello. I was wondering if I could use tub butter instead of stick but. Thanks.
Sure. It has to be butter though. No margarine…
Just made this frosting and OMG it is the best ever. I am eating it with my fingers. yum
EXCELLENT frosting! I think it would be great with ANY cake. I will keep this recipe handy. THANKS 🙂
This recipe is very old. I first experienced this icing about 40 years ago when an acquaintance of mine brought a cake to a neighborhood get together. I wanted to make a fool of myself and eat the whole thing. I just had never tasted such light, delicious icing. I got the recipe and tried to make it but somehow messed it up. Thanks for posting it though.
This is my absolute favorite frosting recipe – it’s like a mix between italian/swiss meringue buttercream and a whipped cream frosting. I’ve used it MANY times so far, and plan to many more. Here are some tips and tricks!
-Make sure you cook your flour mixture long enough, and stir it frequently (I usually do it closer to constantly) to make sure nothing is burning on the bottom. You’ll know it’s done once the mixture starts popping big bubbles – give it 1 more minute after you see the first bubble, and you’re good.
-Strain your flour mixture before letting it cool!! This is super important for the most perfect result, otherwise you might get little tiny balls of cooked flour in your frosting – blech.
-Some people complain that their frosting ends up being grainy or crunchy. If you’ve experienced this, or want to avoid taking the chance, grind your sugar in a food processor before adding it to the butter. IF you don’t have an FP, they sell superfine sugar in most supermarkets.
-The cold issue – many people write here that this frosting is only good if you’re using/serving immediately. This is kind of true, and kind of not. It will be absolutely fine if you’re frosting your cupcakes/cake after you make it, and then chilling them to use the next day or the day after. As long as you’re not agitating the frosting once it’s cold, I’ve never experienced a problem. If you want to try to make it and store it in the fridge, and THEN use it to frost the next day or the day after, do so at your own risk. It will separate, but it should come back together with enough high-speed mixing and a reasonably warm room temperature. I recently used it for catering desserts for a wedding. Made it in the morning – put it in the fridge for a few hours – then put it in the mixer. Sure enough after about 5 seconds of agitation it started to separate. However, after another 3-5 minutes of mixing it on super high speed, it all came together again. I can’t guarantee you will or won’t have problems with this, but try it sometime! Tonight I’m actually going to try frosting a cake, and then freezing the whole cake to be served next week, so I’ll come back and report the results.
Also, in my experience, one batch of frosting for 12 liberally-frosted cupcakes, and three batches for three-layer 8″ cake.
Thanks for all of the feedback!
Totally agree with you on the description of “a mix of Italian/swiss meringue buttercream”…. Simply, the BEST!
Yesterday was the first time I’ve come across your website because I was looking for a frosting that wasn’t too sweet. This one was sooo easy to make and it turned out perfect, I cut the sugar in half because it suited us the best that way, it really was perfect! Thank you so much, this was my first time baking a cake ever so this really helped me a lot!
I wasn’t going to leave a review saying i hated the icing out of courtesy, but i thought what if i had seen at least one person say that the icing tasted like boiled milk, i probably wouldn’t have spent so much time and ingredients making it. But if other people read this and are wondering about the icing this is my suggestion.
It will look nice, and be like whipped cream and appear oh so good. But if you are like me and the smell-let alone the taste- of boiled milk make you gag then this recipe isn’t for you. I wonder why it never occurred to me before making it that the milk would actually have to cook up…but i couldn’t stand when my mother used to boil milk, the smell and taste were revolting to me. It just had this boiled milk taste that i couldn’t hide no matter how much vanilla and icing sugar i added on top. Thankfully i found a great vanilla icing recipe that wasn’t too sweet, and didn’t have a boiled milk taste.
I’m rather intrigued why so many people like it, do you enjoy the taste of boiled milk in frosting? I will not be trying any cooked milk frostings in the future…you just can’t hide the boiled milk flavour. URG so gross.
Thanks for your honesty!
I believe I’ll have an issue with the milk as well. What was your great vanilla frosting recipe?
This looks wonderful but I was wondering does anyone know if the granulated sugars effect the texture??
It whips out so you shouldn’t notice it in the texture if done correctly.
Definitely the BEST FROSTING I’VE EVER HAD!
Everybody LOVE IT!
I don’t think I will do any other frosting in the future, but this one.
THANK YOU!
Hi, really want to try this recipe. But would just like to know how much butter is 2 sticks in grams? I ask this because I will be using butter from a tub.
Thank u in advance 🙂
1 cup butter (or 2 sticks) is 230 grams. Hope that helps.
I have been reading the comments with interest, because there are such a wide range of successes and disappointments with this recipe. I haven’t made it yet- I just discovered it- but I had to think about the science which was troubling so many of your cooks, because I want to be successful. The issue here, from all of my research, isn’t the COOLING. It is the TEMPERATURE, DURATION OF COOKING and OVER-STIRRING while it is being cooked which are the problems. I will attach a link for you to read up on the science. Basically, in order for the flour to absorb the liquid, which is milk, it must come to a BOIL and while you gently keep stirring, it must cook at a low boil for 3 minutes at least to incorporate the liquid I to the starch molecules of the flour. If you don’t do that, the liquid will separate from the “structure” or flour, and you will have a globby mess. It probably would be best to use at LEAST 2% milk! which will help reduce clumping. Once this mixture has become like a somewhat runny batter, or white sauce and boiled,,it will thicken upon standing because the starch molecules will absorb more liquid, giving you a reliably stable product. For the last step, I believe that it is essential that you have sufficient BUTTER. You can err on the side of a bit too much but NEVER too little. You must have enough FAT to basically act as a molecular balloon around the other ingredients, as you best AIR into it. I think that if it looks like it won’t thicken, try adding more FAT, bit by bit, until it the science of the recipe gives you the results you need. There are lots of “variables” in this recipe , but I think the points I’ve covered will clear up the mystery. Here is the link on starch: http://www.finecooking.com/articles/thickeners-food-science.aspx?pg=0. Good luck to us all. Cooking is all about science, but we just don’t think about it!
Thank you so much for all of the helpful information!
Is it possible to over-whip this? After about one minute of beating I had a nice whipped cream like consistency but continued to whip because I thought I had to whip the living daylights out of it. Now it seems a bit thinner as if it melted a bit. I think maybe the butter got too soft with all of the whipping? Is there a way to save this? Maybe stick it in the fridge for a bit, then take out and whip for a minute? Has anyone tried that?
Yes, I have stuck it in the fridge and then whipped it again. I could see how the butter might get soft.
I was just wondering why you cant use powdered sugar for this frosting recipe? Years ago when I first started using this recipe I used powdered sugar and it came out fine. Lately when I see a recipe for cooked frosting like this it usually says not powdered sugar. HELP!
I’m not sure why it would say that unfortunately. I’m sure if you’ve used it in the past then you would be okay to use it.
The only difference in using powdered sugar is make sure you are measuring by weight, not volume.
I grew up with this frosting, hardly use anything else. I’ve always made it with 1 heaping tablespoon of cornstarch instead of the flour and used 1 stick of butter and 1/2 cup of shortening. As many times as I’ve made it, it will occasionally break. Not sure why, so I just blame it on the weather! lol
My mom made “Red Satin” cake, which is basically red velvet cake with a variation of this frosting (8 T flour instead of 5 T). She always sprinkled sweetened coconut over the frosting. So yummy. I think she said the recipe came from Neiman Marcus or Macy’s (or maybe that’s an urban legend). My older sister, in her 60’s, requested this every birthday as a child! Who would have thought boiled flour and milk could be so good!
Hi.
I’m in the UK and I’m a bit confused as I know we have different names for our sugar.
We have granulated sugar which is very course, used in tea and coffee, caster sugar which is a bit finer than the granulated, used forbaking and icing sugar which is powdery and used for frosting.
I believe that our caster sugar is your granulated sugar, can anyone confirm this, please?
Also as there’s milk in this recipe, how long will it last for as it won’t be in the fridge?
Thank you
Teresa, I believe you want caster sugar and this frosting is best served the same day but should be fine at room temperature for the day.
This by far is the greatest recipe I ran into so light fluffy not to sugary!!! Excellent recipe thank you for sharing I’m the happiest baker in the world!!! I sifted my flour and added the milk to the flour gradually to avoid lumps other then that I followed your instructions and my friends raved!!!
I just made this- yum! But- since I was really looking for a good cream cheese frosting recipe I added an 8oz block of Greek brand cream cheese and another tsp if vanilla- oh my. Perfection! Thank you so much!!!
I’m disappointed! What looked like a straightforward recipe turned into a hot mess and uniced cupcakes! Help! Looks curdled! And I whipped FOREVER!
I’ve just finished making the flour and milk slurry and am waiting for my butter to soften. I’m wondering if I can use my food processor to ‘whip’ up this icing. I don’t have a hand mixer, but do have attachments that are used for making whipped cream. Has anyone used their food processor?
could I use this on a cake? any suggestions/notes?
Yes! It’s great with cakes.
Quick question. Do you think this icing would work very well for icing/decorating a cake? Or is it more for piping onto cupcakes?
Thanks!
You could definitely use it for both. As you see in the notes it’s originally from The Pioneer Woman and I know she uses it for cakes.
I guess I messed this up somehow. It’s kinda runny. Tastes decent but it wasn’t the texture I thought I was going to get.
OMG i just done it!!! is perfect it taste like whipped cream is delicious and so white and super soft i loved it and everybody here too!!! thanks for posting it
I love this frosting. Ive been making it for years, but i cook the sugar in with the milk and flour.
I followed this to the letter but it came out too liquidy…help! how do I fix it? can it be fixed? it tastes great but I can’t use it on anything 🙁 it has a light yellow tint (not white), but that doesn’t really matter. I used 2% milk–was that the problem? Thanx for your advise
Yes, whole is best. You probably should have cooked it until it was thicker.
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My mother has been making this for years also and it was given to her by my great grandmother. This is my all time favorite icing.
This looks incredible! I’m starting out as a new baker, if i add coloring to the frosting for example, i need it to be a light blue will it ruin the frosting in anyway?
No it shouldnt!
I used this frosting for Strawberry and Oreo Cookie cupcakes and it is the BOMB! Absolutely the best frosting I’ve ever made. I added vanilla bean instead of regular vanilla. I have to say, that I was nervous about making it for the next day, since your note says that it is best if eaten the same day. I decorated the cupcakes and they were perfect two days after. Allow to sit until it gets to room temperature and the frosting is still AWESOME! Thank you so much for sharing.
Mine tasted good but came out really grainy (Like the sugar did not incorporate) no matter how much I whipped it. What did I do wrong? Can I try it with powdered sugar?
Sounds like your sugar didn’t dissolve. You can try with powdered sugar. You will need more than what called for though.
just halved and made this frosting thankyou so much not sweet and great texture just what you nee if you run out of powered sugar and cheaper
ok so after eyeballing this method for over a year I finally made it today. SO EASY AND THIS IS TRULY THE BEST FROSTING EVER. It’s light, fluffy, melt in you mouth consistency, and not sickly sweet. The method is intimidating but truly simple in execution.
I thought I had screwed the pooch with my milk and flour mixture, it was super thick–but I added it anyways and it still worked. It thickens very fast (esp if you half the amts like I did).
Overall, this came together faster than my usual cream cheese butter cream or wilton traditional buttercream and was so much tastier. Easy to pipe on cupcakes. I would not use for fine decorations. Great for cupcakes,cake coverage, filling, large flowers, on cake methods, etc.
Hi!
I tried this out! My frosting turned out yellow though. What did I do wrong?
Hmm. It could be the brand of butter you used. What brand did you use?
I bet it was tinted by your vanilla extract.
The texture is fabulous. Light and fluffy light whipped cream. However, it personally isn’t sweet enough for me and I don’t like that I can taste the flour.
A friend of mine made this and tinted it light pink and put it on a chocolate cake. It was very pretty, the contrast. I thought it was great. I tried it and it didn’t come out right. It tasted like flour. After reading all the comments I will try it again. Thank you
How many cupcakes would this recipe frost? Like the ones you pictured?
It’s supposed to frost 24 but if you do it as liberal as me only about 18.
This is one of my favorite frostings to make. I think I discovered something messing it up though. I made the mistake of using substitute butter instead of regular butter and it came out very runny and curdled. I didn’t throw it out for some reason and instead put it in the fridge for a few days and last night, I took it out, poured it into a pie crust (after mixing some pureed pumpkin it) and baked it for about 30-40 minutes. When it came out of the oven, the oil/water entirely separated from the rest of the batter and I thought it was a failed experiment. I left it on the stove for an hour or so and noticed that it thickened up a lot because my sister asked if she could eat it, so I put it in the fridge overnight and it thickened quite a bit. I could cut it like a regular pie with no dripping or anything. I topped it with whipped cream and now it’s just a delicious mistake and I have no idea what I just made.
Haha. Wow. I have no idea what you just made either. Yes, you definitely cannot use substitute butter in this recipe. Fun experiment though.
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i added a little bit of mint extract for my chocolate cupcake and IT WAS THE BEST DECISION I HAVE EvER MADE. great recipe! (:
Thank you ! It IS the best frosting I’ve ever made. Hope my guest will love it as much as I do.
Haha. You’re welcome!
Have been making this for 50+ years!!!! On my Waldorf Astoria
aka Red Velvet cake. Also on top of each layer top of frosting
I sprinkle coconut!!!!!!!
Yum!
I have been making a variation of this for 50 years, we called it “poor mans whipped cream” and it was reserved for chocolate mayonnaise cake(Million Dollar cake) a little irony, there? The only difference in the recipe was instead of 2 sticks of butter we used 1 stick butter and 8 tablespoons of crisco. I later used this for cream filled cupcakes (chocolate, of course and Whoopie Pies. Best possible filling for Whoopie pies!!
I did forget to mention that pertinent to the success of this frosting the milk flour mixture has to be stirred constantly so that there are no lumps and it doesn’t catch (brown) on the bottom of the pan, as either event will ruin it.
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I’ve been using this recipe, found in the premiere issue of Taste of Home, out of the Grandma’s Recipe section, for years! Once I tried it, I’ve never made another icing. I, too, thought it was a little weird to start with flour, and use granulated sugar?? But the results are nothing but amazing. A perfect icing, not too sweet, silky, creamy, and delicious. I’ve had requests for my scratch, Decadent Chocolate Cake, ever since. Try it!
The recipe I use calls for 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup crisco. I start the icing when the cake goes in the oven, and put the flour mixture in the refrigerator to cool while cake is baking and cooling.
Thank you for your positive feedback!
I have made this several times and gotten tons of compliments. Has anyone made it with fruit purée or juice in place of milk? Does it turn out?
Ok, so I don’t have time to make this the day of the party. What should I do if I have to frost everything the day before? Should it be stored in the fridge? Should I skip this and make a different frosting?
Thanks!
I would store in the fridge for sure!
I tried this recipe and was successful the second time and it was amazingly light and not too sweet. Can’t wait to try it with cream cheese as well as cream cheese frosting is my favorite as I love the tang!
I was a bit worried initially when it looked like the sugar wasn’t going to dissolve but after another 2mins of beating it was a beautiful consistency.
Thanks for this recipe!
I think that’s the key is really beating it when you think you can’t beat it any longer.
Personally, I wouldn’t make this again. In fact, I couldn’t even use it… it turned out gluggy, had floury lumps in it, and separated when I put the butter in. I had to throw it out, and ended up making a vanilla and butter glaze for my cake.
I’m sorry Clare. It should definitely not have lumps. You should whip it until no lumps remain.
Hi, I’m looking for a light and not overly sweet frosting that doesn’t use eggs like IMBC or SMBC. I’ve seen this flour based recipe a few times and read the reviews here. just a couple questions; can I use cake flour or half cake flour/cornstarch and could I heat the sugar with the flour mixture? Thanks!
In my opinion, this recipe is very touchy and I don’t think that mixture will work.
I think this frosting is very great. I tried to make this frosting following all the instruction and at first it turned out to be just like what a whipped cream look like but during on the process of cupcake frosting its separating and i dont know why? i let the milk and flour mixture cooled enough when i add it to the butter. can this frosting be like whipping cream that if you over whipped it will turn into a butter like texture? i need your thoughts bout this since i really like the taste of this frosting. thanks.
I’ve heard others that this has happened to and basically you can’t overwhip this stuff. If it does separate you can whip it more.
I love the taste of this frosting, but I keep having issues with consistency. I follow the recipe to a T and I come out with extremely runny (almost icing like consistency) that I can’t use. Any idea where I could be going wrong?
Are you beating the heck out of it?
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My new fave icing…nothing else compares! It turned out so perfect and was amazing on a Chocolate Baileys Cake. wow
Love hearing that!
I RARELY, RARELY comment on things, but this frosting will most certainly get you hugs, and maybe some other things too!! It is absolutely divine and IF you follow the recipe, it is flawless.
I cooked my milk/flour mixture until it was VERY thick, thick almost like peanut butter…there was no pouring it in. I had to scrape it out of the pan and scrape my rubber spatula against the bowl and whisk to get it off. I let it cool for a long time and whipped the butter/sugar for quite a while too. The butter was a very pale yellow by the time I was ready to add the milk/flour/vanilla mixture. Mine never separated when I added it. I just beat it on a very high speed with my stand mixer until the grainy texture of the sugar had dissolved.
I am a sweet buttercream (cake is only a vehicle) frosting lover, but this has changed me. I’m not sure I can ever bring myself to make a powdered sugar frosting again. This was perfectly sweet and smooth like satin. It was NOT like the fluffy whipped bakery frosting. I’m not a fan of that, so this is the perfect marriage of sweet enough, slightly lighter than buttercream, but still holds its own.
If this is your first time making this, the only thing you will regret about this frosting is that you haven’t made it sooner.
Oh Jenn! Thank you, thank you! I agree and am so glad you do too and thank you for commenting.
I made this with the 9 yr old twins that I babysit and we had a blast!! We couldn’t keep our fingers off of the paddle it is soooo creamy and light! Delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bravo! The girls think the cupcakes that we made with this icing are the best ones they’ve eaten ever. Yum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Haha. Love this!
AMAZING! Do not be discouraged by other reviews. I don’t even like frosting, but this is delicious! I added 1 cup or oreo cookie crumbles. Whipped up perfectly. Thanks for posting.
You’re welcome!
How many cupcakes does this frost?
About 2 dozen!
I’m like 4mo late with this comment but I used this to frost cupcakes for a coworker’s bday – back in November- after initially attempting some awful 10x nightmare recipe that wound up in my trash. I will NEVER use another frosting recipe again! This is FANTASTIC!!!!! Thanks!
Thank you! I love hearing that!
My friend goes to seminary at like 5 or somethin. He’s Mormon, and I always thought that was his church’s thing. I think he’s loony. Is early seminary like a Mormon thing? Or are other Christians that crazy. I aint about beauty sleep, but learnin at 5 sounds pretty hard to do. By the way, the icing was delightful.
Haha. I’m Mormon as well. Early seminary seems to be a Mormon thing unless there are other religions that do it as well that I don’t know about.
I apologize if someone has already asked this, but has anyone tried substituting the vanilla extract for almond to make an almond frosting? That sounds delicious to me, but wondered if there’s maybe a ratio I could use (1/4t vanilla + 3/4t almond) or something along those lines. I LOVE almond flavor, so I’d probably just sub it all for almond – just wondering if anyone else has tried!
I personally would sub it all for almond and add a splash of vanilla.
Plain or self rising flour?
All my recipes use plain flour unless specified. Good luck!
Is this recipe enough to frost the top of a 9×13 cake?
Yes! I should be plenty.
I am so happy with this icing! I have to do whipped icing for a wedding and I tried the whole whipped cream gelatin stuff and didn’t like it at all! I found this and so far it looks beautiful and tastes great. It’s sitting on the counter now to see how long it will keep it’s shape.
I left the cupcake I frosted out all night and it still looks the same as when I first frosted it! Thank you for this recipe!
I was extremely happy when I found this recipe but it is very sensitive! I ruined 2 batches bc I tried making a large batch. I was only able to double it and even then it didn’t turn out as good as when I cut the recipe in half
Oh and when I doubled it it left these awful yellowish chunks all through it
Thank you!
Thank you!
Can u use this frosting for to fill cupcakes or is there a better receipe
You can definitely use it to fill!
Plain or self-rising flour?
Just saw answer above….disregard above question. 🙂
Can I use margarine instead of butter?
No. It reacts totally differently.
This is probably a very weird question, but has anyone made the pudding part with juice or something in place of the milk that’s not an official milk sub like nut milk? I want a flavored frosting but this is so light it doesn’t seem like it would hold up to adding juices or syrups once it’s all come together
Good morning, I have been making this frosting for 10 years now and the reactions to this frosting are, to say the least “Outrageous” in a good way. I was curious if anyone had ever tried making this with buttermilk to give it that sour taste. When ever I make a cake it is last minute, for a special occasion or for some one else. So I get scared and talk myself out of trying it. If someone else has tried it I would love to hear what the results were.
Thank you
Lori
OK it is me Lori again, my thoughts were connected to my original post…so I am using the comment box. I am going to try it ! Live bold right? incited of milk i used buttermilk and boy does it set up quick! My flour milk mixture always looks thicker then your picture. soon as that cools I will use brown sugar instead of white. This is the part that scares me because brown sugar is so much more moist. What I am hoping for is a light salted Carmel flavored frosting (using salted butter instead of unsalted ). Hmmm NOT what I expected! The buttermilk comes through as the *STAR * using brown sugar… I don’t know if i didn’t pack my sugar tight enough or if it is just the combination. It was not sweet at all, very much buttermilk taste and did not taste like Carmel at all. I think if I needed a buttermilk flavor I would make it again but use white sugar and play around it might need a little extra sugar. Hope this helps anyone that is wondering.
Does the milk need to be whole milk? I usually only have skim milk in the fridge but I would assume a milk with some fat would be better for this frosting.
In my experience skim does not work as well.
I always make my own frosting/icing so I am not new to this. I tried this recipe for my twins 3rd birthday yesterday and it was SO wet. Like dripping liquid off the cupcakes. I had to trash it and make a different one 10 minutes before everyone got there haha.
Could I add cream cheese to this to make it a bit of a cream cheese frosting or would it ruin it?
It would totally change the texture of the frosting and I think it would ruin it.
My great aunt used to make a homemade red velvet cake, and this icing was what she used on it. Absolutely delicious!! You would ruin it with cream cheese.
Sorry, I’m not much of a baker. I’m assuming the flour is supposed to be plain flour, and to heat it on a low setting? Also, how many cupcakes do you think this would frost? ^^;
Thank you!
Yes, just plain flour and cook on a low setting. I think it would frost around 24!
My mom also made this recipe when I was a child, I will be 60 this year. The only think different with my recipe is you cook the milk, flour AND sugar together. Everything else is the same. The sugar melts when you cook it and after you cool the cooked mixture you beat in the butter and you don’t have to beat it so long because it isn’t grainy from the sugar. Hope this helps anyone who is having a problem with the sugar.
Thank you for your tips!
I just tryed this and think I didn’t beat enough but still tastes good. Think the vanilla made it a yellowish color. Thanks for the recipe. I think with a little practice will turn out better. Should have also let the butter get a little warmer.
Good luck!
You can use clear vanilla extract instead of pure vanilla extract to make it remain white.
Hi there, I’m so excited to try this recipe for my kiddo’s birthday party cupcakes. Any thoughts on how many full-sized cupcakes this recipe will cover? Thanks!
About 24!
Should I use low heat or high heat?
Low heat!
I tried this recipe but I found the icing to be too soft for piping as it always goes limp and separates.
I think you need to whip it longer.
My icing turned out like straight butter and sugar. It’s not whipping, how long do I stir until it’s whipped?? I’ve been stirring for 25 minutes.
I used a stand mixer, which might be easier. It came together really quickly.
I was trying to make a green peppermint frosting that wouldn’t be cloying. First, for some reason my milk and flour thickened in under 2 minutes. Was my heat too high? And my frosting didn’t turn out to be an even green; I added the food coloring with the vanilla and peppermint extracts. Did I not cream the butter well enough? This recipe was great, thanks for sharing.
Two problems with this frosting. Got a Flour taste to it plus not firm enough to pipe flowers.
I love this frosting, best on Red Velvet, the only frosting recipe for red velvet to my buds.
A few times the sugar had not dissolved well, I discovered after frosting, at room temp the sugar will show as if separated in mixture,
Any tips on making sure butter/sugar mixture is ready to blend with cooked mixture , well cooled!
i am so sorry christy but your frosting is terrible. i tried this out following the instructions to a T, and it is just plain bad. it tastes like something mama june would make- all i can taste and feel is butter butter butter. it’s overwhelming and made me nauseous.
i thought i would try out this recipe and give y’all a chance, but this just proves that white people can’t cook for life lmao.
bye.
Hi,
this looks amazing. Is it possible to turn it into a chocolate frosting?
I’m wondering the same thing. Have you tried it yet?
Yeah….the sugar NEVER dissolves.
Keep whipping!
Hi Christy
I don’t know if I will get any hugs or not but I do want to hug you for this recipe… I have made this frosting twice in two days and it just keeps getting better. Did I mention that I have never been able to make frosting of any kind successfully, like ever.. Plus good cream cheese is expensive where I live and this is so much better while being cheaper and just perfect for a hobbyist baker like me… Thank you so so much…
Ooh Amy, you’re welcome!
This recipe has been in our family for 6O+ years & has always been referred to as “Poor Mans Whipped Cream.”
It’s an old southern recipe & like many good recipes it has been passed around & fiddled with & all due respect to the lovely Pioneer Woman but it has been around much longer than she has. Like all good cooks you pass along beloved recipes.
My recipe card written by my 92 yr mother says to whip the butter & sugar for a full 10 minutes. It is repeated “ YES 10 MINUTES & underlined. It was her go to recipe for a devils food cake for special occasions & Served with home made raspberry sorbet for our birthday parties. Sometimes my mother made choc. Cupcakes & cut a cone out of the top of the cupcake& generously filled it with the poor mans frosting & frosted the top as usual.
This is my sister & daughters favorite choc cake& frosting & require it for their birthdays. For my SIL I add 8 oz of cream cheese to the poor man’s frosting recipe to frost his red velvet bday cake.
My sister just turned 60 & I made her a triple layer Duncan Heinz devils food cake with poor man’s whipped cream & it was perfection. Use your favorite choc cake recipe. Buttermilk choc cake is good too. I use:
1 Duncan Heinz Devils food cake mix
4 eggs
1 small choc instant pudding mix (dry)
1/2 C canola oil
3/4 C milk
1tsp vanilla
It will be thick.
Grease & flour pans. Parchment ok
Bake@ 350 DO NOT overbake
For my sisters triple layer choc. birthday cake I used a 10” pan for each layer which is ONE cake mix in EACH pan.
I tripled the frosting recipe & put the cake on a large footed cake plate & it was one fabulous cake.
I make the cake the day before & leave layers covered overnite to keep them moist & frost the cake the day of.
If that’s not convenient its ok to frost the day before but it does firm up the frosting & changes the texture of the frosting ever so slightly but set cake or cupcakes out on the counter an hour before serving & it is perfectly fine. My daughter actually prefers the chilled over nite version. Up to you.
If it’s a warm day & I’ve frosted the “day of” sometimes I set it in the fridge for a half hour or hour to let it firm up a bit.
The cooked flour “roue” is all important. It must be thick enough & absolutely cooled. My recipe calls for room temp but I frequently put it in the fridge.
If you are having trouble with your frosting being too thin..make another batch of the cooked flour mixture & put in fridge or freezer to cool. Then add it to the thin frosting & it should be fine. I don’t think it alters the frosting texture flavor much if at all & it works to firm up a thin frosting. No need to add more sugar or butter etc. just the cooked & cooled flour mixture to the frosting mixture you’ve already got going. Be sure to beat it well.
My daughter prefers a grainier texture to her frosting so I beat it less & use reg granulated sugar. For everybody else I use extra fine sugar & beat it at least the full ten minutes or more. It’s really important to beat the butter & sugar mixture til its fluffy & creamy & sugar is not grainy BEFORE adding the cooked flour mixture. This recipe is perfect for a Red Velvet cake but is also delish if you add an 8 oz block of cream cheese after you beat the butter & sugar 10 min but before adding the cooked cooled flour roux. It DOES NOT ruin it to add cream cheese. It’s a delish cream cheese frosting & I’ve used it on lemon or lemon blueberry cake & just add some lemon zest to it.
I also frequently make a double batch of frosting as I use it to crumb coat with & for a generous middle filling.
I also use salted butter to offset the sweetness but this not a sweet frosting which is part of the appeal.
One frosting recipe is adequate for one 2 layer 8” cake or generously frosts one 9×13 or 18-24 cupcakes depending on how thick you like it. It’s basically one frosting recipe per cake mix.
For cupcakes I frequently make a 1.5 recipe but it’s not necessary. The Fam likes a thicker frost & I usually have a line of peeps waiting to lick the bowl & beaters. Enjoy!
Ooh thanks for all of the tips!
Can I add fresh strawberries to make it strawberry flavored? If so, how much ,?
This recipe is amazing! I won’t be making any other frosting recipe ever. My boyfriend has a lot of food allergies, particularly corn. His favorite cake is devil’s food with white icing. I cannot use any store bought frosting because they all contain corn and soy. I’ve been looking for a great white frosting recipe for his cake and this is it!!! After I made it, I told my daughter to try it and she said it was the best frosting ever and how did I get it so light and fluff. She also said I should make this frosting for all cakes. Thank you for the tips on making this, mine first batch came out perfect and everyone, including my boyfriend, loved it.
Oh my gosh! I love hearing that.
I grew up having this. We call it milk gravy frosting since it starts out being cooked and thickened on a stove top, which resembles poultry gravy.
It’s our go to for spice cake and carrot cake. Instead of vanilla we sometimes use maple flavoring- delicious!!
Maple would be a great addition!
I want to bake some cupcakes and make this frosting, then freeze them. How does this frosting freeze?
I have not tried freezing it but others have successfully.
I used this recipe for a chocolate cake & it was so delightful. Top recipe worth a try you will be impressed. I thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Josette (Sydney, Australia)
Thank you Josette!
A little too sweet for my tasting and I have a pretty sweet tooth. I would lower the amount to 2/3 cup, Besides that it;s good, the texture is amazing and can’t wait to make it again!
Awesome to hear!
Oh my!! this is THE BEST icing. The only thing I am putting this on is a spoon. Yum Yum
thank you for sharing this recipe.
You’re welcome!
BEST FROSTING EVER! So silky, so nice. I added some whipping cream at the end to decrease the butteryness a bit and holy smokes. It was perfect before but I’m just not a fan of butter. Thank you!
Yes, than this is the one for you!
Does this icing get stiff and hold piping styles like rosettes?
Yes!
I know it says it’s best if used the same day, but in my house, we don’t eat cupcakes THAT fast. How long will this icing keep, and how is the best way to keep it, once the cupcakes are iced?
You should keep them refrigerated and they should be fine.
The first time I made this frosting it turned out perfect! But then the next few times it turned out with chunks of what looked like butter. I did exactly what I did the first time. Also I was wondering if i could put cocoa powder in it to make it chocolatey and also how much do you recommend.
I think you need to whip it even longer to get the chunks out. I haven’t tried a chocolate version but I’m sure you could do it.
How many cups of icing does this recipe mke?
Thanks
Yuk. Tastes like a mouth full of butter! And 5 tbs of flour was TOO MUCH, it turned into big ball. Had to re do it and used 2 tbs. It looked good and was creamy but the taste was very unpleasing GAG! I added more vanilla, melted some brown sugar just to try to fix it even just a lil. But NOPE. After all said and done, I added a can of cherry pie filling too it and now it’s yummy! I think I just like an Extremely SWEETER frosting