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Ermine Frosting is an old-fashioned buttercream, often called “boiled milk frosting” or “flour frosting”, that’s made with sugar, flour, milk and butter! No need for powdered sugar here, making it a great frosting alternative for those who don’t like things too sweet!
It’s no secret that American-style buttercream, which is what I use most often around here, is quite sweet. It’s full of powdered sugar, which is necessary for adding volume and structure. But one of the questions I’m asked most often is if the amount of powdered sugar can be reduced. For many it’s just too sweet.
Enter ermine buttercream. While it takes a little more time and prep work, it uses no powdered sugar and far less regular granulated sugar. It also works great for piping and can be colored just like any other buttercream.
Another great thing about ermine frosting is that it doesn’t use eggs like meringue frostings. So for those who can’t have eggs but want a less sweet buttercream, this is a great option.
What is Ermine Frosting?
It’s an old fashioned buttercream recipe that’s known for the use of flour and “boiled milk”. You create a roux by cooking sugar, flour and milk over the stove to a pudding-like consistency, then let it cool and add it to your butter. It’s a very simple recipe, but does take some prep.
Ermine frosting has traditionally been used for Red Velvet Cake, but these days cream cheese frosting is more popular.
What Does Ermine Frosting Taste Like?
Despite seeming very odd and maybe even off-putting, ermine buttercream is silky smooth and quite light. It reminds be a lot of Swiss Meringue Buttercream. It doesn’t taste at all like flour and has nice vanilla flavor. It really is quite tasty and makes a great alternative to sweet American buttercreams.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Sugar: Use granulated sugar here, not the typical powdered sugar.
- Flour: All purpose flour. It thickens the milk when cooked on the stove. Gluten free flour should work just fine here too.
- Salt: For flavor.
- Milk: I used 2%, but whole would work fine too.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter and add my own salt. You want the butter to be room temperature.
- Vanilla Extract: For flavor. Feel free to substitute for other flavors.
How to make Ermine Frosting
- Combine Ingredients in Saucepan: Combine sugar, flour, and salt in a medium saucepan and whisk until well combined. Add milk and whisk together until mixture is well combined.
- Cook Roux Mixture: Heat mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick and pudding-like. Do not heat over high heat or the mixture will cook too quickly and the sugar won’t properly dissolve. Remove from heat.
- Cool To Room Temperature: Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on top to prevent a skin from forming. Allow to cool completely to room temperature or refrigerate for a day or two before using. If refrigerating ahead of time, bring back to room temperature before proceeding.
- Beat Butter: Once cooled, add the butter to a mixing bowl and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add Cooled Flour Mixture: Add the flour mixture (at room temperature) one tablespoon at a time, mixing on medium speed until well combined before adding the next.
- Add Flavoring: Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Whip Until Fluffy: Whip the frosting on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
- Use or Store For Later: Use immediately or store in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 3 months. Allow buttercream to come back to room temperature before using.
Troubleshooting
Your frosting is too soft: There are a few possible reasons. One is that the roux wasn’t cooked properly and is too thin. You want to be sure to truly thick and pudding-like. Cook it on medium heat and a little slower, rather than turning it up to high heat.
Another possibility is that the roux wasn’t completely cool. Heat is not a friend to buttercream. Butter melts. So adding a roux that’s too warm will soften your butter even further, leading it to not whip as well and be softer than intended.
If your frosting is too soft, try placing it in the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up a bit and see if that helps.
Your buttercream is too hard: This should only be the case after refrigerating it. It will be hard when you take it out of the fridge. Bring it back to room temperature and re-whip it, if needed.
Your buttercream looks curdled: This can happen if the butter or flour mixture is too cold. Keep whipping and letting it come to room temperature and it should come together.
Can I Make a Chocolate Version?
Absolutely! Add half a cup of cocoa powder to the butter in step 5 and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Does Ermine Frosting need to be Refrigerated?
Ermine frosting will be fine at room temperature for up to 24 hours. After that, it should be refrigerated. Bring it to room temperature before using and rewhip it, if needed.
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Ermine Frosting
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cooling Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 1/2 cups
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: American
Description
Ermine Frosting is an old-fashioned buttercream, often called “boiled milk frosting” or “flour frosting”, that’s made with sugar, flour, milk and butter. No need for powdered sugar here, making it a great frosting alternative for those who don’t like things too sweet.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (207g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (33g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup (240ml) milk (I use 2%)
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine sugar, flour, and salt in a medium saucepan and whisk until well combined.
- Add milk and whisk together until mixture is well combined.
- Heat mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick and pudding-like. Do not heat over high heat or the mixture will cook too quickly and the sugar won’t properly dissolve. Remove from heat.
- Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on top to prevent a skin from forming. Allow to cool completely to room temperature or refrigerate for a day or two before using. If refrigerating ahead of time, bring back to room temperature before proceeding.
- Once cooled, add the butter to a mixing bowl and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the flour mixture (at room temperature) one tablespoon at a time, mixing on medium speed until well combined before adding the next.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Whip the frosting on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
- Use immediately or store in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 3 months. Allow buttercream to come back to room temperature before using.
Notes
For a chocolate version: Add half a cup of cocoa powder to the butter in step 5 and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 2611
- Sugar: 212.8 g
- Sodium: 712.2 mg
- Fat: 184.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 236.6 g
- Protein: 13.4 g
- Cholesterol: 493 mg
Is this good for piping swirls and will it hold? How stable is it?
Yes, it will pipe swirls very well and hold up. It is slightly softer than regular buttercream, but not as soft cream cheese frosting.
Hi, I’ve been asked for a less sweet cake, so I will love to try this recipe. Can I use this to make a cookies and cream ermine frosting? Any idea? Should I just add oreo crumbs to this? Thank you!!
Sure! You should just be able to add the Oreo Crumbs.
Can you make this frosting into a chocolate version? If so, how would I do that?
Yes, you could add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of cocoa powder, depending on how chocolatey you want it.
I’ve used this recipe as a filling and LOVE it. I also have a lot of experience with traditional buttercream (with and without shortening added in). I have a random question: If this ermine frosting is used to ice a tall layer cake, how will it hold up in heat/humidity compared to regular buttercream? I ask because I am headed to a warm, 3rd world country soon to teach a baking class. These ladies do have refrigerators, but most do not have air conditioning. They are currently having a hard time getting powdered sugar, so ermine icing would be a great alternative in that respect. But is it going to be a “hot mess” (literally!) in that situation? I know you’d have to maybe put it in the fridge frequently and not let it sit out. Any ideas on it’s heat tolerance, comparatively?
I’ve never really experimented with it in heat, so it’s hard to say. I’m guessing that it would be similar to a regular buttercream since it’s butter based. It may even be a little more sensitive. You mentioned using shortening in regular buttercream and that would certainly be something you could try in this one to help with that.
can I add cream cheese to this frosting to make it cream cheese frosting? Or will it negatively affect the frosting consistency and taste?
I have never tried it to be able to say for sure. Cream cheese frosting generally is thinner than regular buttercream to begin with, so I’m sure this frosting will be thinner with cream cheese added. But I think it would probably be fine otherwise.
Hi There,
How long can I keep the roux in the refrigerator before combining it with the butter? I am making a cake for Saturday (it is monday), hoping to whip the flour mixture with the butter and pipe the cake on Saturday. I got ahead of myself and made the roux already. Can I keep it in the fridge until Friday?
Yes, that should be fine. I think it should be good in the fridge for 5-7 days.
What am I doing wrong, my butter keeps separating during the mixing process.
Could your flour mixture still be too warm? I have a video of me making it on TikTok. Maybe it would be helpful to see what the process looks like. https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRQ9nTGA/
This recipe is better when you cook the flour and milk alone to make a roux (aka roux frosting). I use superfine granulated sugar and beat together with the flour until fluffy and then add the cooled roux and beat for several minutes until fluffy. My mom made this and it was our favorite.
I love all of your recipes! Does this make enough to frost a 4 layer 9″ cake? Thanks so much!
I’m so glad to hear that! To cover a cake that size, I’d recommend doubling or tripling the recipe, depending on how much frosting you typically use.
Is this sturdy enough for stacking cake layers like an ABC?
Yes, as long as you don’t add too much liquid or something to it, it’ll be plenty firm, just like American buttercream.
Could I cover a cake using this icing ? Many thanks
Definitely!
Can this recipe be doubled, or should I just make 2 batches separately?
It should be fine if you double it.
We always called this Ivory Butter Frosting. It was the only frosting we put on Red Velvet Cake. It’s so good you’ll be licking the bowl.
Hi Lindsay,
How can I make this version chocolate??
I have never made a frosting using this method….but my family is all about chocolate frosting!
TIA!
Add about half a cup of cocoa powder or 6 ounces or so of melted chocolate. Keep in mind the melted chocolate might thin it out a bit.
I always used this frosting for Red Velvet Cake, which came from my mother. I had never heard of cream cheese frosting for Red Velvet, but didn’t know that this frosting had a name. I don’t like really sweet frosting and I dislike working with powdered sugar. I’m glad to finally put a name to this frosting!
So interesting! I’ve always had cream cheese frosting with red velvet cake. But this frosting is definitely a great one to have and I’m glad you now have a name for it. 🙂
Will this recipe make enough to cover a layer cake? This looks like a keeper recipe!! I don’t like icing that’s super sweet so I’m excited to try! Thanks!
It depends on how much frosting you like to use, but I would probably double it for a cake. It would be enough for about a dozen cupcakes though.