This Perfect Cupcake Frosting and Filling is known as Ermine Frosting, or sometimes referred to as boiled milk frosting, because it begins with a cooked roux of flour and milk. That might sound incredibly strange for a frosting recipe, but trust me! I’d say it’s the perfect frosting. It’s not so thick and sweet that you need a gallon of milk to get it down your throat. It’s mild and smooth, and light as air. I also love it because it doesn’t take away from a good cupcake like other really rich frostings can. It’s often the traditional frosting used with Red Velvet Cake. This frosting has a similar taste and texture to a Swiss Buttercream, but with way less effort. Try this unique frosting recipe and you’ll be hooked!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- All purpose flour
- Milk – Whole milk is best, but I’ve used non-fat when it’s all I’ve had and it actually does work ok as well.
- Butter – Use real butter here!
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract – Or other extract or flavoring oil of choice.
How to Make Perfect Cupcake Frosting and Filling
Step 1: Make the Cooked Flour Base
- The frosting starts out with a mixture of all purpose flour and milk. And even though I’m showing it here being whisked together, I’ve actually found you’ll get a much smoother result if you mix this part in a blender first and then pour it in your pan.
- Now comes the weird part. You’re going to cook this mixture until it gets thick–it happens fast and you’ll want to have a rubber spatula and constantly smash/stir it to keep it smooth. I usually take it off the heat when it looks like this photo above. There are still some wet spots but as you stir it all comes together like this: Don’t taste it. It’s not frosting yet! Pop it in the fridge; it needs to cool completely (I sometimes pop it in the freezer if I want it to cool fast.) Put it in a bowl and smoosh it around and stir every few minutes to cool it off.
Step 2: Mix it up!
- When the flour mixture is chilled, place some real, high-quality butter (definitely no margarine) and granulated sugar (not powdered sugar!) in a stand mixer. Whip it up for a few minutes so it’s light and creamy. I use the whisk attachment on my Kitchenaid, but any paddle should work.
- Then you’ll add that glob of flour. I know. Weird! I’m warning you right now it’s going to look weird at first. Like, what the heck did I do weird. But keep going. You’ve got to whip it for a long time for all the sugar to dissolve and everything to come together. Don’t be startled if it looks curdled. Eventually it will look like fluffy soft clouds of heaven. I usually give it a little taste and if I can still feel quite a bit of granulated sugar I keep on whipping. Sometimes it takes 5 minutes, other times I let it go for almost 10 or so! It’s worth it for this silky, fluffy, magical mixture. Pipe it or spread it or fill it or whatever. Anyway you eat it, it’s fantastic.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished frosting or frosted desserts, covered tightly, in the refrigerator. Allow to come to temperature for 20-30 minutes before serving.
- If using frosting within a few hours of making the frosting or within a few hours of frosting cakes or cupcakes, simply cover and store at room temperature until time to serve.
- This frosting can be soft or even melt if it gets too warm. If needed, pop the whole mixing bowl in the fridge for 15 minutes and rewhip to help it hold its shape.
- Don’t leave frosted desserts sitting in the sun or in a warm environment for too long with this frosting or it may soften/melt!
Additional Tips
- Use real butter, and a good name-brand. Cheap butter does weird things.
- If you beat for the 6-8 minutes and the mixture still looks strange, beat longer and at a higher speed if you can. It should come together, but it takes a little patience!
- I personally think this frosting is best eaten fresh. You can store for a few hours at room temperature, or try storing in the fridge overnight, letting it come to room temperature on its own, and then re-beating to fluff. If you want to frost cupcakes or a cake the day before, refrigerate and just let come to room temp after.
- Add extracts to your hearts content; lemon and almond are both wonderful! Food coloring is also okay.
- The white sugar can be exchanged for brown. Try 1/2 white 1/2 brown for a warm caramel flavor.
- Do not try to make other substitutions or additions. Sour cream, fruit purees etc. can do disastrous things. Some people have had amazing success, just experiment at your own risk.
- If trying to decide whether or not to double it- double it. Chances are you’ll want more. It’s a rather small batch, but on purpose.
- 1 batch will not look like much, but it can spread on (just with a knife, a normal amount) 24 cupcakes. If you want to pipe it thick, definitely double it.
- Looking for Chocolate? This Chocolate Frosting isn’t exactly the same, but very similar!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar?
Yes. Brown sugar gives this frosting a deeper, almost caramelly flavor. Just be sure you’re using fine brown sugar (some brands like the organic one sold at Costco have quite large grains) and it may help to sift it first. When creaming with the butter, give it some extra time and make sure the sugar has dissolved well before adding the flour mixture to ensure a smooth texture.
Can I make this frosting other flavors like chocolate?
This frosting is best flavored with extracts or flavoring oils. If you are looking for similar flour-based frosting, try this Chocolate Frosting.
Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes. If making just a couple of hours before use, cover tightly and store at room temperature (if your kitchen isn’t too warm) until ready to use. You may need to rewhip it before use.
If making a day or two in advance, cover tightly and store in the refrigerator. Before use, bring to room temperature and rewhip briefly to restore texture.
Can I add food coloring?
Yes, add gel or paste food coloring (not liquid) when you add the flour mixture.
Perfect Cupcake Frosting and Filling
This light, creamy, dreamy flour-based frosting is THE perfect cupcake frosting and filling!
Servings 1/4 cup servings
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup milk whole milk is best, but I’ve used non-fat when it’s all I have and it’s actually fine
- ½ cup real butter slightly softened (I prefer salted, but you can use also unsalted and add salt to taste)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or other flavor if you wish
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour and the milk (you could also run it through the blender first). Heat in a small sauce pan on medium heat.
- Whisk continuously until it starts to thicken. Let it cook, while stirring with a rubber spatula, until you can start to see the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook until mixture has the consistency of thick pudding or paste.
- Put mixture in the fridge and let it cool completely; it's fine if it stays in there long enough to get chilly, you just don't want it warm at all. As it's cooling, feel free to stir it occasionally to speed up the process and keep it from forming a crust on top. You can also do this quickly in the freezer, just keep an eye on it so it doesn't freeze.
- Using the whisk attachment on an electric stand mixer, beat the butter and the sugar for a minute or two until well combined and fluffy. While beating, add in the thickened milk mixture, any food coloring, and the flavor extracts. Beat to combine and then scrape down the sides. Mixture will separate and look messy, keep beating! Continue beating until mixture comes together and is light and fluffy, about 7-8 minutes, but time varies. Take a sample of frosting between your fingers; frosting is done when light and fluffy and sugar granules are dissolved.
Notes
- Store finished frosting or frosted desserts, covered tightly, in the refrigerator. Allow to come to temperature for 20-30 minutes before serving.
- If using frosting within a few hours of making the frosting or within a few hours of frosting cakes or cupcakes, simply cover and store at room temperature until time to serve.
- This frosting can be soft or even melt if it gets too warm. If needed, pop the whole mixing bowl in the fridge for 15 minutes and rewhip to help it hold its shape.
- Don’t leave frosted desserts sitting in the sun or in a warm environment for too long with this frosting or it may soften/melt!
- Use real butter, and a good name-brand. Cheap butter does weird things.
- If you beat for the 6-8 minutes and the mixture still looks strange, beat longer and at a higher speed if you can. It should come together, but it takes a little patience!
- I personally think this frosting is best eaten fresh. You can store for a few hours at room temperature, or try storing in the fridge overnight, letting it come to room temperature on its own, and then re-beating to fluff. If you want to frost cupcakes or a cake the day before, refrigerate and just let come to room temp after.
- Add extracts to your hearts content; lemon and almond are both wonderful! Food coloring is also okay.
- The white sugar can be exchanged for brown. Try 1/2 white 1/2 brown for a warm caramel flavor.
- Do not try to make other substitutions or additions. Sour cream, fruit purees etc. can do disastrous things. Some people have had amazing success, just experiment at your own risk.
- If trying to decide whether or not to double it- double it. Chances are you’ll want more. It’s a rather small batch, but on purpose.
- 1 batch will not look like much, but it can spread on (just with a knife, a normal amount) 24 cupcakes. If you want to pipe it thick, definitely double it.
- Looking for Chocolate? This Chocolate Frosting isn’t exactly the same, but very similar!
Nutrition
Serving: 0.25cup, Calories: 112kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 21mg, Sodium: 65mg, Potassium: 21mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 256IU, Calcium: 15mg, Iron: 0.1mg
Calories: 112kcal
Cost: $4
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Questions & Reviews
I’ve made this ahead many times. You can refrigerate or freeze it then just let it come to room temperature and beat for a few minutes to restore the texture. If you frost the cupcakes or cake the night before, just cover loosely with plastic wrap and it won’t develop that hard crust. I’ve also frozen cupcakes after they were frosted and they were just fine when we thawed them later. You can add cooled, melted chocolate for a chocolate version and substitute brown sugar for part of the white for a caramel version. I’ve even beaten in strawberry puree for the most decadent, yummiest frosting ever. That one takes a bit of powdered sugar at the end though to thicken it up. It’s really a GREAT recipe!
This frosting is amazing!!!! Instead of vanilla I made a really strong coffee flavor with a teaspoon of instant coffee and a teaspoon of water. I also made a batch with Baileys Irish cream. It’s Sooo light and really compliments my special dark chocolate cupcakes!!!! Love love love!!! I’m never going back to boxed stuff!!
Hi!
I’ve tried this frosting today! It tastes wonderful however, it melts(?) really fast. I’ve left it at room temperature and it started to melt after 5 minutes. Could this be because of the weather? I live in HOT and (note) HUMID Singapore (basically, you can expect sweat even by walking leisurely after 5 minutes). Is there anything I can do about it?
Thank You!
Yep, it’s absolutely because of the weather. Unfortunately this one just doesn’t hold up well in the hot weather!
I’ve used this for years in a recipe for ‘chocolate Gobs’. Sometimes it works like a dream and other times it’s horrible. If you’re not careful, the frosting will separate and never fully come together no matter how long you whip it! However, when it works properly it is my FAVORITE frosting!!
I love this frosting! I was just wondering if, after I have frosted my treat (aka cupcakes), could I store them in the freezer for a future date, or would that ruin the frosting on top?
I would definitely not freeze the frosted cupcakes–if you want, you could freeze the cupcakes and then frost them right before serving, though! 🙂
THANK YOU. I usually never like frosting, but this frosting is incredible. it’s like whipped cream and was so easy to make, although I did have to throw out the first batch. Yes, you can overcook it, trust me. To me it cooked very fast, and went from sooooupy to that next stage where you can see the bottom of the pan REAL fast. The end result still has people talking about it at work. I did use red food coloring to make a pink frosting which I put on strawberry cupcakes and everyone seemed to assume that it was strawberry flavored since it was pink. Funny! Thanks again, so much. This is a keeper!!!
OK – this sounds amazing, so I’ll need to try it. One question – my apologies if it’s already asked and answered. I get the “real” and name brand butter thing, but you don’t mention salted vs unsalted. I only ever cook w/unsalted (per my chef cousin) but not sure about how that applies to baking.
Thanks!
You can use either- if you use unsalted then I would definitely add a pinch of salt to the frosting. If you use salted butter (which is what I always use) you won’t need any added salt.
Best. Frosting. Ever.
My roux came out thicker than yours as others have mentioned but I wasn’t worried because I read every single comment, lol. I used lemon extract and this frosting is to die for.
I didn’t read all the comments for this post so this may be redundant but I’m going to tell you anyway. . . I make this as a chocolate frosting also by adding about 3 T. cocoa powder to the sugar/butter mixture. Yummy!!!!
Made this today, must say I was not expecting much lol. White sauce…..lol! But wow wow wow wow wow, absolutely gorgeous and piped so well. Thank you for sharing!!!