The Best Frosting {a.k.a. Magical Frosting}
This magical frosting is simply the BEST frosting ever. It requires a bit more planning than every day buttercream, but the results are worth it.
I am rarely left speechless {if you are my husband you are seriously nodding your head right about now}. I like to talk {husband still nodding}. To dissect the details of important matters, such as great toenail polish and food {husband falling asleep}.
However, after taking a taste of this frosting, I was left completely speechless. No words. None. Just absolute, incredible tastebud bliss {husband shocked into silence himself}.
The Best Frosting of My Life
It is the best frosting I have ever tasted in my life.
You might have seen the phenomenon of this type of frosting swirling around. I tried the Tasty Kitchen version (highlighted by the Pioneer Woman) twice, and both times it was a disaster. I had given up on the so-called miracle of flour-based frostings until I saw and made this latest version.
It left me weak and trembling.
And do you know what tops it all? There is a chocolate version. Oh, heaven help me.
I slathered this frosting on the most decadent cake I’ve made to date (posting tomorrow!) and I can’t begin to describe the magical web of fluffy, creamy sweetness that is beholden in this frosting.
I am a self-professed frosting hater, which makes my testimonial of this frosting all the stronger. I abhor the greasy, filmy, overly-sugary taste of traditional buttercream. Even the adventurous seven-minute/marshmallow frostings of the world leave me wanting.
But this frosting…well, it belongs in The Best Recipe section no doubt about that.
My search for the best frosting is over.
I’ll be honest, it is a little more work and requires a bit more planning than throwing butter and powdered sugar together in a mixer but I’m promising you here and now that the results are worth every minute.
The real issue now becomes making sure any of this frosting actually makes it to the cake before being inhaled by my little lips.
One Year Ago: Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce
Two Years Ago: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars
The Best Frosting {a.k.a. Magical Frosting}
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (318 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (36 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups milk, I use 1% or 2%
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (340 g) butter, cut into 24 pieces and softened at room temperature (I use salted butter)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Slowly whisk in the milk until the mixture is smooth. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a medium saucepan and pour the milk mixture through the strainer into the saucepan. Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture boils and is thick enough that it starts to become difficult to easily whisk. This could take anywhere between 5-10 minutes, depending on your stove, heat, etc. It should bubble quite a bit at the end (be careful of the splatters) and thicken considerably.
- Transfer the mixture to a clean bowl and cool to room temperature – this is extremely important! If it is even slightly warm, the frosting won’t beat up properly. I refrigerated my initial mixture overnight. If you do this, make sure to pull it out in time to let it warm back up to room temperature. If you try to proceed with the rest of the recipe and the mixture is too cold, the butter won’t absorb into the frosting like it should.
- Once the frosting is completely cooled to room temperature (it should have no hint of warmth at all!), beat the mixture with the vanilla on low speed until it is well combined, about 30 seconds (a stand mixer will work best for this). Add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat the frosting until all the butter has been incorporated fully, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and let the mixer work it’s magic. Beat the frosting for five minutes, until it is light and fluffy. Let the frosting sit at room temperature until it is a bit more stiff, about 1 hour. I suspect if you chill it for an hour or so, it would be stiff enough to actually pipe with instead of frosting with a rubber spatula.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Cook’s Country Oct/Nov 2010
This pipes beautifully!!! And it also takes to food coloring very well.
Hi Mel – just wanted to see if you’ve done any piping with this? You mentioned that you would update, so I wanted to check and see if this is still your go-to frosting for everything. Thanks!
So… does this pipes ? I want this for delicious and BEAUTIFUL cupcakes…. so?… IT WORKS???
Hi Mel!
Is it okay if I half your recipe? I want to pipe rosettes over 12 cupcakes, and I don’t want to waste any! Also, will the frosting be alright if I pipe it on the cupcakes and leave it overnight in the fridge?
Just wanted to say that this is now my “go to” icing as well! Everyone loves it! and my Dad’s cake turned out perfect, I simply refrigerated the iced cake before I put on the fondant. Thanks Mel for this amazing recipe!!!
The first time I made this frosting I was in love. After that is was just okay as on a cupcake I thought it was a touch bland BUT I recently put this on a Red Velvet cake with a Cheesecake center and it was the best complimenting frosting I could ever have imagined. It really brought out the flavor of the actual cake instead of being overpowering. I will always use this for my Red Velvet cakes.
Hi Mel.
I’m making this Magical Frosting as we speak. I’m very excited to see how it turns out! I am making a guitar cake for my Dad’s 50th Birthday and I was looking for a delicious frosting, and after stumbling across yours I decided to give it a go!! I am planning on putting fondant over the chilled iced cake, do you think it will work fine?
I never comment on anything, but I just wanted to tell anyone worried about this frosting starting to separate when whipping in the butter to just keep whipping!! I had made the chocolate version of this before and it was AMAZING! It matched the flavor of my chocolate cake perfectly. I decided to try the original version tonight because my boyfriend wanted a white frosting with the chocolate cake this time. I was about to toss it but thought, “Well if it’s ruined it can’t hurt to keep whipping”. So I whipped it on high, and then it just came together. Perfect consistency. Although, I do think it’s a bit too buttery it is SO much better than buttercream, and the flavor gets better as it sits…but the chocolate version? Perfection! Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!
This is a fantastic recipe. I’ve been making it ever since I found it on Pioneer Woman’s website. Every time I make it people rave! 🙂
Great recipe!!!! I’m a pre-teen and with this great website, even I made this awesome frosting successfully!
Thanks a lot, Mel
This is very close to the classic Red Velvet Frosting, using a paste made of flour and milk. The trick is to beat it until it is like whipped cream. An awesome frosting.
I made this today for my boyfriend’s father’s birthday cake, and it was fabulous! I’m not really a baker-of-cakes, but I do like to cook from scratch, so… I gave it a shot and it was wonderfully successful. I added half a vanilla bean during the cooking phase and then skimped on the extract a little bit, and I used two sticks of unsalted butter and on stick of salted butter. I also didn’t strain it before cooking, but I just kept whisking it and there were no lumps. It was just the right level of sweetness for the very dark chocolate cake I put it on. Thank you so much!
Has anyone tried this recipe with alternatives to dairy? My daughter has food allergies so I have to get creative. I have dairy free butter which is always amazing. I just wonder which milk alternative might work best. Thanks for any input!
This is the recipe my grandma made for years and years and it is wonderful. However, I don’t have a stand mixer so it can get tiring making it! I have begun using very fine granulated sugar instead of the regular sugar. I also, unlike Mel, only have unsalted butter not salted, so always use that. Enjoy the icing, all. It is amazing!
Veronica – I use salted butter because I’m too lazy to buy unsalted but that could make a difference if someone had an ultra refined palettes which I do not. 🙂 The thing with this frosting is that people either love it or hate it. I think it really boils down to a texture/taste preference. I agree that good quality butter (never margarine!) makes all the difference and the expectation that it is a very light, buttery frosting.
I always use butter such as Keller’s or crystal farms. I. Going t
o try Plugra fancy butter next time to see how awesome it can be
Not 2 sure if a higher fat content butter will make it not set up so nicely
I wish it was a littel more thicker to hold up for baking at a fair. O have found if you make sure the flour mixture is completely cool not 1 bit of warth and then with the mixer paddle attachment at the room temperature butter with cut up into small pieces very slowly 1 piece at a time mixing very carefully in between each piece of butter n you have to let it sit for a good time but I usually let it sit for about 2 hours for icing on the cake
I wonder if some have used margarine instead of real butter. My parents in law insist that margarine IS real butter so apparently not everyone knows there’s a difference. And Mel, I was wondering if you used salted butter here or unsalted? I always use unsalted and wonder if those thinking it tastes like popcorn might have used salted butter, making it too salty. Or it might just be a preference for a less buttery frosting.
I agree Penny. I had a friend try the recipe and it was AWFUL!! Come to find out she used a mixture of margarine and store brand butter. Yuck!
Denise- the better the quality of butter u use n it wont have the artificial butter taste of the jelly beans. Hope this helps! God bless.
I have always used buttercream frosting, but wanted to try something different. I hate to say this but I was definitely not wowwed by this recipe. At first it seamed to have an almost custard like taste to it, like it belonged inside a cream puff. But, after frosting a cake for my husband’s birthday, I decided to scrape it all off after my friend took a swipe and declared, “It tastes like popcorn.” So I tried it again and we decided it tastes just like Jelly Belly Popcorn Jellybeans, which, unfortunately is my least favorite of the Jelly Belly varieties! I will say, however, that the texture was amazing!
Thanks for your help Mel and Jnl2211! I’m not sure if this will work for me since I have to travel an hour to deliver and the car might be too hot. I will just have to try it at home for my own enjoyment! 🙂
This frosting turned out amazing! I find the sweetness level perfect! I also made the frosting from Tasty Kitchen, it did not turn out well for me, and I found it a little on the sweet side. After the disaster with the Tasty Kitchen frosting I found this one, I will be using this to frost some Red Velvet Cupcakes I made. Thanks for a great recipe!
Thanks guys 🙂 will try and see
Thanks for helping, Jnl2211! I agree, this frosting pipes beautifully on cupcakes and cakes (in my opinion) but it doesn’t fare that great in really hot temperatures. Bec, for your specific question, I have used this as a crumb coat and then a final coat of frosting.
Veronica – I agree with Jnl2211, this frosting tastes better fresh but if you are going to frost the cake and then have it judged 24 hours later, I would try keeping it at cool room temperature instead of refrigerating. It will help the frosting stay light and fluffy and taste more fresh than going from refrigerator to room temp again. Good luck!
Don’t mean to “barge” Mel, but I might be able to help. This frosting holds extremely well if outside temperatures aren’t too hot. I live in Alaska and it holds it’s shape and pipes beautifully on cakes and cupcakes. I’ve left mine for 2 days and it was still pretty. The problems people are having with the frosting sliding off or melting are because of the heat. This is an all butter recipe so it’s a bit more temperamental. It’s been between 70-80 degrees and it’s just fine. I don’t like the flavor after its been piped or frosted then Brought back to room temp. Good luck!!
Oops, I meant how does it do over time while on the cake. I would be using it right away but the cake wouldn’t be judged for 24+ hours.
Another question…how does this hold up over time? Have you ever had leftovers to judge how it does the next day? Or if you refrigerate the cake and then bring it to room temp? I’m considering this frosting for use on cakes I’m turning into the fair but need one that’s pretty stable.
Hi Mel
Is this frosting a particly easy frosting to frosts cakes with ? as it looks quite light and fluffy , would it be good to crumb coat a cake with.
Oh, I *so* wanted to love this frosting recipe, but I’m sorry to say, it was a failure. It did set-up and whip up just fine, and I did let it “rest” for at least an hour before using it for cupcakes. Unfortunately, the flour and cornstarch do leave a tiny bit of a “dough” taste, and it’s quick to separate. I piped some billowy clouds on the cupcakes, and then watched the frosting slide off before I could even open the refrigerator. I am a pretty skilled cake baker and frosting maker, I have tried them all! My favorite will always be a French butter cream, it’s not that hard to make, the science behind it is solid (and it’s great for piping and decorating)…and you cannot beat the taste! So smooth and creamy and buttery, not too sweet.
Sorry my review isn’t more favorable, but I will certainly try other recipes here!
I had a devil’s food cake mix in my pantry for a while, and this morning, I decided to make it. However, I the only frosting I had in my pantry was a can of store bought chocolate that was extra from my son’s construction truck birthday cake. So I went online to see if I could find a recipe for a quick and easy frosting (since chocolate frosting is usually not so great), and I stumbled upon your blog and this recipe. OH MY GOD. This is so good. I didn’t have the vanilla extract, so I substitued coconut, and it turned out awesome. It is light and airy, and not too sweet. I ate TWO pieces of cake in one sitting, and I am having to use my willpower not to go back for another. This frosting is so good that I am going to bake another cake this weekend for my mother’s birthday, and I’ll try it with the vanilla! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I can’t wait to see what else I can find in your archives. 🙂
O*M*G !!!!
Thats about it.
Do not doubt this, it is worth the time.
Rachel – I’ve never tried it with espresso powder. Good luck if you do!
Have you tried this with espresso powder instead of cocoa? I’d like to try chocolate stout cupcakes with this frosting, and think espresso flavored would be the bomb.
This is the frosting that my Mom puts on her red velvet cake. Makes the cake!! Cream cheese frosting aint got nothin’ on this!! LOL
This was great!!! My friend and I JUST made this frosting and were quite amazed at the whole process. When we first mixed the milk mixture in the saucepan and it thickened, it got a little scary haha. It was an almost translucent, gelatinous glob of really, reallllly thick pudding. After it cooled, we found that really soft butter was great to more easily incorporate it into the “gelatin”. We weren’t sure how what we were seeing in the mixer was going to transform into the fluffy frosting in your pictures but it did! This is definetly a unique frosting. Ours tasted like a vanilla ice cream, very different, but in a very good way. We didn’t have cornstarch so we subsituted a bit of the granulated sugar for powdered sugar (because we thought powdered sugar containted some cornstarch already) and then added a tbsp. of flour. Once again, it turned out beautiful and this recipe is defintely going to be a go-to frosting and replace my buttercream for most cupcakes :).
I was going to try this recipe a couple of months ago but have put it aside. I’ve tried 15 or so other buttercreams since then with never having complete satisfaction. I’m kicking myself for not trying this earlier and saving a ton of time and ingredients but this recipe is absolutely perfect for anyone that finds any American Buttercreams to be too sweet! Seriously amazing! You will not be sorry for making this!
To me, this tastes more like whipped butter than frosting. I can see why you non-frosting lovers like this. I might like it on a dinner roll or some pancakes, but it was sort of sickening on my chocolate cupcakes. Loved the light whipped consistency of the frosting, but I prefer a sweeter taste. I might try the chocolate or cream cheese version. Also, I did not find this frosting to be easy to pipe with. Hope this helps!
This is very similar to my mom’s recipe, which is amazing! I will have to try yours, though, because my mom’s always comes out a bit lumpy no matter how much we beat it, and I think it might be the idea of letting it come back to room temp after cooling it…? I will try yours and see if the differences in your process correct the lumpiness, and maybe I can use it to adapt my mom’s recipe. Thanks so much!
I found this recipe on Pinterest….WOW! Looks so good — BUT seriously — 3 sticks of butter?????????????? WOW!
Hey Veronica – I’ve never NOT strained it so I’m not sure if it would be prone to more lumps or not. If you try it without straining let me know the results!
Do you have to mix the flour, sugar, and cornstarch, and milk separately and strain into the pan before cooking? What difference does this make? I’m so tempted to just mix them together in the pan and cook!
laynieloo – yes, I’ve used this piping for cupcakes and cakes.
Can i pipe this on cupcake? Would it hold the swirl?
My friend kimmie told me about this site after she made this frosting for her sons 1st birthday party yesterday and i was phenominal! she is a journalist for our Journal Gazette news paper and has a blog, she is always trying new things to share with her readers and this recipe is great! shell actually be on the today show with Kathy lee tomorrow (monday 7/9) talking about it so anything she recommends to us we all try and usually love!
Ann – I don’t know since I’m not very familiar with gluten-free substitutes. Let me know if you try it and how it works out!
Do you think using a gluten free flour blend would be a workable substitute?
I just made the frosting tonight & after reading the comments about having a problem with the lack of thickening on the stove I found a solution that worked for me. I had the burner on med-hi heat and whisked for 10 minutes but it was just as one described (like gravy) and not thick at all. I went back and noticed that Mel said it should be boiling. So I upped the heat to high until it started to boil, constantly whisking. As soon as it started to boil, I turned down the heat to med-hi and then it was within a few minutes it was thick like paste! It worked great. I thought my observation might help another. {By the way, the frosting tastes and looks AMAZING!!! Thank you so much!!!}
I never have time to cook and am not very good at it, but I tried this frosting. It turned out GREAT the first time! It is delicious! My husband always wants the whipped frosting when I buy birthday cakes from Walmart (yes, I am usually too busy to cook them) and now that I have make a cake with this frosting, he told me to never buy another one. What have I gotten myself into? If I can do it, anyone can do it, just be sure to follow the directions precisely. Thank you for sharing!
Katree – I frost cakes with this recipe and then refrigerate them and it works just fine as long as I take the cake out of the refrigerator 3-4 hours before I want to serve it. It can also be kept at room temperature for, I’d say, up to 8 hours without refrigerating.
Hi Sarang – without actually being in your kitchen with you, I can’t be sure of exactly what happened, but one thing to make sure of is that the stovetop mixture cools completely before whipping the frosting with butter. That’s usually the main reason the frosting won’t whip and become stiff. I’m sorry it didn’t work out!