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}.
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 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk (I use 1% or 2%)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 24 tablespoons (3 sticks) butter, cut into 24 pieces and softened at room temperature
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
This frosting takes a bit of advance planning since the frosting needs time to cool so plan ahead!
Originally, I put a note on here that was included in the original recipe that the frosting keeps in the refrigerator and then can be rewhipped, but I had to delete that note because every time I have tried it, it has been a major bust. After I have refrigerated it and rewhipped, it separates and never becomes satiny and delicious again. You may find different results but in good faith I have to say that in my experience, this frosting is best made and used fresh.
Finally, I pipe a lot of cakes for my kids’ birthdays (think: Spiderman covered in Wilton stars) and although I haven’t tried it, I highly suspect that an hour or so of chilling time will lend this frosting nicely to being piped. When I try it, because I will, I’ll update the recipe with my notes.
Chocolate Version: Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder to the sugar, flour, cornstarch, salt mixture in the first step. Once the frosting has been mixed for five minutes and is light and fluffy, mix in 3 ounces of semisweet chocolate that has been melted and completely cooled to room temperature. This makes a lighter-colored chocolate frosting, but the chocolate flavor is deep and terrific. I increased the melted chocolate to 4 ounces when I made it and may even do 5 ounces next time.
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It seems I’m in the minority that doesn’t like this frosting. It spread beautifully (I did a crumb coat first, which helped) and I like the generous quantity,. But I agree with other posters that it tasted mostly of butter, but not in a good way–it might be more precise to say it tasted of fat. Following another poster’s suggestion, I added about 1/2 cup of confectioner’s sugar at the end, which improved it–but I still really didn’t like it. My family was divided–some liked (but didn’t love) it, some agreed with me.
I also dislike most frostings (overly sweet, too greasy, whatever) so I was hoping I’d prefer this one. Oh well, the search continues.
I’m wondering if you used salted or unsalted butter. Believe it or not, it makes a difference. For frostings and my Swiss Meringue Buttercream I used unsalted butter. I then add a tiny bit of salt myself, The other day I made a mistake and used salted butter and I did not like it at all. All I could taste was butter. Had to make another batch and mixed the two. This is the recipe I normally use which is very similar to this one http://leelabeanbakes.com/blog/2013/05/22/even-better-cooked-flour-frosting/. I have tried the cream cheese version and chocolate and it was a big hit,
A lovely frosting, and much better than American buttercream. I used egg nod instead of regular milk, and it was so delicious. I used it to frost a gingerbread cake. Can’t wait to try different flavors, maybe mix in raspberry coulis. Thank you for sharing.
I JUST made this recipe. It was time consuming and I was disappointed with the solid buttery taste. I’m not a baker at all, but I have been known to have a lot of common sense. I did add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar at the very end, after the 5 minutes of whipping, and oh what a difference! It took away the buttery taste and added a bit more sweetness. 🙂 I’m very glad I tried this recipe!
Can I frost my cake with this recipe and freeze the cake until time to serve? I am making an ice cream cake.
I’ve never frozen a cake frosted with this recipe, so I’m not sure. Sorry!
Tried this for my son’s birthday cake. It did not disappoint. Happened to see in time that salted butter was recommended and included 1/2 teaspoon of table salt with my unsalted butter. Made me cringe to add salt to frosting, but it really delivered. I am not normally a fan of buttercream and it’s oily feeling. Household of six and everyone really likes it. Bonus that it actually hardens instead of melting like my other heavy whipping cream versions. Definitely going to use it again! Thanks for sharing!
I will make this again, but will try with removing at least 4 T of butter. I really felt like I was eating butter with a hint of sugar on my cupcakes. The kids were split 50/50 whether they liked it.
It came out really smooth and I liked the addition of cornstarch which I haven’t seen before, but still, the butter was overwhelming.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
After the cooking step, should the mixture still taste of flour? Or is that a sign its not quite ready?
It will definitely still have a bit of a flour taste, but it shouldn’t be overwhelming.
I used this recipe and combined it with your “tie-dye” idea to make ‘unicorn cupcakes.’ They were beautiful and I felt like a total ROCKSTAR, so thank you! It was totally easy to pipe out the frosting even without additional cooling.
I will say that waiting for the frosting to cool to room temperature after boiling took a few hours. This may have been because I doubled it.
In response to some of the other comments, it did not taste like butter. It tasted like whipped cream and everyone who tried it said the same. Perhaps it has to do with butter type? I always use unsalted good quality butter.
I bet those cupcakes were AMAZING!
This sounds wonderful! My daughter has sensory issues related to food and I think this may work for her and be a nice change from stabilized whipped cream (the only frosting we can use right now). Thank you for sharing this, I can’t wait to make it!
I usually make a swiss meringue buttercream. Today I made your recipe. A lot simpler, a lot easier to make and it tastes so good and the buttercream is so smooth. It holds its shape, easy to apply. To me it is a discovery and a good one. For those who said it tastes so much butter, well it is a BUTTERcream.
Adopted.
Thank you
Thank you for the recipe, I used it to make wedding cake and it turned out pretty good
All in all, a decent icing if you are looking for variety. I’ll probably make this again.
Pros: nice to have a white icing recipe for which I will almost always have the ingredients (granulated instead of powdered sugar, no shortening); no weird ingredients; tastes good; probably tastes how icing did back in the day?
Cons: taste wasn’t that much different from a traditional buttercream but more work (if you, like me, avoid traditional buttercream because the texture is heat-sensitive and tastes too much like straight butter, you’ll have the same problems with this one); have to plan ahead (lol); adding gluten to something that is typically gluten-free; seems like it would be really difficult to pipe and I’ll probably stick with Wilton’s buttercream for that (seems like it’s either really, really soft or instantly firm in the fridge, so you’d have to do small batches in a bag at a time otherwise your hand heat would be a problem).
our house divided. some liked it, others did not. since momma (me) didn’t like it (way too time consuming for what it was) i get to choose to never make it again. my husband said, “what’s the big deal? it tastes like store bought.” one word: yuck.
Amazing! I’ve been making cakes for years…birthday cakes, wedding cakes…wish I’d discovered this recipe years ago. Light, creamy, pipes like a dream. I can’t wait to try the chocolate version.
It is very smooth and creamy, but almost like eating pure butter. Mild flavor.
yes!
What am I missing? This tastes like a mouthful of butter.
Same thing I thought!
Right?
Is there a recommended substitute for butter?
No, unfortunately, butter is pretty important in this recipe
We only used this recipe with shortening growing up, it’s what grandmothers recipe book called for. I use butter now due to taste preference but those who do not like the taste of butter would benefit from using very cold shortening. I sometimes do half and half when I am unsure.
I have substituted butter for heavy wiping cream that i beat until it thickens ( 1 cup and 1/2)
Hello, my name is Sarah and I’m 14. I tried out this recipe and to be honest I didn’t think it would be good since I used whole milk instead of 1% or 2%. It turned out alright, but I think it needs a tad bit more sugar. (I didn’t add any though). I finished making the frosting. An hour later, I read that the frosting was supposed to be made fresh. I, at this point, am annoyed because it took a lot of time to prepare and make. I think I’ll only make this frosting on\for special occasions.
Is the semisweet chocolate baking chocolate? Or chocolate chips?
Usually baking chocolate will melt better than chocolate chips; but I often use Ghirardelli or guittard chocolate chips (they melt well).
Hi. I’ve always made this type of frosting with flour only. Is there a difference with using the addition of cornstarch? Thank you. Stephanie
I’ve made this several times and it is absolutely wonderful! Since I found this recipe, it has been the only frosting I make. Today, though, I’ve discovered that if it is too warm in your kitchen when you try to whip it up, it doesn’t come together properly. It’s much warmer in here than it normally would be (80°).
I have just started making this Ermine frosting. I have never made your recipe but will definitely give it a try. The one I’ve made has only flour to thicken. I always mix the flour with a little of the milk and whisk until lumps are gone. Same thing when I use cornstarch to thicken things, take a few tablespoons of liquid and mix with corn starch before adding it to rest of liquid . If you do it this way I don’t think you will need to strain it. Also the recipe I have creams the butter until fluffy with mixer and then the pudding mixture is added one spoonful at a time and waiting until incorporated before adding another. This has worked well. It pipes beautifuly and I have frozen on the cupcakes which is my preference as they can be made ahead of time. I have noticed it is more susceptible to heat when sitting out. Must be in air conditioning. Chose not to use it for three layer cake with piped roses as I was not sure if it would hold up on sides of cake due to gravity. If anyone has had experience in this please share. I would much prefer to use this recipe as it is much less sweet.
Hey Mel! Does this buttercream frosting crust?
Can you use the paper towel method to smooth it out ?
Thank you
Debbie
I don’t think so.
I have to make cupcakes for my twins first birthday. The cupcakes will be displayed inside an air condition house probably around 72 degrees for a couple hours before eating. Would this frosting be a good option for that? It sounds so good and I really want to use it but I’m afraid it will melt in those conditions.
It will be fine if kept indoors in air conditioning – it’s more of an issue if it’s taken outside in direct sunshine and lots of heat.
The only frosting recipe I use its awesome!!
Perfect! Seriously, perfect! Next time I may just scoop this into dishes and garnish with strawberries. (Not really, but I can fantasize). Now about that toenail polish . . ..
Salted or unsalted butter?
I always use salted butter
Does the granulated sugar make the frosting to Grady? The recipe calls for granulated sugar. Is this correct or should it be supposed confectioner sugar. Can’t wait to try this. Thanks for sharing !
Grainy Not Grady
The recipe is correct as written with granulated sugar.
Amy I have a great cooked recipe from my big sister and is similar to this. I would like to try this one although the one I use is awesome! I wouldn’t recommend piping mine though I’ve never tried it! Lol! Also I wouldn’t recommend trying any cooked frosting recipe if you don’t have a stand mixer unless of course it’s cooked Coconut-Pecan Frosting for a German Chocolate Cake.
Frosting for Devil’s Food Cake:
1 cup milk
3 Tablespoons flour
Cook & stir constantly until thick (thicker than gravy, but not as thick as mashed taters. COOL-COMPLETELY-stirring every so often. As this cools IT WILL become as thick as mashed taters.
In a stand mixer bowl Beat Until Fluffy the following:
1 Cup granulated sugar
1 Cup salted butter at room temperature
1 Teaspoon vanilla
Scrape down sides every so often. *****This mixture will still be grainy even when it becomes fluffy!*****
Add in cooked flour/milk mixture to FLUFFY sugar/butter mixture and continue to beat/incorporate all until no longer grainy. As before scraping down sides every so often.
You could probably use this frosting for a Red Velvet Cake and Whoopie Pies.
FYI I have left this frosting beating in my stand mixer while I’ve grabbed a quick shower!
This frosting is AMAZING! Well worth the wait! To make it cool down quicker I put it in the freezer. I couldn’t stop trying bits and bites of it 🙂
Good stuff, will hang on to this recipe…thanks
I see you said you shouldn’t refrigerate and rewhip, but can you ice the cake and then refrigerate overnight? My daughter’s party is at 10 in the morning and I would like to have it fully ready the night before.
Yes!
Is this frosting thick enough to pipe on cupcakes ? I am looking for frosting that isn’t so sweet for cupcakes and it’s so hard to find anything good.
Yes, I’ve piped this on cupcakes many times.
OMG Magical is right. When making I had doubts. I even checked my pantry to see if I had the ingredients for a different frosting. So to say I was skeptical is an understatement. BUT what an amazing surprise the more butter I added the more it began looking like frosting. When it was done and I tasted it WOW it was the best.
Hi! I both opinion is this frosting thick enough to use for piping cupcakes ?
I loved it, the consistency of the frosting was perfect and i was able to frost my 2 tier cake.
Want to try this recipe out tomorrow! Can you use almond extract instead of vanilla?
Sure, you could definitely try that .
Does this frost a one layer or two layer cake ? And chocolate is my favorite it will be my next try . Thank you
It can probably frost a 2-layer cake if you don’t overdo it with thick frosting.
I love this frosting so much, I could literally eat it with a spoon!! I can’t wait to try the chocolate version and was also thinking of trying this with almond extract. I did notice it is a little salty with salted butter, maybe next time I’ll try it with unsalted. Thank you for a great recipe!!
Thinking about trying this and adding a bit of Chambord to the frosting. You think of I added a tablespoon of Chambord and cut back a bit on the milk that would work?
HI Mel,
I want to make this frosting for my chocolate cake can I use half shortening and half butter? Thanks in advance.
I’ve never tried using shortening, Ann – sorry!
The best frosting. Ever since I found this frosting it’s the only one I use. I always get compliments on how good it is!
Do you think I can substitute milk with cashew milk?
I haven’t tried that Linda, so I’m not sure, but it might work pretty well!
Hi! Can you make the cake a few hours before serving it? Would you put it in the fridge or leave it on the counter?
Yes, you can definitely make it a few hours ahead! If it’s cool room temperature, it’s fine to leave out on the counter but if it’s overly warm, I’d refrigerate.
This is one of the best frostings that I’ve ever tried. The flavor is creamy and stiff enough to pipe with.
s’il vous plait la recette on grame
This recipe is perfect! My wife hates frosting and can’t get enough of it. It tastes slightly like cream cheese frosting but it’s so light and fluffy! This will definitely be my go to frosting for everything.
I need to make cupcakes for my 3 year old granddaughter. Can food coloring be added, she loves purple! If not can you recommend another recipe? Thanks
Yes! It definitely can! I recommend gel food coloring so it doesn’t thin out the frosting.
Besides chocolate, have you tried adding different flavors to the base frosting recipe? Adding fruit purees for example? Does it hold up well?
Thanks!
I haven’t, but I think if you wanted a fruit flavoring, the best way to get that (based on my experience with other frostings) is to pulverize freeze-dried fruit and add it to the whipped frosting.
I am making a sheet cake for my daughter’s birthday this weekend – should I double the recipe to make sure I have enough frosting?
Also I am making a Curious George image out of fondant that will cover about 1/3 of the cake. Will the fondant hold up on this kind of frosting? Should I put the fondant on the cake at the last minute or will it hold up if I place the finished cake in the fridge?
Many thanks!
Yes, I think the fondant should be fine as long as the cake is kept at cool room temp (or refrigerated). This frosting doesn’t hold up as well in heat. I always worry about running out, so if it were me, I’d double the frosting.
How much icing does this recipe make?
The yield is right above the recipe title, it makes about 4 cups. 🙂
Has anyone used this recipe for piping ? Should I place it in the fridge for an hour before? I’ve used a very similar recipe before and don’t want it to fall apart like the other did.
Yes, I’ve used this for piping, works great! If it seems too soft, refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour (not too long or it will firm up too much to pipe).
I’ve always been happy with my buttercream frosting and since it is so much easier I’ve never bothered to try anything else. I was curious though so I decided to try this frosting. It was a lot more effort, but it was so worth it. This is the best frosting I’ve ever had. I could eat just straight frosting and wouldn’t miss the cake. I couldn’t resist licking the beaters clean which I have don’t since I was a little kid. I don’t think I can go back to buttercream frosting.
I want to make this for my sons first birthday coming up but am a bit confused by one thing… after I’ve completely made the whole thing, and it has set and is ready to use, can I frost the cake then place it in the fridge (or covered on the counter) the day before? I usually like to make cakes the night before so I don’t have to worry the day of their bdays, but if that wouldn’t work well for this recipe I’d love to know. Thank you! 🙂
Yes, you can definitely do that!
If I make and frost cupcakes and cover, will the frosting still hold up overnight? I have to take them in the morning to a birthday party and won’t have time to make the frosting that morning.
As long as they are kept at cool room temperature, they should be ok.
Are you supposed to add melted chocolate during the cooking of the rue process or the beating process?
Try adding the melted chocolate when you beat in the butter.
My son who is a lover of icing says this is one of the best. He insist that there is cream cheese in this icing which there is none. I like how it doesn’t have the overly sweet taste that is common with butter cream
Rich and creamy and not too sweet! Piped it by snipping the corner of a baggie! Held up like a champ.
Would love to use this recipe on a gluten and dairy free cake. Would vegetable shortening work in place of the butter?
Thank you for a great recipe!
I think the shortening texture might take over the silkiness of this frosting – but I haven’t tried it. Good luck if you do!
To make this frosting gluten and dairy free, I used an equal amount of Spectrum shortening in place of the butter and substituted the milk with almond milk and added a 1/4 tsp more vanilla. It worked fantastic on top of and as a layer between 3 layers of very dense gluten and dairy free chocolate cake. Very versatile frosting. The key is to let it thicken and then cool completely. Thanks for the recipe!
I use the smart balance butter and almond milk to make mine dairy free. Its is amazing!
What about the flour ? What’s a good replacement that works?
This frosting is so good! I followed the recipe just as instructed and I couldn’t be more pleased with the results!! I used it for my red velvet cake and used almond flavoring- it was so creamy and easy to spread.
Just when I thought I had outgrown licking the bowl and beaters along comes this delicious icing! I’m fairly new at baking so I was a little worried about trying something new on a cake I was sharing with others but I’m glad I did. I followed your directions exactly and it came out great. After all the butter was added I continued beating for about 7 minutes, it probably could have used a couple more minutes but I was using a hand mixer and my are was getting tired. Thank you for sharing.
Can I use heavy whipping cream? Do you think that would be good?
In place of the milk? I think that might affect the texture of the frosting since it is so much thicker than milk (and has a lot more fat).
This is absolutely 100% the very best frosting I have ever had in forty years .. I am about to make it again right now..both are fantastic !!
You note that you use 1 or 2% milk. Does whole milk work?
Yes!
Hi, I am planning on making this along with your chocolate cake for a birthday.
Can I make and frost the cake the day before and still have to stay fluffy and tasty following day?
Would i keep the frosted cake in the fridge overnight?
Yes, I think it can be made a day ahead of time! Do you have a cake cover? That will help keep it moist. I’d probably refrigerate overnight but take it out several hours in advance of serving so the frosting can soften.
This is actually the frosting we have always used on red velvet cake I usually cringe when someone brings red velvet with cream cheese frosting because we all prefer this decadent frosting over cream cheese frosting. So thanks for posting this! It isn’t a recipe you find very often!
Can we agree to disagree…? In my opinion, the only reason to make red velvet cake is because it gives you an excuse for multiple layers of cream cheese frosting.
Back to the point, though, I have piped this frosting, colored orange for Halloween, and it holds up great!
(I haven’t had a chance to read through all the comments to see if someone else has already address this piping issue, so there’s just my two cents!)
I’m with you Kate, cream cheese frosting is such an insult to red velvet cake and was not part of the original red velvet recipe, ermine frosting was. Yum! This recipe is made even better somehow with the addition of cornstarch. I’m not sure what it changed but it’s good, like a more satisfying texture.
Made this four years ago for my daughters 2nd birthday and have another daughter who just turned 2.. so decided to make the best chocolate cake ever… again! Loved it!
It doesn’t specific salted or unsalted butter? Does it matter? What about imperial margarine?
I always use salted…never tried margarine in this recipe.
Salt cuts the sweetness of sugar so it does matter if you use salted or unsalted butter but if you have one on hand most people can’t tell the difference in the taste so it’s fine to use one or other. If you make any kind of frosting (like a traditional buttercream) and it’s too sweet you can add a dash or two of salt and it’ll make it less sweet.
Margarine is softer so while it can be used, you’ll get a better flavor and frosting if you use butter.
I used all unsalted butter and l don’t like it as much. Someone else said it was too salty but ldk… next time I’ll try 2 sticks of salted butter and 1 stick of unsalted and see how that balances out.
If I make this tonight and put it in the fridge do you think I could pipe it on cupcakes tomorrow? I’ve never made it and I don’t like buttercream, so want to try it!
Hey Lynn – it does pretty well made in advance, but you’ll want to bring it to room temp out of the fridge and rewhip it for a creamy consistency before piping.
Can you tell me what the shelf life is on this icing? I just made it and it’s SO GOOD. I’ll be putting it on a cookie cake and am wondering if the icing should be refrigerated or if it’s ok to sit on the counter?
It’s ok out on the counter up to 24 hours as long as it is cool room temperature (probably 70 degrees or lower). If not, I’d refrigerate and take it out a couple hours before serving.
Hmm…. this frosting is good, but the texture is not super perfect and was not worth the extreme effort (in relation to other buttercreams I have made). I got a slight hint of powder in the end texture? And the amount of frosting does not look to be enough for “The Best Chocolate Cake” recipe I made from your blog… I do not have a stand mixer, so maybe that accounts for the error with this frosting. Thanks for sharing this though! Just wanted to share my experience.
If you can taste the flour or is tastes “powdery” then the flour/milk mixture was not cooked long enough. I’ve made that mistake before. Made me so mad because because I was racing the clock getting cupcakes ready for a bridal shower.
This is the best frosting I have ever tasted! I just finished making this, and did it turn out great. I refrigerated the cooked mixture overnight and then let the butter and the milk mixture come to room temperature until about an hour and a half before I am to serve it, then I whipped it and am letting it sit right now. I can’t wait to dig in after lunch!
Thank you so much for this great recipe!
Hi there. I am in South Africa and thus the temp is always hot.
I have always been told not to use milk in buttercreams due to spoiling in the heat.
Should I remove the milk? I’d love to use this on cupcakes for a friends wedding and thus they may be sitting out for a while
I don’t think this recipe would work without the milk, unfortunately.
Ok thank you for your help.
About keeping this frosting in the fridge or when the butter was not soft enough, whenever it separates and becomes grainy I warm the frosting in the microwave or over a bowl of hot water for 5 to 10 seconds and whip it for a minute. It becomes silky as it was meant to be.
Its okay. Taste like pudding
I was skeptical til I read originally you weren’t crazy about frosting. So I gave it a try …after years of making buttercream frosting. And I must say it was a winner for me. (Though our daughter claims she likes the sugary taste of the buttercream!!) Yes, it’s more work but worth it. I’m so glad I came across your site. I’d never heard of a flour based frosting before. Thank you for your posts!!!
Delicious. I used almond extract instead of vanilla. Wow! Yum!
This is really great, not too sweet and texture is silky smooth. I also like that it doesn’t have powdered sugar in it and I can use raw. My new favorite…
Omg!!! I will never buy frosting again!! This is so light and fluffy……heavenly is perfect description. My guy is gonna think I’ve morphed into Betty Crocker when he tastes this cake and frosting! If I can make this ANYONE can. This novice cook thanks you for sharing!!
Can you double or even triple this recipe?
I’ve doubled it but haven’t ever tripled it.
Hi, how many cups does this make? Thank you!
About 4 cups.
Hi Mel! I have been searching everywhere to for a filling recipe that is not too rich or sweet, as my hubby feels the same about icing ad yourself. I need to fill a soccer jersey shaped, fondant covered cake, for my ten year old son’s birthday on Sunday afternoon. Since I have to fill it, them dirty ice it before I put the fondant on, will it hold up if refrigerated inside the cake after the last step of the recipe for 24hours???
I am so looking forward to trying this recipe out, thanks for your blog on it and I will let your know how it works for me and my birthday boy….
Yes, I think it would hold up just fine!
This one didn’t work for us – followed to the T and was a separated goopy mess. Out to buy more butter…
Hi, i have tried it a 100 times and everytime it turns out great. However right now i just made the first step using the chocolate version and it didnt thicken up as it does without the cocoa powder. Where did i go wrong? Please help as its urgent.
Unfortunately it’s really hard for me to know what might have gone wrong without any more details. Can you try refrigerating to see if it will thicken?
I just made it, and You should rename it “Heavenly Frosting” because by a long shot, this is the best frosting I’ve ever tasted, store bought or homemade. I had to hurry (a little), so I used the refrigerator for the cooling, and it turned out amazing and was ready just in time!
I’m totally a frosting lover/snob. This really is the BEST I’ve ever had! It’s like velvet! For some reason it didn’t pipe too well for me… Maybe it was still too chilled? Will totally give it another shot. Delicious!
Hi Mel, if I reduce the sugar further, would it affect the stability of the finished frosting? The ‘roux’ would no be as thick as if I had used the full 1.5 cups of sugar, I presume, so I am worried the finished frosting won’t hold up as well as.
I’m not sure – I’ve never reduced the sugar. Good luck if you experiment!
Hey Mel, love your site! This recipe is very similar to the only icing my mother used to make. It was always so delicious, but I never got the hang of preparing it. I like your version, it might be better suited for me (I had problems with the cooking part of Moms version.)
I can’t wait to try it, my husband is grossed out by buttercream icing (too sweet and heavy) so I’m looking forward to his reaction to yours. It sounds like a perfect sub for him. I’m a frosting freak, so I’m excited to have a replacement that will please everyone. Thanks!
Help, Please!!!
I, like you, dislike traditional buttercream icing. Too sweet for me. But it colors & decorates very well….and its easily made Gluten Free. I really want to make this frosting, but I need to make it Gluten Free for my celiac nephew. Any hints? I noticed that someone recommended rice flour rather than a wheat flour. Has anyone tried that and at what ratio/measurement? Also does this icing decorate well? Does it run? Will it pipe well as decorations not just for cupcakes.
This frosting does do well for decorating/piping as long as it isn’t warm. I haven’t made it gluten-free but others in the comments have. Good luck!
There is a frosting that one of our grocery stores called Rouses makes. It is so lite and airy.It floats into your mouth. I love love love it. I hope this is the recipe for it. I always ask almond extract to be added. If it is not I will keep looking for the recipe.
I would love to hear if this is close to the frosting you are talking about. Since I found this recipe, it is the only frosting I use. I find it to be amazing! I am making it right now for my son’s birthday cake!
If I wanted to make this into a strawberry frosting how would I go about doing that? I was going to make this as is for Mother’s Day but my mom wanted either a strawberry or raspberry frosting. Would just adding strawberries be enough or do I need to change the recipe a bit?
If you can, I’d pulverize freeze-dried strawberries and add them at the end…it’s my favorite way to flavor frosting without changing the texture (with extra liquid).
Ok I’ll try that! Thanks!
How many strawberries would you recommend I add? (Sorry I forget to add this to the first reply)
I’d probably start with about 1/2 cup pulverized freeze-dried strawberries and see how that goes and then add more to taste, if needed.
try strawberry koolaid
I have been looking for a recipe like this so I have just made half of it cant wait for the morning to taste it
I LOVE this frosting! It turns out perfect every time! I wanted to have a cream cheese flavored frosting…would you substitute some of the butter for cream cheese (if so how much), or would you just add some in after you whip the butter in?
Thanks in advance!
Yes, you can sub one 8 ounce block of cream cheese for one of the sticks of butter. 🙂
How many cups?
Nina Donovan
St. John’s, Newfoundland
Canada
1 cup of cream cheese
Hi I’m in a bit of a hurry I hope my question isn’t repetitive but I want to use this frosting for my cupcakes that I want to bring to school tomorrow, and the cupcakes won’t be in the fridge at school. I’m worried that the frosting will melt if I carry the cupcakes around for seven hours (thats how long I have to keep them with me before they will be served). What do you suggest? I’m from Germany and I decided to make this because my classmates don’t like really sweet things.
As long as the cupcakes can be kept at cool room temperature, they should be fine. Any warmer than that and the frosting might melt/sag a little.
Great Caesar’s Ghost! This is just like the silky rich chocolate frosting my great grandmother used to make with boiling water. (Until I was an adult, I thought she used tea because kettle = tea in my little mind).
It’s rich, holds up well, the butter and chocolate taste come thru beautifully and it’s not super sweet. I used the special jet black cocoa bought online and the cake looked like it belonged in a catalog. And it tasted even better!
Hi, I am from India and I just had a little doubt that are we supposed to use Salted or Unsalted butter? I’ve made it and it is Amazing but it is a bit salty and too thick. I think it might be the salted butter I used.
I always use salted butter.
So if I use salted butter do I still add the extra salt?
I use salted butter and make it according to the recipe. 🙂
This was so good, I always hate homemade frosting because of the powdered sugar. This was perfect! Made it for my great grandma and she was licking it off the cake the whole time
Hi,
I love this frosting and it’s all I ever use but I was wondering how I could make it lemon or other citrus flavoured. I once put orange zest and juice in the pudding base and it ended up tasting like cream cheese frosting; not bad but not bright and tart and fresh like I was hoping for. Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance and keep up the good work!
I believe others have commented in the thread that they’ve added orange extract and zest (or lemon extract and zest) at the end for a citrus frosting.
I have used freeze dried fruits in frosting, process the fruit till powder, then add to frosting.
Hi,
Do you think this recipe would be a good substitute for 7 minute frosting on a coconut cake with lemon curd filling?
Thanks,
Liza
It’s not quite as sweet as 7-minute frosting, but I think it would be delicious.
Hi Mel! I didn’t have time to read all the comments, so maybe you have answered this, but, I’ll ask! Have you tried piping this yet? And if I make it Saturday (for a birthday party on Sunday) can I pipe and refrigerate on Saturday and it will still be great Sunday? (and it needs to travel in my car for a few miles too).
I have made this before but only iced a cake with it. And good GRIEF it was amazing! Would love to wow 20 ladies at a birthday party with this icing if you think it will pipe! Thanks!
Hi Tara – yes, I’ve piped with this; works great. I’ve found this frosting refrigerates well as long as it’s already on the cake (frosted or piped) and then the cake is taken out of the refrigerator in order to come to full room temp so the frosting softens. The times I’ve made just the frosting ahead of time – it doesn’t re-whip very well. I think it would be just fine to make a day ahead of time!
The Icing was a big hit! It piped absolutely beautifully – – I wish I could post a photo! It was so much softer than Buttercream, I was nervous the piping would collapse but that was unfounded (and I pulled it up very high line bakery style cupcakes)! It traveled well, also! Thank you! I used this on your yellow Cupcake recipe. Delicious!
I’m so happy this worked out, Tara!
the kids at my kids prek loveeeed the frosting ..thank you so much
Love this recipe. If I publish a trail and cooking book may I have your permission to print this with credit to you?
Sure! You might want to give credit to the original recipe source listed under the recipe, too (I adapted it from somewhere else).
Great recipe Mel, and clearly a popular post even after several years. I wanted to leave you all a few comments about why this recipe doesn’t refrigerate well. Starch-heavy foods go through a process called retrogradation over time after they are cooked. It’s the process that causes things like gravy and pudding to get watery after refrigeration. It is also the reason why refrigerated bread gets sweaty in the bag and becomes stale. The starch granules shrink and expel trapped water. Refrigeration accelerates and intensifies this process, and it is irreversible, causing the frosting to separate. This frosting is best if not refrigerated after making, and consumed within a day or two. There are other starches and additives that can slow or stop the retrogradation process, but most aren’t accessible to the home cook. One starch that is widely available is “sweet rice flour.” This flour needs to be cooked slowly and for a longer time than wheat flour, but I bet it would make a good frosting that could stand up to refrigeration or even freezing. Unfortunately, I don’t know what the quantity substitution would be of rice for wheat+corn. Best to you.
I loved this, Chuck! Thanks for adding your advice about refrigeration to this recipe. So very helpful – and I love knowing more about the science behind food. Thank you!
Hi Mel, just found your recipe yesterday. It was exactly what I was looking for, so tried a practice run last night before making it this weekend for DD’s bday party. Amazing! I am in a sugar coma still from all the finger licks I took:) In case people are wondering, I was able to whisk this no problem with an old hand mixer, BUT I did read somewhere else to cream the butter first, then add the roue scoop by scoop –opposite of how you did it. Worked like a charm! Thanks so much for the recipe
LOOOOOVVVVEE!!!!! Added almond extract for a REEEAAALLLLY yummy frosting! Thank you!!
I’ve been making a similar frosting for nearly 40 years and it is my family’s favorite. It isn’t overpoweringly sweet, and it looks beautiful. I plan to try yours next time to see how they differ.Looking forward to trying your version. k
I just made the chocolate version of this and it is very yummy! Not very chocolatey, but still good. My comment is regarding the cooking time. I wish it was more specific. Mine had to cook for 35 minutes before it got thick and was hard to whisk. When it cooled, it was like thick, sticky caramel, but the frosting still turned out well. I wish the recipe had a “time to cook once it’s boiling”. I will definitely try the vanilla version. Thanks for the recipe!
Do you think this could be used as a “tunnel” in a bundt cake?
Sure, I don’t see why not! 🙂
We call it 7 minute frosting . It is really good .
hi mel, u mentioned that its best to use a stand up mixer, I only have a hand held 1, will this work just the same?
I recommend not using a handheld mixer because I don’t think it’s powerful enough to get the frosting as light and fluffy as it needs to be (it has to be mixed for a really long time).
ok, Ty so much for responding so quickly
Hi Mel,
Was just wondering if you would be able to help me here : I made this frosting yesterday to go with your Unbelievable Chocolate cake. Both the frosting and cake were delicious (as always !) but the only thing that didn’t turn out quite as I expected with the frosting is that It didn’t have at all the same white colour as yours…mine was more like…well yellow…do you have any idea why ?
Thanks !
I’m guessing it has something to do with the butter you used. I’ve noticed that butter color differs based on brand (some are much more yellow than others). What brand of butter did you use?
Yes that must be it. I used Elle&Vire, but don’t know if you have that brand in USA…I live in Europe.
Anyway, not a big problem as the frosting tasted very good ! =)
Hi Mel,
I am not a fan of frosting. Yet as I was making this, I couldn’t stop myself or anyone else in the household from testing it. Lol thank you for sharing.
I tried the chocolate frosting yesterday and could never get it to come together. I seriously must have let it beat in my stand mixer for 20+ minutes and every time I stopped, it would separate and start to look grainy. I did cool the mixture in the fridge prior to beating and adding butter – it felt maybe slightly cooler than room temp (but only ever so slightly, because I had just checked it minutes before and it was still warm). Is the temperature of the mixure really that finicky? Looks like an amazing frosting so I’m just wondering what could have gone wrong! Thanks Mel!
Hi Amanda – I do think the temperature of the cooked base can be the factor – it needs to be completely cooled and I’m guessing that might have been the issue. I’m sorry this didn’t work out – I know how frustrating that can be!
Mel this is a weird question:
Do you whisk this in a non-stick sauce pan? That is the only type I have…so I have to use a silicon whisk (which bends more easily and can’t take thick mixtures) I am wondering before starting this if my silicon whisk will be able to handle it….OR do I need to buy a sauce pan that is not non-stick—so I can use my metal whisk?
Sorry, I know you get a million questions—But I am planning this for my b-day and I don’t want it to fail!
I use a stainless steel pot (without a nonstick coating) but if your silicone whisk is sturdy it should hold up to the job. It will be like whisking pudding or something similar to that consistency.
Thanks Mel:)
And have you ever frozen the cake with this frosting on? Does this frosting hold up to being in the fridge if not the freezer?
I’ve refrigerated it a lot but never frozen so I’m not sure how well it would do.
This turned out great! Hopefully everyone likes it 🙂 I added 2 tsp of rum extract at the end (along with the vanilla) just to sweeten it up slightly and its amazing! I am making it along with you chocolate cake which so far so good!
Thank you!
C
Hi. I love your site! I would like to make this frosting along with the chocolate cake. Would it be OK to make the cake and frost it the day before and leave out until the next day?
Yes, as long as it stays at cool room temperature, that should work great. It usually keeps a cake nice and moist to frost it all the way if it’s going to be a day before you serve it.
This frosting was lovely! Seriously my new go-to. Not too sweet but delicious, light, and airy! I even won over my coworker who hates traditional buttercream.
Hello! Can’t wait to try this! At what point do you add food coloring of using? Thanks so much
I usually add it at the end as it mixes.
Thanks!
I made the chocolate version of your icing, and my husband said this was the best icing I’ve ever made! So thank you for sharing your recipes! And it paired beautifully with your Perfected Yellow Cake! Just one question, though ~ does the iced cake need to be refrigerated?
If it’s stored at cool room temperature it should be fine for 8-12 hours. Longer than that, I’d refrigerate but it will take 4-5 hours at room temp for the frosting to soften again.
Hi – first, I just have to say that your site is my absolute favorite and I recommend it to everyone! I have never made a bad recipe from your site and I am not an expert chef/baker.
I was wondering if you had ever gotten around to piping with this recipe. I have to make a cake this weekend and the frosting needs to be piped and I wanted to try this recipe because of the great reviews but if you hadn’t had success, I will try one of your other frosting recipes instead.
Yes, it pipes great!
Hi Mel! I’m hoping you might see this before tomorrow (Thursday) sometime. I’m making a birthday cake for my friend, and she requested this icing with your chocolate cake for her party. I’ve made similar frostings with cutting in the butter while whipping, but honestly can’t recall which beater I used in my Kitchen-Aid. Do you recommend the whisk or the beater for this one? Thanks!
Hi Lynn – I use the whisk attachment for my Bosch when I make this so that’s probably what I would recommend. Good luck!
Thank you! Whipping right now.
Hi Mel,
Love you, love your site! I was just reading your post about brown butter yesterday, but I haven’t tried it yet. I’m wondering if it would work in this recipe?
I’m not sure how the browned butter would do added at the end of the frosting – it would have to be cooled (resolidified) but honestly, you’d have to experiment since I don’t know if it would set up in the frosting like butter in stick form as called for in the recipe. The idea sounds heavenly though!
Recently, I tried this frosting, using heavy cream, and upping the sugar by one-half cup to 2 cups instead of the 1 and 1/2 cups the recipe calls for.
During the cooking phase, however, the liquid never thickens substantially, as described. … Instead, the liquid just bubbles into a frothy mixture that is like syrup. … It still sets up well, and it tastes pretty dog gone good, but it just never thickens, really. … Is this because of the extra sugar?
It could also be because of the heavy cream – the extra fat may make the texture (thickness) different.
Hi Mel, I am a huge fan of your blog and have used many of your recipes as staples in my collection. You are the best! I am just wondering if, in your honest opinion, this frosting would be good on an angel food cake? I make one for my husband every year and I was thinking about either making this frosting or going with the other recipe you have with the whipped chocolate frosting and toasting almonds to top on the cake. Thanks so much for your time!
Hmmm…I think the flavor and texture of this frosting might be a little too rich for an angel food cake but that’s just me. My favorite frosting for angel food cake is just heavy whipped cream, whipped to stiff peaks with a bit of powdered sugar and cocoa. So light and yummy.
I am new to baking. LOL. Do I use salted or unsalted butter?? Thank you. Merry Christmas!!
I use salted butter for this recipe.
Hi Mel.
I made this frosting for my sister and she loves it!! She won’t make it herself – just insists that I make it for her. For Liz who said the frosting came out salty, I always use unsalted butter in eveything, and especially for any recipe that calls for salt. That way I control how much salt is actually in the recipe. I totally spaced and forgot the salt the first time I made this recipe and it turned out great. I have a friend who is lactose intolerant so am going to try substituting the milk with plain and flavored non-dairy creamers to see how that works.
Hi Mel! How long do you think this leftover frosting will last in the fridge?
Merry Christmas! Hope you are well!
A week or so. 🙂
Hello! Delicious, decadent frosting recipe! Made it for my son’s first birthday yesterday and made extra. Hoping to use it on the extra cake I made for his other party this weekend. How would you recommend I store it in the fridge? It’s currently in a lidded Pyrex bowl. What would be your recommendations for using this frosting after it’s been refrigerated for a week? Bring back to room temperature? Re-whip or not?
Thank you!
That container should work just fine. Yes, I’d bring it back to room temperature and beat until light and fluffy again.
I whipped this with a hand mixer not realizing the whipping needed to be so vigorous. I thought it seemed smooth enough and then my husband put it in a piping bag and it separated like nobody’s business. Did I not whip it long enough?
Sounds like that might be the issue – this recipe definitely benefits from using an electric stand mixer to do the work.
Hello I love vanilla frosting but cannot find a homemade one I love except for one that doesn’t taste good next day if left out and I hate to refrigerate my cupcakes. I refuse to use store bought because there is so mich garbage in there. I made something similar to this but didn’t get it perfect. I have two questions I want to make for my sons school party next week can I make a day ahead and frost and leave them out and if so are they still safe to eat and just as yummy? If not can I do the flour part and leave that out overnight and finish up the rest in the morning Because there is no way I would have time to do it all in morning lol. Thanks
You could definitely make the flour base of the frosting, refrigerate it and finish it up the next day.
Amazing! The chocolate frosting version is so good I wanted to cry! For any readers wondering…. I place in ziplock in fridge overnight, let come to room temp and piped cupcakes no problem next day.
I’m using chocolate for inside layer of my daughters cake and outside vanilla.
Gonna be amazing!
Did you ever try using this to pipe with? I’ve made it before it is my favorite, but I haven’t tried piping with it. I’d like to use it for my daughters cake. Thanks!!
This has been addressed up above in the comments so scroll through for some great feedback from other readers! 🙂
Hi,
I have been looking for an icing to make my son’s birthday cake. I don’t care for the sweetness of buttercream. Is it possible to get the correct consistency with just using a hand mixer with the whisk attachment? I don’t have a stand mixture. Also, would the icing be okay with some fondant accents on top of it? Lastly, I was hoping to ice the cake Friday night for a Saturday afternoon party. Would it keep well for that if I refrigerated the iced cake and pulled it out a few hours before the party?
Thank you!
Hi Shannon – I haven’t tried this with a hand mixer because it requires such a long (and vigorous) mixing time. I haven’t used it with fondant but I believe others have up above in the comment thread. And yes, you could ice the cake a day ahead of time – just take it out in time for the frosting to soften to room temperature. Good luck!
Hi,
Please let me know is this good enough to use under fondant?? TIA
This is addressed further up in the comment thread – I haven’t tried it but I believe others have. 🙂
I dont like icing that is too sweet and this was perfect. This recipe is similar to Italian buttercream without the risk of burning yourself on boiling hot sugar. Thank you for posting this!
Made this yesterday and it was really good I add some dulce de leche when I cook the mixture and turnout great. this will definitely replace my buttercream, thank you so much
I made the chocolate version today using Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa and Ghirardelli’s chocolate bar. OH MY GOODNESS!!! Best chocolate frosting ever. Also made your chocolate cake and layered it with raspberry filling and it is AMAZING!!!
Can you use Gluten Free Flour?
I haven’t tried it but you could definitely experiment.
What happens if you would use brown sugar? I’m wondering how that would work in the chocolate version. Also, can I use 1/2 cup cocoa powder, what would the extra dry ingredients do for the texture? I’m looking for a deep chocolate frosting and love this.
I haven’t made either of those substitutions so I’m not sure, Lisa. You’ll have to experiment. Good luck!
Lisa, Cook’s Country also developed a brown sugar version and called it Caramel Miracle Frosting…it is also delicious! P.S? So is their Cream Cheese version (amazing!), and the chocolate one is great too, though I prefer a frosting with a stronger chocolate flavor.
This sounds amazing! Would this frosting work with the Viva paper towel frosting method?
No, I’ve tried it. Because it’s an all butter frosting, it doesn’t crust over like frosting that has shortening in it (which is the best for that Viva paper towel trick).
Holycrapthiswasamazing! Seriously so delicious! This might be the only frosting I ever make again.
I totally loved this recipe I made it twice and it came out perfectly I used half and half cream 10 percent I was wondering if I could use a smaller amount of butter say 1 cup butter I have a stand mixer so I beat it for 10 min I really thank you for this recipe my son in law said he liked as well as the expensive one they got on holidays so this recipe is making me look good my granddaughter is having a baby so they asked me to do them for here big shower thanks again
Have you (or anyone) tried to make this with shortening to get it to crust?
I haven’t tried it with shortening.
I have never made this with shortening, but may years ago I had a neighbor who used either all shortening or half shortening and half margarine* (I don’t recall which). I don’t believe this made it crust over but did give it a different flavor and texture, and is whiter than one made with all butter.
*This dates back to the days when people used margarine and was probably more of an economic issue for her than anything else.
PS I never had a problem with the separating as I do with this version but it’s an easy fix. Just keep beating it and it will come together. I’ve even made this ahead and frozen it.
I have been making a version of this recipe for as long as I can remember. Cook’s Illustrated made it better by adding the sugar to the cooked mixture (instead of creaming it with butter and then blending the two mixtures together which makes for a smoother end product with no grittiness at all) and by swapping out some of the flour for cornstarch. The straining also eliminates any possibility of lumps.
I recently started a batch and realized I only had half and half. I also used some vanilla which had come from the Dominican Republic (much thicker than what we are used to) and it was UNBELIEVABLE.
Also, I recently made a batch with a gluten free flour blend. It came out just fine. So yes, you can substitute the flour. You could probably also eliminate the flour and replace with just cornstarch, but I suspect the texture might be a bit gummy.
I have never tried the caramel version and don’t recall the ingredients list, but I just made a batch using light brown sugar instead of granulated in an attempt to achieve a cookie dough flavor. This worked perfectly fine as well. Based on previous comments, I might try the chocolate version and pipe both together into two-tone rosettes.
Help! I just made the milk mixture for this and it turned out more like a thick syrup than pudding consistency. Has this happened to anyone else?? I’d hate to use all that butter in the next step of its not going to turn out! 🙁
Third time making it – LOVE IT – shared with lots of folks! Thanks for making buttercream go away :).
Hey Mel!
Just wanted to say thanks for this recipe! It’s turned out absolutely amazing both times I’ve made it and it pipes beautifully! This is the first time I’ve come across your blog and I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Tried again and it still separated! It’s sooo yummy (pretty sure I gained 10 pounds today) but just looks funny. I added the cocoa to the original mixture but didn’t add chocolate at the end. Is that my problem? Maybe I’ll just try the original next time and see if I have the same issue. Everything was room temp etc. Grrrr. On second thought, maybe I shouldn’t perfect it so I can fit into my jeans! 3 birthdays in 3 weeks is bad news! Love all your stuff.
🙂 — a fellow Boisean (if that’s a word)
Shoot, Natalie. Sorry this still separated when you made it! I suppose it could be due to the cocoa powder without the chocolate – the melted chocolate may act as a bit of a binder. If you make it “normal” and it still separates, let me know and we can do some more troubleshooting. I hear you on the yumminess, though – don’t even TRY it sandwiched on graham crackers. Just don’t.
Mel, can I add food coloring to this. I need to pipe trees, will it stay formed?
Thanks,
Rhonda
Yes, you can add food coloring. I’m not sure what type of trees you are wanting to pipe – tall, stand-alone trees probably not. But just a decoration piped onto the surface of the cake should be just fine.
Remember this icing has real vanilla and butter and although it might not look it, there is a yellowish tint to it. So if you add a true green food coloring you might end up with olive green. Pink might be just a bit orangey and so on. This can even change with the time of the year because the butter changes.
I tried it and it seemed to separate as it sat. What did I do wrong??
Usually it means the frosting needs to be whipped longer to avoid separation.
This sounds delicious! I think I’m going to try your frosting for my son’s upcoming birthday party cake. I am doing a chocolate sheet cake (double layered) and then carving it into a number “5”. I would like do your frosting as filling, and then also as the main layer of frosting all over, but then to decorate with piped frosting in different colors and also a few fondant decorations. Do you think it’ll hold up to that kind of abuse? Haha. Will the color run? Thoughts? TIA!
This frosting pipes really well (especially if it’s refrigerated for an hour or so after it’s whipped up) and I haven’t had any issues with the colors bleeding. Good luck!
Thanks a bunch!
This is a fantastic recipe. I have successfully made the chocolate version with a lot more chocolate and it was to die for. I have also reduced the 1 1/2 cup sugar to 1 1/4 cup with no issues intact for what ever reason it came out better. We are toning down on sugary stuff and find as we go lower in our sugar content we are more sensitive to it in baked goods. I’d rather focus on favors then just sweetness anyway. So if you want to reduce it even more… You can definitely do so with a 1/4 cup…. Depending on how we like it I may even try 1/8th less next time.
“Magical Frosting” is a totally apt name for this. I was incredulous (which is silly because every recipe on this site is amazing) and I felt like an actual magician. This frosting was PERFECT. I piped it on cupcakes, and my coworkers raved about the frosting more than the cake! Thanks for giving me a new (and super impressive) go-to frosting!
I made this frosting and your Unbelievable Chocolate Cake & it was wonderful!!
Could you please tell me, how long does the frosting last in the refrigerator since it has milk in it? Thanks!!
Probably up to a week.
Thank you Mel!
This frosting knocked my socks clean off, from here to Texas. Seriously. It’s truly magical – best frosting I’ve ever had. I’ve made it (along with your chocolate cake recipe) at least 3 times now. I’ve even told my husband not to bake me a birthday cake (which always offers to do) because I simply MUST HAVE THIS ONE!
I have a lemon cake on the agenda, and I wonder if this frosting would work with some lemon juice and zest added to it, or whether I should just stick with a lemon buttercream / confectioners sugar-type frosting. Any thoughts? Have you ever tried it with lemon or any other flavor?
Hi Aimee – happy to hear you love this one. I haven’t made it with lemon but I believe several people in the comment thread have with great success.
Hi Mel,
I think I have finally decided I am making this frosting and your chocolate cake for my daughter’s birthday! Will there be enough frosting from this recipe to ice a 13 x 9 sheet cake and to have some left over to add food colouring gel to pipe letters on the cake? Thank you.
Are you frosting just the top of the 9X13 cake? If so, then yes, I think you would have enough to frost the top and do some piping.
A follow-up on making strawberry frosting: 6 dark strawberries mushed into milk and strained to yield 1.5 cups milk came out suuuper delish and very strawberry flavored. In all other ways like the original. However, the vanilla made the whole thing brownish, so I had to use 2 drops food coloring for pastel pink.
Also, I tried to chill this for piping, left it in the fridge too long and had to rewhip it. It was a hot mess texture-wise after that. But still delish.
Hi Mel,
I was wondering if I could pipe “happy birthday” on this kind of frosting since it does seems so light and airy…I am worried what ever I use may bleed into the white frosting? Can you suggest what to do? Should I frost the cake with this magical frosting and use another for the piping? Any suggestions are very much appreciated! Thank you!
Hi Melissa – I pipe with this frosting all the time (it helps to chill it first like the recipe suggests). Once you frost the cake with white frosting, it helps to refrigerate to let that frosting harden before piping another color on top.
I DID! Thank you! You are right about how great it’ll turn out! only downside is it can’t hold shape too well.
Hey Mel, I’ve just finished cooking the milk and flour mixture. The consistency is as you described it should be, but the color is strangely dark! I’m a bit worried and am hoping it lightens up once I add the butter. Any ideas what may have gone wrong?
Just wanted to say I finished making it and it is DREAMY!
I am glad it worked out!
Hmmm, that’s odd, Ruby – it should be a light color. Did you use all-purpose flour? Any chance the mixture overcooked?
Can i freeze this frosting?
I wouldn’t recommend freezing this.
If you frost first and then freeze it once it is on a cake, you’ll have no problems. My mother-in-law froze a leftover cake (who’s ever heard of leftover cake???) I made using this frosting, and it came out just as delicious when they ate it a few weeks later.
Mel, your frosting is perfect for me. Thnaks for this post. I will back.
Hi Mel,
I’m wanting to use your frosting recipe on a birthday cake. Have you had luck piping this frosting?
Thank you!
Yes, it pipes great.
^^sounds like a german buttercream.
I would describe the taste as whipping cream mixed with white chocolate. It bountifully frosted 24 cupcakes.
It was very good, but a few mouthfulls did leave me feeling sick (maybe it was more than a few?) I am already thinking about tweaking it with a cooked thick vanillia pudding replacing the flour & milk mixture. I think this will get rid of the “cookie dough” taste some were decribing.
Thanks for a great recipe!
Sort of sounds familiar. Make a custard, then beat butter into it. But custard has eggs in it and now you would have to keep refrigerated,
Hi Mel,
I LOOVE this frosting! I made it along with your unbelievable chocolate cake, and they were DELICIOUS. I am in no way an experienced baker, this is actually only my second time “baking” anything. My first time I baked a rainbow cake for my sons birthday and the frosting ended up being a total bust I just used cool whip as frosting ( lol). But I am so glad I found a frosting that is delicious, not too sweet, and overall amazing! It will be my go to. The process is not hard at all, a little time consuming but it’s worth it! Tastes better than any other frosting I’ve had (store bought) . Thanks for the recepie!
Hi, just saw this recipe and wish to try it. Would like to know if you can leave the cake for a few days without it spoiling. Th cake is not for a special occasion, I just like to bake and I make large cakes. Thanks, I am sooo tired of confectioner cakes like WIlton,s recipe. I will have to try it at another time though as I want to finish tonight
I reduced the amount of butter by a couple tablespoons and still had great results!
Can this be made to be peanut butter. I have used this as is and love, love, LOVE it. Just didn’t know if it would work and if so what would I have to do to adapt it to make it PB.
Thank you so much
I’ve never tried a peanut butter version but maybe you could decrease the butter by a few tablespoons and mix in 1/2 cup peanut butter at the end while whipping the frosting?
I haven’t tried it, but PB2 powder would probably work great!
I’m wondering if Kristy or Karen or anyone tried the PB version – AM LOVING THE IDEA!
Would you guess that one might add in PB2 powder in the same way one would add in cocoa powder? IN ADDITION TO ? or INSTEAD of actual PB when adding butter?
So I made a peanut butter version. I added 1/4 cup slightly packed PB2 to the flour mixture. I have a 3 tier chocolate petal cake to ice and half way through making this realized I probably wouldn’t have enough frosting. This is my first time making a cooked frosting so I. Wasn’t sure but wanted to err on the too much side. So I quickly cooked up a second batch and put it in the fridge to cool for a few hours. I had left the first batch on the counter with the butter while I was at work. I also needed more volume for my mixer to work properly. It’s a 5qt bowl lift. I was getting more butter out when I realized I wouldn’t have enough. So I added all I had, about 4 1/2 sticks. It needed more fat to it and didn’t have the peanut buttery taste I was going for. So I tried adding some regular peanut butter to a small sample and it worked wonderfully. I then added 1 cup to the whole batch and is great. Still short a few tablespoons of fat so I hope it holds up okay. It’s doing it’s hour of chilling now. When I finished I couldn’t stop eating it so I guess that’s a good sign. Will update when cake is served in a day and a half. I used my family chocolate cake recipe which is quick and easy and so good. It tastes better after sitting a few days.
Thank you Karen! I didn’t know that existed.
I’m making a birthday cake for my father-in-law for tomorrow afternoon. Can I use this between layers of a round cake, or is it not stiff enough to work there? I have four skinny layers (about half an inch) planned. Thoughts?
Hi Kasey – I use this between cake layers all the time! I hope this worked out for you.
It was perfect! I even added a little food coloring to two smaller batches and piped rosettes and a Happy Birthday message. No chilling of the frosting required! If I knew how to include a picture, I would. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
I would love to see how it turned out
Can you pipe this frosting with a pasty bag or is it betsy used to spread on cakes?
OOPS – best not betsy! 🙂
Yes, I pipe with this frosting all the time.
I think the quality of butter and chocolate play a big part in this recipe. Having tried both the pioneer woman’s and this recipe, I can’t see why this one would taste more buttery as I do not like the PW recipe for that very reason.
Hi Mel! I hate to say it, but this was the worst frosting I’ve ever made. It was for a birthday cake, and everyone commented on how it just tastes like butter. I made the chocolate version and it came together well, but the flavor was horrible. I’ve made the Pioneer Woman version, I think I’ll have to stick to that one in future. I was really disappointed, I wanted it to be great! Any ideas on why the flavor was off?
Not sure, CJ. Sorry you didn’t like it – it must boil down to personal preference since this is a favorite for us. Did you whip it for the amount of time in the recipe? I’ve found the long whipping time helps balance the flavor.
That was probably Pioneer Woman herself 😉
Good one, chuckle,chuckle.
Oh yum! What a great recipe! For years I’ve wanted an Icing recipe that isn’t sickly sweet and here it is! Absolutely divine! I didn’t have enough butter so I used margarine and still incredible and light. So I wonder how much better it would be with butter! Thank you for this. It will be used frequently in the future!
Looks yum!
Question! Will whole cream milk work in place of 1% milk?
Yes, I think you could sub in 2% or whole milk with good results.
I just made this frosting with mostly 2%milk. I put about 3 tbs of evaporated milk and the rest was 2%. (I thought it might need more fat?) It came out awesome! It’s going on my daughters birthday cupcakes. She said this frosting is what clouds would taste like. So light and creamy! great recipe.
I’ve made the PW’s version several times and this is superior. Cooking the sugar with the milk instead of adding it later makes it smoother. I’ve also been recently diagnosed with wheat/gluten intolerance, so I used GF flour (Krusteaz Gluten-free AP Flour). It worked very well! Once it was ready, I also stirred some lemon curd into the portion used between the layers. Delish!
I love the idea of having a frosting that is not super thick or super sweet, like most of the buttercreams that I’ve made in the past. I like that this is light and fluffy. I did add some whipped cream cheese at the very last stage, because I thought it wasn’t actually sweet enough. I also added maybe 1/4 to 1/2 cup powdered sugar at the end and let it all whip in together. It was delish! Thanks for sharing!
I will definitely have to give this a try. I am a HUGE fan of whipped icing, and I seriously cannot find a recipe that compares to an icing I tried several years ago made by someone who won’t give up the recipe. I HATE that. It was like whipped cream, but not whipped cream. I don’t think I will ever get it, but I definitely want to give this one a try.
I live in Israel and we don’t have the same butter sticks as you have in the States. do you know the exact weight/grams/ml for the butter needed (24 tablespoons (3 sticks) butter, cut into 24 pieces and softened at room temperature)?
Thanks!
One stick of butter is 4 ounces.
Your recipe was amazing but a but on the salty side. I may leave out the 1/4 teaspoon of salt or use unsalted butter next time. What do you suggest?
Either of those suggestions sounds like it could help – I haven’t tried either one since I like the recipe as written but it’s worth experimenting to see. Good luck!
I use unsalted butter in all my frostings and baked goods. That way you control the salt. I made this recipe for my sister and forgot to add the salt and it came out perfect. The salt helps to cut the sugar so the frosting isn’t overly sweet.
Hi, I looked through the comments for this, but I don’t have time to read all of them all the way back in time.
I was hoping for a little more detail on the “difficult to easily whisk” step – I think “difficult” depends a bit on endurance levels and determination factor. 🙂 How would you describe the consistency of the mixture at the point when it’s thick enough to take off the heat – chocolate syrup, caramel sauce, paste?
It’s very thick, like a pudding consistency.
My cake partner and I used to call it “the blob” 😉
HI!! OMG can i hug you/ kill you? I have been looking for the perfect frosting since forever because i always try the American Buttercream but am always disappointed by the sweetness/grittiness. This cream is sweet and fluffy but the sweetness is not overpowering and makes one want to try more 😀 I am thinking of adding various flavors to this frosting, for example, some salted caramel. I will update you on the results later! Thanks!
Yes, I used to sell cakes and my customers from India , Pakistan and the far east were always surprised that they actually liked the taste of their children’s birthday cake.
I’m scrolling through the comments, but haven’t come across the answer yet. Have you or do you know if anyone has had success subbing gluten free flour for the flour. I’m recently eating gluten free, but love this frosting.
I’ve never tried a gluten free version, sorry, Kelley!
Hi there, I just added a new comment below about subbing GF flour. Success!
I was wondering if I could substitute liquid stevia for the sugar? I wouldn’t normally question it but I’m not sure if the sugar does more than sweeten in this case (texture, bulking, etc.)
That’s a good question, Rachel, but I’m afraid I don’t know the answer. You’d have to experiment to find out (or maybe someone on this thread could chime in if they’ve tried it).
Hi! This is my all-time favorite frosting recipe, but I’m not an experienced enough baker to know how to correctly adjust recipes (I am, however, an expert at INcorrectly adjusting recipes). My soon-to-be six-year-old has requested a vanilla cake with strawberry frosting.
Is there a way to add strawberry puree to this frosting without it becoming runny and/or off-putting??
The key with this frosting, in my opinion, is to add any extra liquid to the beginning step (cooking the flour mixture). I haven’t tried it but I wonder if you could replace some of the liquid with strawberry puree at the beginning?
I recently made this into a strawberry version, replacing the milk with frozen strawberries (the kind that come in the freezer aisle at the store that are sliced and sweetened) and blended them up and it was delicious! We used it on our favorite strawberry cake recipe found here: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/strawberry-cake
I tried this recipe with fresh strawberry puree and it came out great! I took your suggestion Mel and put in the strawberry puree in during the step with the milk. I did not exclude any of the milk, but added about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of puree. It took closer to 8 minutes for the mixture to boil with the added liquid, but was fine. The frosting piped really well too after an hour in the refrigerator.
Sounds fabulous!
Hi Mel,love your page! I’m trying to make this frosting and my issue is i think i cooked the moisture out of it because it turned into crumbs-lol- i think thats a no-no! Please help.
Hi Gina, not sure what happened, sorry! You’d have to cook it an awfully long time to cook out all the moisture – are you sure you added all the liquid called for in the recipe? Did it turn to crumbs while cooking on the stove or later when you mixed in the butter?
i realized that i did not use enough milk lol-tried again and it came out perfect! Thanks Mel.I also made the chocolate cake last week-to die for! Keep the recipes coming they are fabulous.Merry Christmas
Hi, I am making this frosting for my daughters birthday on Sunday. I would like to make it and frost the cake on Saturday. Will the frosting be ok to do that ahead? I see you say don’t make the frosting ahead then try to beat it back together, but if its already together and on the cake will that be ok?
Hi Amy, from my experience yes it should stay fine in the refrigerator. I used this frosting on cupcakes for my son’s birthday. I made them a day ahead and they were all good the next day. The cold frosting even tasted better actually 🙂
Good luck.
Yes, Amy, that should work great! I’ve done that several times. I usually refrigerate the frosted cake and pull it out several hours before serving so the frosting can soften up a bit.
How about if you wanted to make these ahead of time and freeze them (the frosted cookies) I’m thinking they won’t stack well if the frosting doesn’t get hard.
This frosting stays on the soft side.
I don’t know if someone has already commented on this but I just used this recipe last night to make cupcakes in a slight panic because I didn’t have any frosting, with an hour to go and then realized it takes a lot of time to cool down/warm back up, etc. I would just like to note that instead of waiting for the frosting to cool down on its own, I put it in the fridge for 5 minutes and the freezer for probably about 30, and it turned out great (in my opinion). I will probably even do that next time even if I am not short on time.
LOVE IT THIS WORKS WELL
I see there is caramel version of this frosting. Have you heard of it or know how to make it? Can’t wait to try it!
I haven’t made a caramel version, Dianna, but I believe others have in the comment thread if you want to scroll through the comments.
Mel: does this frosting crust? Would it work on a wedding cake?
No, this frosting doesn’t crust (in my experience, the best crusting frostings use shortening or at least half shortening).
When beating the frosting, do you use the paddle or the whisk attachment?
The whisk.
Hi, if I made a cake used this frosting inside and covered in fondant on a Wednesday would the frosting keep ok if I didn’t cut the cake Saturday?
Not sure since I haven’t tried it but as long as the cake is kept in a cool location (not overly warm or humid), it should be fine.
hi, Can we dispense the flour or Is there an alternative to it?
Hi Suzanne – the flour is necessary to this recipe. You’d have to experiment if you wanted to leave it out or sub another ingredient.
I don’t have a problem with the flour but I was thinking, maybe could substitute coconut flour for the white flour. 🙂
Lovely! I want to make the chocolate version, but we love milk chocolate and dislike dark chocolate. I would have said we hate dark chocolate, but in this case it would have cake attached to it, so at least we’d like the cakey bits. Anyway, couldn’t one use milk chocolate instead of semisweet? Any suggestions for adjusting the recipe to make rich milk chocolate frosting?
Thanks for this. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Actually, the chocolate version is quite light and creamy. I’d still use the semisweet chocolate chips – it doesn’t lend an overly bittersweet chocolate taste to the frosting.
I’ve been looking for a good frosting recipe to use on some black forest cupcakes instead of whipped cream, and I think this is the one!
I’ve heard this type of frosting be called “mock whipped cream” before, does it taste a lot like whipped cream? Or should I sub some of the milk for heavy cream? I want to achieve a somewhat whipped cream taste, but want something more interesting than just a chantilly cream!
Hi Michelle – this frosting definitely has a whipped, light, creamy taste and consistency. I’ve never subbed cream for the milk before – I think you’ll like it the way it is. Good luck!
i”m making this first time baker, can i mix in with it cream cheese??????
You can sub out some of the butter for cream cheese – I believe the details are in the post.
Hi Mel,
I totally agree with everything in this post – I too am not a huge fan of traditional buttercream. Homemade versions are always grainy, and I feel like the sugar coats my teeth when eating it! I tried the pioneer woman flour frosting, and that too was a disaster. But this frosting, WAS AMAZING!! With traditional buttercream I could only handle a small layer of frosting, but with this, I can put thick layers, and it still tastes great without being too much sugar! This will forever be my favorite frosting, I can’t wait to try the chocolate version. However, I did have a mishap, I put the butter in microwave for 5 seconds just to be sure it wasn’t cold…accidentally did 5 minutes and had a pool of 3 sticks of melted butter :-/ !! Despite this, I was able to make this perfectly! Thanks for the recipe and the step-by-step instructions!!!
Just make the base and set in the fridge with plastic wrap directly on it. When you need it, take it out and let it come to room temp or close and whip
with butter. So easy!
Oh! This looks lovely! I’ve been trying to find the perfect frosting recipe that isn’t overly sweet and this is perfect! I have a question though. Can this frosting be made a few days before actually using it, or should it only be used when made?
The frosting can be made ahead of time and then rewhipped when ready to use but personally I find it’s better made fresh.
Mel, I baked your Yellow Cake and frosted it with this frosting for Mary’s birthday cake. What a hit!! Adam was over and was amazed I had it in me to produce such a treat. I gave you all the credit. Your directions were easy to follow and in spite of my awkward kitchen skills, I pulled it off. Thanks for the help!! We miss you guys!!
Greg
Hi! I made this frosting today using a hand mixer. I let everything cool to room temp and I put it in the fridge 30 minutes ago and it’s still so runny. I did use skim milk because that’s all we ever get. Should it thicken up with more fridge time?
I really really want to try this frosting for a birthday cake but im always nervous making ANY kind of frosting because i don’t own a stand mixer (yet)…will a hand held electric mixer do just as well to make this magical frosting?
I wouldn’t recommend this with a hand mixer because I’m afraid it might burn out the motor in the hand mixer (it needs a lot of high speed mixing).
Hi Mel!
I would love to make this but was wondering if I could substitute the cornstarch for an extra 3 tbs of flour. Would this change the taste/texture of the final product?
Thanks!
Subbing flour for the cornstarch might change the texture or taste but you could still try it (there are other widely used flour-based frostings like this online that don’t use cornstarch; I’ve tried a few of them in the past and far prefer this recipe, though, because the texture is lighter and less gummy). The reason the recipe uses both flour and cornstarch is for the extremely creamy/silky texture. Changing any of those amounts may affect the outcome. Good luck if you try it!
I pipe with this all the time! Perfect swirls every single time 🙂
You said you would try piping this and let us know if it worked…did it?
Yes, I pipe with it all the time – there are lots of details from other people who have piped with it, too, listed in the comment thread.
Every buttercream recipe I’ve found has threatened to give me a tooth decay at first bite. This is perfect! A little extra work, but you’re right, it’s so worth it! I made it to frost a chocolate cake and I added a hint of orange flavour to the vanilla. It turned out beautifully. Thank you! I actually made the cake to celebrate my blog turning one. If you’re interested, http://corianderandgarlic.wordpress.com/2014/09/19/milestones-vanilla-orange-chocolate-cake/
I would just add espresso powder to the milk mixture.
Absolutely DIVINE. I don’t think I will ever make buttercream again! THANK YOU! Piped wonderfuly (just big swirls on cupcakes) after being in the fridge for a bit…Going to try some more serious stuff in the morning! We’ll see how it goes!
I made this frosting for a giant cupcake, IT WAS AWESOME!!!!
I would like to know, can I double the recipe or make separately?
Debbie – As long as your mixer is big enough to beat the frosting in one bowl, you can definitely double. When I’ve doubled it, I add a few extra minutes to the beating (when adding the butter) since there’s more frosting to whip.
Hello.. is there any chocolate version for this?
Hala – Yes…the chocolate variation is below the recipe.
I would reduce the amount of milk by a few tablespoons and replace it in equal amounts with the liqueur, then add more if needed in place of the vanilla. I’ve flavored this frosting many ways, and it seems best to add it to the liquid in the beginning. Later than that you run the risk of too soft of a frosting. Good luck!
Hi Mel.
Firstly, thank you so much for all your incredible recipes – you know how people used to have that trusty old recipe book, full of hand-written amendments from your grandma? This website is that for me.
I just wanted to ask – I am wanting to make Amarula flavoured frosting for my brother’s 21st. Amarula is a South African liquer made from marula fruit. I would say the closest comparison would be Bailey’s Irish Cream liquer. I have baked with it before (Amarula cheesecake – yum!) and when it is added to other stuff, the flavour tends to soften (I normally add 3/4 Tablespoons to a standard cheesecake). Which can be nice if you are wanting a subtle flavour. But for this, I want the flavour to really shine (although perhaps without the intention of intoxicating everyone…). I am guessing I will need even as much a 6/7 Tbs?? How and when would you suggest I incorporate this? Thanks for the help!
Thanks, Teagan – you are so sweet! About your question, I would suggest adding it with the vanilla (I think that’s the best bet for not messing up the consistency of the frosting). If you taste the frosting after the butter has been added and the flavor isn’t strong enough, you could drizzle in a bit more (taking care not to liquify the frosting). Good luck!
Hi Mel, I do not like overly sweet cream. Can I reduce the amount of sugar? Will I ruin it? Thanks in advance.
cakeholic – This frosting isn’t all that sweet in my opinion so you might want to make it as is to see how sweet it is for your taste. Good luck!
This is the second cooked frosting I tried and this one is perfect. It came out like Satin. I cooled in an ice bath and in the freezer (with careful monitoring and stirring). I used 2 parts salted butter and one part shortening (to help with humid climate of Honolulu). I cut out salt, since butter was salted. About an hour from start to finish- perfect on my traditional red velvet (which has no red dye, so really brownish-red velvet 🙂 I love this website!!!
Hi! I’m really interested in this recipe! I’ll be making a (vegan!) cake for a friend this weekend, but I’m unsure if this frosting will be stiff enough for a ruffle cake decoration. And also, we’ll be holding the party outside at a temp of 32 F, 77% humidity. Will it be able to hold the ruffle shapes without melting/drooping?
Please do reply to my inquiry! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! Can’t wait to try it.
Flora – This frosting has piped fine for me in the past (although others have reported it is a little on the soft side so it may be worth doing a trial run for piping purposes). The one downfall of this frosting is that it doesn’t hold up well in warm or overly humid temperatures so it may not be the right fit for the outdoor party.
This recipe minus the flour has been THE buttercreme frosting used for YEARS in our family. I’ve added 1- 2 tsp of cherry flavoring from a jar of maraschino cherries along with 1 tsp. of almond flavoring for a varied taste. YUM!!
Thank you Mel, I tried your recipe and everyone loved it. I added some powdered sugar at the end. it piped beautifully. I only left it in the fridge for 10 minutes and it was ready to go on cake.
I made the roux last night. Left it and margarine out on the counter overnight. Started the whipping process… and it separated instead of whipping nicely. It has happened twice to me now. But 2 other times I had great success with this recipe. Any ideas why it separated???
Kitty Schafer – Margarine can’t be subbed for the butter; also if using butter, the frosting may look separated at first but it needs to be whipped for the full amount if time in the recipe and should come together. The butter should be at cool room remp…too soft and it may not whip correctly. I hope that helps. I am sorry it didn’t work out for you.
I just made this – frosted the easy yellow cupcakes- from this site. Both are amazing!
But…even after generously frosting 2 dozen cupcakes, I still have tons left over. If I had time, I’d whip up more cupcakes, but I don’t. Any suggestions? Is there a way to keep this frosting, even a couple days, in hopes of being able to use it up?
Hi Traci – I store the leftovers of this frosting in the fridge and then let it come to room temp before spreading on sugar cookies or using again (sometimes it helps to whip it again so it is creamy after refrigerating).
You must live where it’s super hot because I never have problems piping or holding shapes with this frosting.
This frosting was not good for piping. After refrigerating at the end it went really grainy and was a nightmare to work with. Tastes great but does not pipe well
Okay, this frosting was absolutely DELICIOUS! 😀 I just wanted to comment today after I made it on Sunday and let you know this is the best homemade frosting I have ever come across online, and I’ve tried very many with lots of failing alongside of them. Finally found the one I was looking for, I guess, and I cut out a stick of butter and used just two, unsalted – worked like a charm! My boyfriend keeps sneaking it out of the container it’s in , in our fridge (and me too, I’m not going to lie!) Thanks for sharing this!
Have you tried using skim milk? And what do you think about halving the recipe? I just made your Unbelievable Chocolate Cake in a 9×13 pan and I don’t think I’ll need the full 4 cups to frost the top of the cake… Thanks for your help! Can’t wait to try it!
Emily Bessey – I have not tried skim milk – personally I’d recommend using 1% or higher. Halving the recipe should work just fine though. Good luck!
I would just make the base ahead, then take the few minutes on the day of to whip the butter in.
i want to try this for my daughter’s birthday on saturday but i’d like to know if i could make it today and keep it in the fride for a little less than 48 hours without compromising the texture. with 2 kids and a newborn i try to make thing ahead of time when i can!
Hi Clodie – this frosting is best made fresh (in my opinion) but I totally know what you mean about trying to get things done in advance. It can be made ahead and refrigerated – you’ll want to take it out a couple hours before using it and then rewhip it. I have to be honest, I’ve done this and it isn’t quite as smooth and silky made in advance (and sometimes can separate a bit) but others have commented they’ve made it ahead and been fine. Good luck!
Mel, I just found your website and signed up. I was browsing your recipes and came across this one. I, too, hate super sweet greasy frosting – I usually scrape the frosting off the cake – unless it’s whipped cream frosting which I love. But I digress. I used to have a recipe very, very similar to this and lost it. We called this Ice Cream Icing and it was incredible. Reading this recipe I would say it’s better than what I used to have because you didn’t put the sugar in the cooked mixture, it had more cornstarch and no flour. After you cooled the mixture you had to incorporate the sugar which took forever, then the butter. This is way better. Can’t wait to try it – I’ve missed Ice Cream Icing and will use this next cake I make!!! This is a great website – you have recipes I can actually make!
Thanks, Jane – I hope you enjoy this frosting and any other recipes you try!
Loved this … and all three of my kids loved it, too! To sweeten and stiffen it up a bit I added one cup of sifted confectionary sugar at the end – I wanted to be able to pipe it. I also added some vanilla bean paste which left little specks of vanilla bean in the frosting …. DELICIOUS!
I just finished making this frosting, and I have a couple tips:
1. If you are on a diet, do not make this!! You will want to taste a little, then you won’t be able to keep yourself from “just getting a little more.”
2. If you hate frosting like I do, you will love it after making this heavenly dessert that shouldn’t even have the privilege of being called frosting.
3. Stock up on butter!
Can you freeze this frosting?
Kristen – No, I wouldn’t recommend freezing this.
One word: fabulous. I made this for my family’s birthdays (had three within the past two weeks and we celebrated all together).
I made this with your unbelievable chocolate cake. Holy yum!!
After reading your tips/comments, I decided to use a 9×13 pan and it came out perfectly. When I make it again, I might add chocolate chips to the cake mix.
This is will be my go to frosting and cake recipe for sure!
Thank you!
Because the admin of this website is working, no doubt very
rapidly it will be renowned, due to its quality contents.
Butter is fairly expensive here in China. I usually use oil instead of butter for most recipes. Is it possible to use oil instead of butter in this recipe? I know to reduce the measurement by about half to keep it from being too liquidy.
Ashley – Unfortunately not. Butter is pretty essential to this recipe. Sorry!
Mel, Do you know if I could make this the day before and store it in the fridge before I frost my cake?
Hi Mel, I’m one of those who love this recipe. So smooth, creamy and not gritty at all. In other words, I’m so pleased with the result. My only problem is, I made a layer cake with mousse filling and we had leftover. I didn’t know whether to put the frosted cake in the refrigerator or not. I was afraid that the frosting would hardened and separate as you described, but at the same time, I was also concerned that the filling would be spoiled. What would you do in my case? Where would you keep the leftover frosted cake? And how long would it keep at room temperature? Thanks.
Ela – I would refrigerate the cake – should be fine for a couple days if covered well – just take it out a couple hours before serving if it has been refrigerated so the frosting has time to soften.
I will try this recipe. My mom had a cooked recipe only it called for on egg flour, Sugar,milk mix and cook til thick. Let cool, then using unsalted butter ,vanilla and some powdered sugar. This is like ice cream!
I tried to save it with more flavoring and more powdered sugar, but the magic didn’t happen for me, I’m sorry to say. I really wanted it to, after reading all the raves. I guess I just tend to like the more traditional buttercreams. I really like your cream cheese butter-
creme. Thanks for all the experimenting you do for us, and for all the great recipes. Its nice to know that even if a certain recipe doesn;t work out, we can still be friends.
bluebaker – of course! We’ll always be virtual friends. I like it when people can post constructive advice/criticism on a recipe. I’m sorry you didn’t like this frosting. A hand mixer may not be able to whip up the magic like a stand mixer. But I am glad you have another standby that you love.
Just FYI, I used a hand mixer and it turned out perfectly. 🙂
I made this today, and the unbelieveable chocolate cake. The frosting seems too soft, but that could be because I only have a hand mixer. I added some conf, sugar to see if I could stiffen it up., and I added a little more vanilla and some almond extract ( my favorite)to see if I could punch up the flavor. This will be a good Sunday dessert for tomorrow, but I think at this stage of the game, I will stick to your cream cheese/ buttercream one (the one on the polar bear cupcakes) . Reading thru the comments, its funny that there are so many opinions about what is good, and best, but we’re all trying to do the same thing- please our family and friends with great homemade food. so,
I think if I had a stand mixer with more power it would have been better. It was fun to try this new method.
Do you know if this frosting would stand up to a chocolate ganache drizzle over it? Or will it just reduce/fall? Hope that makes sense.
I wanting to make a coffee infused chocolate cake with this frosting, a chocolate drizzle and strawberries on top. Thank you 🙂
Mesheala – As long as the chocolate ganache isn’t warm/hot, it should be fine. Good luck!
Hi! Had to stop by and tell you how well the recipe turned out for me. I read every comment and was a little terrified to try it. I saw comments saying it was a disaster to make in advance, so I got up extra early the day of the birthday party to make a batch. I doubled the recipe since I wanted to fill and cover a 5 layer cake. HERE is a tip! (I didn’t do this) since I doubled the recipe, it took three hours to come to room temp. And that was with me cheating and putting in the fridge for part of the time. I think if I make it again, instead of putting the cooked base in the mixer bowl to cool, I’ll spread it in a 9×13 baking dish or something similar. It took wayyyy to long to cool down in the mixer bowl. I should’ve trippled it, but I skimped on the layers and it was the perfect amount and looked lovely. Taste was good too. And for anyone wondering, it held up at room temp perfectly alllll day. And I put the leftovers in the fridge and there was no separation or anything. Still tasted great, but definitely not as fluffy. Next time I will make the frosting the night before and cover it and let it sit a room temp until I’m ready to use it. Thanks for a yummy alternative to buttercream! Oh! And it was perfectly pipable. Even without letting it sit to thicken. 🙂
Good heavens this stuff is amazing! Arianna wanted a chocolate cake for her 4th bday and so I did your chocolate cake with this frosting and it was utterly amazing! It’s funny because I got out some left over canned frosting from a bday party and told Kevin to try both and we were both just surprised at the fact that the canned stuff tastes like straight sugar/corn syrup…there is no other flavor. This stuff is so much better. And I did use it to pipe some swags on the cake and it worked great just tossing it in the fridge for 15 minutes or so. So so soooo yummy! I will have to go the extra step now for all my cakes, as I don’t think any other frosting will compare. Thanks Mel! 🙂
Hi Mel, how long we can keep this frosting in room temperature?
Cakeholic – This frosting doesn’t hold up well to extremely warm temperatures, but at cool room temperature I would say it is fine for up to 8 hours.
I made this frosting today to top a chocolate cake. I used caramel extract rather than vanilla. This is by far the best homemade frosting I’ve come across and very easy to make. This will be my go-to frosting from now on! I did not use a strainer nor did I have any lumps. Awesome, thank you for the recipe 🙂
Thank you so much of posting this recipe! I have made 2 batches now and it was a huge hit 🙂 I am not a fan of frostings at the supermarket, they are much too sweet, this is a very fluffy, buttery bakery-like frosting, and I love it!
I left my mixer going until I was happy with the consistency, and did not use a strainer in my boiling process and no problems here.
Once again THANK YOU 🙂
Hi, Mel. Should the milk be room temperature?
Hi Dee – I usually use milk straight from the refrigerator.
I made this frosting last night for cupcakes. It was delicious. Sadly, I didn’t frost them all last night and missed the “caveat” at the bottom of the post. That means that when I just let the icing come back to room temperature and rewhipped….nothing but separation. Oh well! I’ll just tell everyone to close their eyes and enjoy! 🙂
I just tried making this but it curdled. I dont know why.
This has been around since i was a kid. It is known to me as Mock Whipping Cream, a friend of my Dads would make this for my brother and me when we were little, When i started cooking i got in touch with her and go the recipe, it is to die for!
Alright, I’m sold.
I love that you throw everything together, even the sugar so it melts.
Going to give this a go with some test-baking I’m doing for my hubby’s bday.
Thanks!
BTW – Don’t forget to enter in my foodie giveaway. There’s still time!!
Made this last night and it is everything it claims to be. I stopped making buttercream and eating buttercream frosting a long time ago because I can’t stand the sickly sweet, greasy, gritty, taste of it. This frosting was mild in taste, light, and fluffy!! I used salted butter, and halved the recipe..amazzzing!
Also, this recipe wasn’t quite enough for a 3 layer cake. It would have been fine for a 2 layer but I think for a 3 layer I will make one and a half times the recipe.
I made this today to go on Strawberry cake and it worked so beautifully! I had also tried the Tasty Kitchen’s “Best Frosting I’ve Ever Had” recipe and, while I liked the flavor, the consistency wasn’t what I wanted. Then I found this recipe and the flavor is pretty much the same but the texture is just divine! It manages to be so light and fluffy yet creamy and silky all at the same time. When I first tasted it I thought it was too sweet and I went back to check the recipe and make sure I put in the right amount of sugar. That’s when I noticed that I had forgotten the salt! So I put in a good sized pinch of salt while I was letting it sit for an hour before frosting my cake. I made sure to mix it well with my spoon and it dissolved and mixed in beautifully. That little touch of salt took away the cloying sweetness and left it at just the perfect amount.
I like to frost my cake while it’s still frozen and then stack my layers and let it thaw several hours before serving. What do you think of that? I actually won’t have time to wait for a reply, but I’ll let you know how it went.
In case she doesn’t get to your answer in time, yes, it will melt if too hot, and no, it doesn’t crust over.
Hi! I see that this has been posted over two years ago but I luckily came across it and can’t wait to try it. I’m wondering, by the way, if it melts on humid summer weather? Or is this one of those crusting frosting/icing recipe that hardens? 🙂 I am looking forward to hour reply ! Thanks so much for posting this !
Hi Mel,
I was very excited when I found this version of the recipe, but I am a little sad over how it came out… I tried the tasty kitchen version and it came out really fluffy and good and tasty, but I didn’t like that the sugar didn’t completely melt and you could still feel it. So i tried this one, but i think i like the other version better.
What i didn;t like about this version is:
1. i can feel the starch flavor quite a lot and if also give a floury texture. It might be something that i am not used to because we rarely use cornstarch in anything…Can I only use flour and no corn starch at all? If yes, how much?
2. after the mixtures cools it becomes very very hard. i could barely beat it and the finished frosting was a little less fluffy. Maybe i let it boil to much? After i took it off the stove, it had a caramel like consistency and i thought it would be ok like that, but then it got extremely thick…
3. i absolutely hate butter creams and from where I am from (Romania) they are not very popular (maybe this is why i don’t like the taste)…. so i was hoping it would not have such a buttery taste, but it did… Can I use less butter? The thing i loved most about the tasty kitchen version was that it did not have such a strong butter flavor…
I will try it another time, maybe this time leave it a little less on the stove and perhaps use only 2 sticks of butter?….
Hi Cristina, sorry this didn’t work out for you. I haven’t tried any of the changes you suggested so if you want to omit the cornstarch or decrease the butter, you’ll have to experiment. Also, the base of the frosting (that you cook on the stove) should still be very soft and mixable after it cools. If your mixture was a caramel consistency and very hard, it sounds like it may have cooked quite a bit longer than it should have. It should just bubble and thicken before pulling it off the stove. If you really don’t like buttery frostings, this may not be for you. The finished frosting is very light and buttery. Good luck if you decide to experiment!
My Grandma used to make this all the time. She called it ” 7 minute frosting.” The whole family loved it; and she passed it down through the generations, and still going.
Just made this and OMG! So good! Hope it makes it to the cake.
Im not much of a cake eater, and when i do eat cake, i scrap most of the frosting off the cake because i just dont like it. My 2 1/2 year old wanted me to make chocolate chip cookies but i had no chips to make them so i made a cake instead (from scratch, boxed cakes taste like poo) so after i made the cake i decided i might as well make frosting too. I didnt quit have enough flour for this recipe so i just guessed on the measurements for everything. I also didnt have a strainer so after i mixed the firat ingredients i just slowly poured the mixture into the saucepan and avoided pouring in (most of) the thick part of the mixture. But even after all that, the frosting turned out amazing! Though i wpuldnt advise eating too much cause it made me feel a little sick. Also, after my first piece, i put the rest of the frosted cake in the fridge and had another piece the next day, and it was even better after the frosting got stiffer. Its not too stiff, but perfect texture in my opinion. Best frosting ive ever tasted! And im very picky! Oh, and im also terrible in the kitchen! (Sorry if this is a duplicate post, im doing this on my phone and its acting up)
Im not much of a cake eater, and when i do eat cake, i scrap most of the frosting off the cake because i just dont like it. My 2 1/2 year old wanted me to make chocolate chip cookies but i jad no chips to make them so i made a cake instead (from scratch, boxed cakes taste like poo) so after i made the cake i decided i might as well make frosting too. I didnt quit have enough flour for this recipe so i just guessed on the measurements for everything. I also didnt have a strainer so after i mixed the firat ingredients i just slowly poured the mixture into the saucepan and avoided pouring in (most of) the thick part of the mixture. But even after all that, the frosting turned out amazing! Though i wpuldnt advise eating too much cause it made me feel a little sick. Also, after my first piece, i put the rest of the frosted cake in the fridge and had another piece the next day, and it was even better after the frosting got stiffer. Its not too stiff, but perfect texture in my opinio. Best frosting ive ever tasted! And im very picky!
My great-grandmother called this Mock Whipped Cream which more closely describes it than frosting. My family has been making it for over 100 years, so it’s an old recipe! I can’t imagine how they did it without an electric mixer! She’d heap it onto a dark chocolate cake, very yummy!
I’ve made this icing for years, my recipe was called “French Cream Icing”, I really can’t remember where/how I got it. I use it to frost angel food cake.
the recipe that we used when I was a child was:
equal amounts of:
Milk, flour, butter, crisco beat together about ten minutes until it all comes together and looks like whipped cream, add a teaspoon vanilla extract. A 1/2 of each will frost a two layer cake or a 13×9″ pan.
Hii, the frosting tastes amazingg but when i use it on cupcakes it melts! I’m in distresss. Please help?
Nirmal – this frosting is fairly delicate meaning it needs to be kept cool and won’t fare well in hot temperatures so try keeping it cool and see if that helps.
Hey Mel, Faaaaantastic frosting. I made the chocolate version to top brownies and it was utterly perfect. I doubled the melted chocolate (on accident—i forgot I was halving the rest of the recipe) and it was perfect! I will double it every time now. Thanks a million. Love love love your site.
Can I add food coloring to this icing?
Annie – yes, you sure can!
I was wondering if you could share the frosting technique you used on this beautiful cake…you know for those of who are less than novice in the baking department.
Amy – it’s been a long time but I’m pretty sure I just used my small offset spatula and swooped the frosting into swirls. Pretty low key and super easy!
Hi, Im in love with swiss merangue buttercream, but am excited to try this. pls tell me( if you can,) how long can this buttercream stay outdoor. Im in singapore and wonder if this can withstand the humid weather here.. Not that I plan to bake the cake under the sun, but good to know if it can be left out for a while without me being worrying abt it melting. thanks. lina
Lina – this is a delicate frosting that won’t hold up super well in extreme heat so I wouldn’t recommend letting it sit out in the heat (75 degrees or above) for longer than an hour.
I feel so out of the loop! I only discovered this recipe earlier this year when a friend of mine requested it on a cake I will be making for her.
I tried it out the first time as written with great success; it turned out just like it was supposed to.
I am using the frosting on a wedding cake in a few weeks and due to the comments, have decided to make the frosting the day of the event in order to give it the best chance of holding up. I tried a few days ago to make the roux the night before and let it cool in the fridge. I then gave it several hours to come back to room temperature before whipping in the butter. The final product was not as good as the first try – the butter did not incorporate as well. I can only think it was because the roux was too cool still.
My question is this: do you think I could make the roux the day before and then, instead of refrigerating it, just letting it rest at room temperature until I am ready to whip it up the next day? Would the roux spoil? Do you have an recommendations?
Hi Ruth – instead of letting it sit out overnight, do you think you could refrigerate the roux and then pull it out a few hours before you want to make the frosting so that it comes back to room temperature? I’m kind of a freak about food safety and don’t like to let milk products of any kind sit out overnight, but having said that, as long as your house isn’t really hot, the roux should probably be ok sitting at room temperature for a short amount of time (as long as it isn’t a couple days).
Looking for a great recipe for my son’s wedding cake. How is the consistency of this frosting? Will it work well for that?
Hi Tami – I hesitate to say yes without knowing what kind of cake you are making and what consistency you are looking for. The consistency of this frosting is very light and creamy.
Mel! I have been looking for this recipe for years! I remember my mother made this on her Red Velvet cakes when I was a little girl. Your photo looks just like I remember it. I lost her recipe & all I could remember is that it had flour in it & that she cooked it on the stove. I think she might have used a double boiler. She always used it for my birthday cake as it was my favorite! Not too sweet! I laughed at all the comments about how do you store the left over cake? Or not needing that much frosting….Really? We never had too much or any left overs!
Cristina – I have made this frosting milk free since I am allergic to milk. It turned out great. I assume you could use shortening and/or margarine instead of the butter but I would make sure you add some other flavor such as bit of orange or lemon rind to jazz it up a little.
I find that the trick to substituting milk or cream is to use something that has a great flavor. I substitute coconut cream/milk mixed with some water or a little soya milk. Too much soya milk gives it a strong bean taste so I prefer more coconut milk.
I also made a homemade vegan coconut pudding with 1 T cornstarch, 2 T Birds Custard Powder, 1/2 c sugar along with 2 T margarine or shortening and 1 tsp vanilla. I mixed in this thick pudding into the frosting to reduce the greasy taste and make it into an amazing frosting. You have to make sure to keep the frosting cool if the weather is really hot or it gets a little soft.
I hope all the readers can try out some of my suggestions and a big thanks to Mel for sharing the original great “magical” frosting recipe.
Thanks for your help! As you said, adding the butter helped a lot to get rid of it, and it tasted just like raw cookie dough, which I love! I used the Piña Colada oil by Lorann to flavour it and fill and frost a cake and it’s been a HUGE hit!! Also, it didn’t melt or “de-puff” even after a 2-hour travel by car, which is quite awesome considering it’s about 100F here in Spain. Thank you SO much for this recipe!!!
I found your recipe a few months ago and I’ve been meaning to stop by and leave a coment. The first time I made it I knew I was in love! I have made it dozens of times since then and everyone loves it as well. I have also made the chocolate version and I went a little crazy and made it in caramel, cheesecakes, white chocolate, lemon and lime flavors! Thank you sooooooo much for posting this!
Hi, did you add cream cheese to this frosting? when and how can you please guide me a little? 🙂 thanks.
No, this frosting does not have cream cheese.
Thanks for the recipe! I’ve been looking for something like this for years!! Just one question… I made the flour-cornstarch-sugar-milk mix yesterday and I got a nice, thick cream, but it still tastes a bit of raw flour? Is that normal? Should I boil it longer?
Daniela – you can try boiling it longer to get rid of some of the flour taste but adding the butter at the end will definitely make it taste more like frosting. Just keep in mind, this has a bit of a different taste and texture than every day buttercream.
Mel!!
I made the most incredible cake yesterday! I must tell you all about it. I used your chocolate cake recipe and it made 3-8 inch layers. I cut each layer a little less than an inch with my horizontal cake saw thingie. I made a ganache filling by taking a bag of ghirardelli semi sweet choc chips and pouring 1 3/4 C just boiling cream over them. Wait 2 mins. Stir in slowly and thoroughly. Refrigerate 3 hrs. Take out an hour before youre ready to use. Spread this thickly between the cake layers. More than 1/4″ but less than 1/2. Finally frost it with your Magical Frosting. I scraped a vanilla bean in the frosting cuz I’m crazy that way. This cake is not from this world. I don’t know where it’s from but I’ll be moving there as soon as I find out! I have dreams about it.
I am making a cake for my daughter’s birthday tomorrow, can I make this frosting tonight and let the complete product sit in the fridge until I need to use it tomorrow?
Kim – the finished, whipped frosting was runny?? If so, it might be that the frosting base wasn’t quite cool enough.
HI! I feel like I’m missing something since most everyone seems to be over the moon about this frosting. I made it yesterday and I have to say I was disappointed. I didn’t have any problems with the recipe, it seemed to whip up just fine. The texture was nice, but the flavor was a little too floury/cornstarchy for me. My brother said it reminded him of raw cookie dough. Not horrible, but not what I’m looking for in frosting. It does seem to taste better the next day, which is unfortunate since ideally you are supposed to use it shortly after making it…
That’s interesting – wonder if it was the butter? Mine was very buttery – seemed to settle in after being in the fridge over night and then was PERFECT…did you use real butter? weird question maybe – or maybe it wasn’t cooked quite long enough?
Cindi – Yep, I use real butter.
I made this today for my daughter’s birthday cupcakes. I followed your directions… brought it to a boil over medium heat until it thickened and let it cool to room temp. Sadly, it did not work out for me. Soooo runny. Any suggestions?
Could soy milk be used instead of regular milk?
The frosting is not too sweet using the above standard recipe but it does have a strong buttery taste. I think it is a great recipe because of the flour to make it less sweet and with a light whip to it. I modified the recipe to by folding in a little bit of a homemade milk-free coconut vanilla pudding made extra thick (a little more than half of the liquid that the recipe called for – 2 1/2 cups reduced to 1 1/2 cups). I also added about 1/4 teaspoon of gelatin dissolved in a little cold water and then heated in a bowl over hot water to make it smooth (next time I may increase the gelatin to 1/3 or 1/2 teaspoon).
The result was fantastic, I got a nice light frosting with a slight buttery taste that becomes firm when chilled and becomes soft when let sit for 15 minutes before indulging. I also added a few tablespoons of freshly squeezed orange juice and a little finely grated orange rind which gave it a very mild orange taste which went great when I topped my dairy-free homemade moist carrot cake.
I got a great frosting with a lighter sweetness and lighter buttery taste since I added a little of my thick homemade coconut pudding. I think everyone should try this recipe and experiment a little like I did until they find the taste that they are extremely happy with.
enjoy
I look forward to trying this recipe since I do not like cake frosting that is too sweet. I am thinking of making this recipe and then folding in a little bit of a homemade milk-free coconut vanilla pudding made extra thick. I am hoping for a frosting that has a slight buttery taste with a low sugar moist pudding like consistency.
Cristina – I would suggest substituting the milk with coconut milk and a about 1 or 2 Tbsps of sugar to make up for the lack of sweetness. If you do not have enough coconut milk for 1 1/2 cups, just add water to make the same amount of liquid. I am allergic to two of the three proteins in milk so always bake without using milk. I prefer coconut milk more than soya milk because the end result tastes better.
Thanks, Mel and Lien, for the lemon help. I used 1 C. Milk and 1/2 C. lemon juice in the initial cooking phase. It was wonderful! My husband didn’t think it was sweet enough, but my dad and I couldn’t stop eating it. I loved not having the taste of powdered sugar in my frosting.
It also dyed just great for the turquoise bat cake. (Thanks for the cake design idea, too.)
I am wondering, does this frosting dye well? I’m making a lego cake for my son’s birthday and I’d like to use this frosting – however I need the frosting to be yellow, blue, red, and green…can you dye this frosting? Thanks!
I’ve made it into lemon frosting by taking out a few tablespoons of milk, waiting until the mixture thickens, adding lemon juice, whipping up, then adding zest and pure lemon extract. Worked beautifully and tasted divine!
I see that this is an old post (with a TON of comments!) but I wanted to let you know I made this frosting today and it was ahhhmazing. The texture was very similar to the chocolate frosting found in this recipe (my FAVE chocolate frosting)- http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dessert/brownie-batter-chocolate-fudge-cupcakes.html
Glad that now I have a to-die-for vanilla frosting recipe too! Instead of vanilla I tried almond extract, but I think for my daughter’s birthday on Sat. I’ve decided to do the original vanilla instead. 🙂 Thanks!!!
Mel, my sister-in-law, Bonnie, put me onto your site. I LOVE it! Question about this frosting: Do you think I could substitute 1/2 cup of the milk for lemon juice? I really like a frosting with flavor (i.e. browned butter frosting, or lemon and coconut—you HAVE to try adding coconut oil to your frosting recipes sometime. It’s delicious! I use it half-n-half with butter. And have you ever tried browning your butter for chocolate frosting? Wow! It does change the fluffiness aspect, though.) Anyway, I’d like to make a lemon frosting, but I was really excited to try this recipe. What do you think?
Hi Natalie – I love Bonnie! Thanks for the note! I know there are a ton of comments on this recipe but I know someone else made lemon. I don’t think they subbed out the milk instead they added lemon zest in at the end. It might be worth reading through the last few comments because I’m pretty sure it was recent and I could be wrong. Good luck! Love your other tips!
This is very similar to the recipe my Grandma made and I was so glad when I found it again. It’s the frosting I use on my Red Velvet cake (not a huge fan of cream cheese icing) and I have always gotten rave reviews.
Fabulous frosting! I found the cooked portion of the frosting extremely easy to make in the microwave….I cooked it at 50% power and stirred it every couple of minutes. This was perfect on top of the favorite chocolate cake recipe!
What cocoa powder did you use, Dutched or regular? Could a dark cocoa make the chocolater version darker or have you tried it before? Thanks.
Ela – I’ve used both with good results.
Mel, I was wondering if there is a way to incorporate coffee into this frosting recipe without cocoa. Would love to know if you’ve tried or if anyone else has tried. I don’t know if using brewed coffee in place of milk would work…might not thicken. ???
I have not tried coffee, but I did use Chai concentrate once (Tazo brand) to make a chai spiced icing and it turned out amazing!
I finally made this after looking at it, for I think, since you posted it. I made it exactly as you have it and it turned out awesome. Mine didn’t come out as fluffy as yours but I piped it onto my cupcakes (I turned your cake into bite-sized portions) and it still has to be the very best icing ever. It doesn’t look like anything special, but wow, it is. I don’t know if I will ever want another recipe again.
I cooled the frosting in an icebath while stirring.. it worked like a charm and cut out a lot of time! This is hands down the BEST frosting I have ever eaten!! I had it with your chocolate cake, nutella filling and topped it with fresh strawberries! mmmmm
Did anyone else have issues with it being too runny? I had to use margarine as it was all I had on hand. Could that be a reason? Other than that it was amazing!!! Love the flavor!
Lanaya – margarine does not produce the light and creamy result in this frosting that butter does so that is most definitely the issue.
I’ve tried the Tasty Kitchen version before, with no problems what so ever. I’ve tried your version yesterday, but it was too sweet for me, and the finish icing was separating a little bit. Good enough for spread icing, but not piping.
For the second batch, I forgot to put in the sugar with the flour mixture. So I decided to make it a la Tasty Kitchen and gave it a little tweak. After I creamed the butter only, for 30 seconds, I put only half of the granulated sugar, then the flour mixture. After it was fluffy, I substitutes the other half of the granulated sugar with icing sugar, then whipped it again until it’s very fluffy. The consistency was much stiffer…great for piping. The butter did not separate at all.
You should also try to use Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder. It’s amazing, I love the above so much better than regular.
Mel- this frosting is to die for! my question is would it stand up to a layer cake? is the frosting too light that it would not support a top layer on it? also how to make the chocolate frosting darker in color?
thx!
Hi Lisa – actually, I use this frosting for layer cakes most of the time. It holds up beautifully! Not sure on the chocolate frosting – try using a combination of unsweetened chocolate (it will darken the frosting more than milk chocolate) or maybe even try adding some cocoa powder.
I have been wanting to try this for a while and I finally found time. I have read several comments of what the consistency of the flour mix should look like cooking and when it’s ready to place in clean bowl and cool. My question is, what is it suppose to look like after it has cooled before you add the butter and vanilla? I’m a little worried mine is not quite right.
Michelle – it should look like a thick pudding.
I am going to make a Minnie Mouse star piped cake. Do you think the chocolate version would turn to a black with black food coloring? I can never make black frosting. Ugh
Krista – you stand a better chance of getting black frosting starting with a chocolate base so it’s worth a try. Make sure to use good-quality gel coloring (my favorite brand is Americolor).
I know someone in the earlier posts asked whether it needed to stay chilled and you recommended putting it in the fridge. However, I’m planning on using this frosting on several dozen cupcakes that will not all fit in my fridge. Is it possible to leave them covered on the counter over night or will the frosting melt?
Tiff – the frosting won’t melt unless your house is unusually warm but at cool room temperature (anywhere around 70 degrees) and you should be ok to keep them covered at room temperature.
Hi! Great recipe, thanks. By the way, I used coconut milk ( I live in the Caribbean) and it made it totally super amazing. Also, I kept the extra, (there was lots) in a tub in the fridge and totally used it for a couple days, I just didn’t re-whisk it at all, just let it warm up a bit then it was smooth enough to spread! Super frosting.
Wow! This was definitely worth the extra effort. I made this for some cupcakes today, a double batch of vanilla and a single batch of chocolate (using dutch-process cocoa and bittersweet chocolate) and it was amazing. I piped it onto my cupcakes using a 1M tip immediately after the five-minute fluffing, and they are beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing. I cannot wait to share these cupcakes with our graduates tomorrow at church.
After cooking the sugar/milk mixture, I spread it in a glass 13 x 9 pan so that it could cool quicker with good results. It cooled quickly and whipped up beautifully. Wonderful frosting!! Definately a great change from traditional frosting!!
I have been baking professionally forever and always use Italian meringue because I don’t like the powdered sugar stuff. This was SO easy to make and delicious. Next time I am going to decrease the butter to two sticks instead of three, it was a little to much buttery for me but I think with decreasing it to two sticks would make it taste identical to Italian Meringue without the trouble of boiling water/sugar and the difficulty that comes along with making Italian meringue. Wonderful recipe!
is the butter salted or unsalted?
Denise – I use salted butter.
i love the recipe!!! sounds amazing!!! is there any way i can replace the butter with any thing else??? cant have any butter what so ever..
Chad – nope, I’m afraid there aren’t any substitutions for the butter. It just wouldn’t be the same. Sorry!
i made this to frost for my son’s chocolate cake, and my dad who never liked ANY frosting/buttercream said he loved this. Not overly sweet nor greasy. Thanks for the recipe! I coloured my frosting after crumb-coating and left it in the fridge whilst waiting for the crumb-coat to harden. At first the frosting came out all grainy and separated when I took it out of the fridge, but became smooth again after whipping. Loved this!
this is the frosting I grew up with we all called it “The Good Frosting”. so happy to know that the recipe is out there. I have no idea where my Mom got the recipe from but she used it for my 1st birthday and every birthday after that until she died.
It’s FANTASTIC!!!
I made it last week and it was far more delicious than expected 😀
Today I wanna try the chocolate version but I have a question: when do the melted chocolate has to be added?
Hi Angela – instructions for the chocolate version are below the recipe. It tells when to add the cocoa powder and melted chocolate.
Will this stand up at a County Fair??? I have to use it in a double layer cake, so I assume I have to find a *from scratch* very light chocolate cake being the frosting is very light???? The cake would be sitting in the fair building overnight until judging the next day. Temps could not fall below 80 degrees. PA in August. I would love to use this delicious frosting.If anyone could suggest a good lightweihht choc cake
???
Thought I’d just pop back with a couple of comments now that I have finished my frosting, and indeed my cake!
Firstly, the chocolate version of this frosting is absolutely DEVINE, My OH loved it so much that he polished of the several spoonfuls I had leftover straight from the bowl! He is looking forward to me trying out the vanilla version very soon. I have to admit I initially thought that although it had a lovely flavour there was something about the taste that was a little bit… lardy? To combat this I added in a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice (I would have tried extract if I’d had any in the cupboard) and it really did the trick – it just gave a very slight tang, kind a cream cheese flavour just without the actual cream cheese!
Secondly, I took a chance on using it under fondant and it worked totally fine!
I have to thank you Mel for bring this frosting into my life, and my OH’s!
Mel, I just wanted to say that I think it’s amazing you posted this in September of ’10 and are STILL responding to comments. You are awesome!
My first icing adventure is currently in the cooling stage 🙂 I read over all the other comments to avoid asking a duplicate question (I apologize if I missed it somewhere) and I was amazed that no one has attempted/asked about a peanut butter version of this? Could you possibly substitute a bit of the butter for peanut butter? I made my first from scratch chocolate cake and PB frosting seems the perfect fit. In a bit I guess I’ll see how this adventure turns out!
Hi Rachel – after all these comments and yes, I think you are the first to ask about peanut butter! Great idea (may have to steal it) although I think I would add it in addition to the butter and not take out any of the butter. The frosting really needs all that butter (and yes there is a lot) to stabilize and fluff. But I think after it has whipped most of the way, you could definitely add 1/2 cup peanut butter or so to the mixture and whip.
Eek! I totally should have read the comments first… my flour mixture is now cooling ready for use tomorrow and I was intending on using this under fondant for a decorated birthday cake but now I am concerned that it won’t be suitable. Has anyone had any success (or otherwise!) using this frosting under fondant? Wondering whether I need to be hunting down a last minute alternative!
I have tried frosting twice and I can not get the milk mixture to thicken like you describe in the recipe, it said it is suppose to become difficult to easily whisk. I follow the recipe exactly. Do you have any idea I love the taste but it wont even hold a Rosette. hope you can help me thanks
Tonda, without being in your kitchen with you, I have no idea why your frosting isn’t thickening. Are you cooking it long enough?
It should be hot enough to bubble and thicken.
I made this recipe today, and it is divine. I divided the cooled napalm into 2 bowls before adding the vanilla and butter. I made one as specified here, and the other I replaced the vanilla with banana extract and a little yellow food coloring. Wow, that tasted good. Also, I took the finished vanilla icing, about a cup of it, and whipped in about 3 tablespoons of a honey-whipped peanut butter. I’ve never tasted anything so good! It mixed in very well.
The net result: Elvis Cupcakes. Chocolate cake, peanut butter cream filling, and banana icing on top. Long live the KING!
It looks quite tasty 😀
I’m trying it tomorrow.I will let you know how it comes out.
Have a nice day.
I just made this frosting and was so sad when it separated. I believe my batch is beyond repair. I refrigerated the base for a couple hours while I left the house and let it sit out for over an hour to get back to room temp. I let the butter sit out at the same time. I really thought is was the right tempature but it was sooo oily and lumpy when I added the butter. I whipped it for a full 5 min, too. The only thing that I can think of that I must have done wrong was use butter from a tub. Since you said 24 T. I thought it was okay to use a spread. Very sad day because I was eager to try it with your unbelievable chocolate cake.
Hi Emily – yes, it is most definitely due to the butter spread which is much different than butter (usually more oil and water). Sorry it didn’t work out for you. Usually I’ll indicate in the notes above a recipe if other ingredients can be subbed for the ones called for in the recipe.
Initially after making this frosting and tasting it I found it wasn’t a lick the bowl kind of frosting that I liked. Had hubby taste and he liked as he said it wasn’t sickenly sweet as his preference is for more plain cakes such as pound cake. I decided after making it that I would frost the white texas sheet cake. On the cake frosting was phenomenal. Everyone who had some loved it as I did. Could not stop eating. Thanks for a great cake frosting.
It’s 24 ounces or 340 grams. There are tons of conversion sites on the web.
Excuse my ignorance but how much is 3 Sticks of butter in grams please ?
This is the best frosting I have ever made. I fixed a chocolate cake using the recipe for “making a box cake taste like it came from the bakery,” then frosted it using this recipe and my husband loved it …. Not only loved it, but has asked me to “bake THAT” cake again and again!
For all those who are asking, I left the cake out with the icing on top for 15 full hours on a dry and cool day (around 25 degrees Celsius in Hong Kong) and it didn’t melt…tasted delish!
I made this to frost a chocolate/strawberry layer cake for my Dad’s birthday the other night and you’re right. It’s Absolutely. 100%. Magical. (It was so good nobody could believe that I actually made it) Thank you so much!
I was a little unsure of this frosting recipe as I was making it but it turned out great. I should know that I can always trust one of your recipes!
I was wondering how well the frosting holds up, and also would I be able to substitute the butter with shortening?
Stacey – this question is answered already in the previous comments but no, you shouldn’t substitute shortening.
Like most of you, I don’t care for frosting. I want to like it but I’ve made so many frostings and they all disappoint. There are so many good reviews for this one, I’m excited to try it but does it have a strong butter taste?
Shauni – yes, you can definitely taste the butter in this frosting.
any suggestion on how to make a coffee flavoured of this recipe?
Can you use margarine instead of butter…don’t have enough butter in house…just wondering.
Laureen – no, margarine wouldn’t work out in this recipe. It really does need to be butter.
Holy smokes, it worked! I got fluffy frosting and it tastes AMAZING!!! I’m no cook or baker and I was able to do it! Thank you so much!!
I followed your recipe exactly except I scraped the seeds from a vanilla bean and whisked them into my flour mixture. I made it yesterday to frost a chocolate cake I was taking to a dinner party last night. The hosts are friends that own one of the best and busiest restaurants in town – he is the chef and an incredible one at that so I was a little nervous. I knew it was awesome when he kept slicing small slivers of the cake and eating them while we were finishing our wine after dessert. All four of us LOVED this frosting and I will be using the recipe for years to come. Thank you!!
Have you tried piping it yet?! My daughter’s birthday is coming up and I’m looking for an alternative to buttercream!
I just made this frosting after having it bookmarked for several months. I substituted 1 8oz block of cream cheese for 2 of the sticks of butter and let me tell you! This is the most amazing frosting I have ever tasted! I made the chocolate kind, and it was delicious even before I added 5 oz of room temp melted semi sweet chocolate. I just want to go eat this frosting with a spoon! I will have a tough time buying frosting now. The only con is the time it takes, but it is so delicious I really don’t think it matters.
Girl – You are in the wrong business – you need to be in sales! I fell for your claims on this one, the best/magical frosting, but I’m not sure I haven’t been swindled. I think this one needs a tutorial and I must say that the build up of your previous disasters with The Pioneer Woman’s frosting did nothing to bolster my confidence – yikes! I have a frosted chocolate cake (your Ultimate!), but it sure isn’t pretty. The frosting looks a little curdled and I was scared to death of doing something wrong (have you seen the price of butter!?), so I followed your directions to a T. My question is this…can this frosting be overbeaten? If not, then I could maybe have whipped it some more. Pictures of the different stages would be helpful because, although I do trust you implicitly, it was a leap of faith to follow through. Here’s to it tasting better than it looks!
Tabitha – I’m really not sure the difference – this is the only recipe I’ve made that is a flour-based frosting.
Hi! I’v been hunting for a good frosting recipe and other similar ones w/flour beat the sugar and butter then add the milk/flour… What do you think the difference is? Iv never tried either
Mel, I just made this frosting today and piped it on my son’s birthday cupcakes- it turned out truly magical!! I am so thrilled I found it through your blog, since nobody in my family is a big buttercream frosting fan! Thank you! Thank you! I just posted your recipe on my blog and linked it back to you. Forever grateful! It is perfect! Looking forward to trying the chocolate version next! 🙂
You will love this frosting forever. I’ve been using it for 40 years. For spice cakes I add cinnamon always and other spices depending on if its spice cake, carrot cake, banana cake. Awesome on lemon cake, orange pineapple cakes as well. Enjoy it as much as we do!!
Made this last night, was kind of skeptical if it would be as good as it claims, or if it would be a waste of 3 sticks of butter…. But it was FABULOUS !!!! perfect sweetness, perfect smoothness, wonderful flavor, great, great frosting! Adding it to my recipe box, my new “go to” frosting recipe! Used it on a funfetti cake, everyone who tried it loved it! I used my kitchenaid to whip it up, followed the recipe exactly.
The frosting was okay. I made it just as instructed. It was light & fluffy & full of vanilla, but it tasted a little more like cake batter than frosting to me; that actually may be what you are looking for though. Even with the addition of the other ingredients, I was still able to discern a floury taste in the final product. Not bad, but definitely not the #1 icing I have ever made.
Oh my! I literally just finished making this and had to come review. This is exactly what I have been looking for in a frosting; light, fluffy and not overly sweet! Thanks Mel
The frosting and cake/frosting needs to be stored in the refrigerator, because of the cooked flour/milk mixture. 🙂 🙂
I tried this today and was a little disappointed. It’s good, but I don’t know if I would call it “magical”. I tried the chocolate version of the recipe, and it was very light and fluffy (so it would be perfect if that’s the kind of frosting you like), but I realized after making it that I prefer a more fudgey frosting.
Thanks for the interesting recipe though! I will keep this one filed away for the day when I need something really light and fluffy.
OMG, this looks delish! I will try for sure!
Layla – I’ve never really changed up the extracts but I know several other people have used lemon extract in the comments. I’d say give it a try!
Hi there…this frosting is so fantastic, I’ve made it a few times now as is, but I’m wondering (and terribly sorry if this was already addressed!) if you think it would be as successful if I substituted different extracts for the vanilla? I was thinking about trying strawberry but am not sure…do you think it would still work? Thanks!
Hi Mel,
Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it. I ended up substituting 1/2 cup of milk for lemon juice and used 1.5 tsp of lemon extract instead of 2 tsp vanilla extract. It was AMAZING! The creaminess wasn’t noticeably different but as a lemon lover, I’d sacrifice some cream for lemon anytime! I’ve only used 1% milk every time I made your recipe so perhaps my batches are not as creamy to start with. I’m very happy with the results using 1% milk. Thank you for sharing your recipe! It’s truely delicious!
Hmm, I love love love this frosting but I’m wondering if it can be made into a lemon frosting. Any ideas? Sub some of the milk for lemon juice? Or do you think I’m better off looking for a lemon curd whipped with butter frosting? Thanks in advance!
Hi Judy – I’ve never made it into lemon frosting so you’d have to experiment a bit. I don’t know if I would sub the milk for lemon juice since the milk is integral to the creaminess, but you could try adding lemon extract and/or lemon zest.
I made this frosting a few weeks back for a chocolate cake and oh my is it yummy!!! It was a winner with everyone who ate it. We all found that it was much better after being refrigerated. This will be my stand by frosting from now on. I plan to make Christmas cupcakes this weekend and will be serving to a large crowd. I have no doubt they will be pleased. Thank you for sharing!
You can cook the plain version and add cocoa powder after butter has been incorporated into the frosting. As much or as little as you’d like. Also try some instant coffee, or a tablespoonful or two of rum/cognac. yum!
Hello, I hate super sweet frosting and I tried your recipe after fringing it on google. It was AMAZING! I was afraid it would be too heavy because of all the butter but it was so fluffy it wasn’t heavy at all! I absolutely love it. Thank you for sharing!
Mel – thank you… you made my day yesterday (3 sticks is 340g of butter 😛 )
I have finished frosting yesterday night and decorated my black and white cupcakes to be ready for my today’s 30th Bday 🙂 the frosting is like nothing I have every tasted before – I love it. THANKS for sharing….It is my favorite from now on
Karolina – you can google that info, too, but I believe one stick of butter is 4 ounces (so 3 sticks would be 12 ounces).
I will but could you at least tell me how much ounces is 3 sticks of butter?
Karolina – you’ll probably need to google that information since I’m not an expert at converting to grams.
Hi, ccould u tell me how much grams is 24 table spoons of butter as i live in poland and we have different weight for butter sticks comparing to u.
I was very excited to try this recipe. I was just looking for something a little different. However, I wouldn’t make this one again. It was just so so to me. I thought it was way too buttery. It did look a bit greasy from the butter. It was very light in texture though. I thought it was plenty sweet enough. It was fun to make and good to try something different. Thanks for sharing
If you like frosting with confectioner sugar you might think this isn’t sweet enough. I happen to dislike frosting with CS, and I think this is absolutely wonderful. It’s not gritty or overly sweet like most CS recipes.
Im so used to using confect sugar for icing….is this granulated sugar recipe really that good? Better than powdered sugar recipes???
I adapted your recipe last night and made a cream cheese version. My husband is still raving about it this morning! I only used one stick of butter and added 12 oz. of cream cheese (in place of the other two sticks of butter). I could put my face in the bowl! True, it takes a little longer but it’s so worth it. Thanks for posting your recipe!
i was wondering if it matter if you use butter or margine
Best. Frosting. EVER. Period. Utterly amazing with your chocolate cake recipe. Together they are an EXPERIENCE, not a dessert!
Thank you so much! I have been looking for a frosting recipe without powdered sugar (and artificial sweeteners) for awhile, as one of my little guys is intolerant to sugar and we use HONEY. I made the first part with honey-using the exact amount of honey as called for with sugar since some said it wasn’t sweet (and honey is sweeter)-and I wish I would have used less because it is SWEET! I just mixed in the butter … and it was SO MUCH FUN watching the frosting mix on medium-high for 5 minutes! YUMM!!! It has turned out so nicely! Next time I am going to add some cream cheese in place of butter … just to help counter the honey taste a little bit. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! This is AWESOME!
Hi! I’m going to be trying this frosting for my Thanksgiving brown butter pumpkin cupcakes this week… Do you think if I just add some cinnamon that would work? Or is there maybe a way to make this a salted caramel frosting? I may have to do a test run! Thanks!
Love this frosting! Made this in Home Ec. when I was in high school.
my aunt makes this icing. i’ve never had luck recreating her masterpiece. i haven’t tried in years, i think it’s time to try again!
I just made this tonight. AMAZING! My kids went crazy for it. I couldn’t keep my 8 year old son away from it. SO light and fluffy. YUM! Thanks!
Kelsey – nope, I’ve only ever used semisweet chocolate. I think bittersweet would be ok, especially if you prefer the taste anyway.
I also make this frosting with a teaspoon of banana flavoring. It tastes like the filling in Twinkies. :0)
Have you tried this with bittersweet chocolate instead of semi-sweet? I tend to go more for the darker stuff. Just curious. I’ve had this with the semi-sweet and it’s delicious, so I don’t want to mess with a good thing.
Mossy – I don’t know the conversion to grams but I think there are conversion calculators online if you google them.
Heey!!
I loved the recipe!! But I have a doubt!! How many grams is it per butter stick?
Hi MeL 🙂
I tried this frosting recipe last night with your cupcake recipe. I loved it! I saved some for my work buddies tomorrow. Let’s see what they say. 🙂
I personally didn’t like cupcake icing or frosting. They are too sweet for my liking. So I usually scrape them off and just eat the cake part, which is also sweet.
I’m not sure if I did your cupcake recipe right, but the cake wasn’t sweet! My boyfriend was a little disappointed (he has sweet tooth) but after we pipe this magical frosting on the cupcake, it became a hit! My brother, his girlfriend, their friend liked it too! Even my so-freaking-hard-to-please mother said that it was nice. I ate a few too.
Thanks for the recipe! And thank whoever posted it on pinterest!
I will definitely try a few more from your “the best recipes” page! 😀
Just any FYI…..I tried this with honey and it is delicious!! Some people told me it was even better than the original! Seems to have a fluffier texture, almost whipped cream like. I was stil able to pipe with it too. I used 1/2 c of honey in place of 1/2 c of sugar.
Mmmm… Flashback to my grandmother’s kitchen! This icing on a dark chocolate cake is fondly known as a Black Beauty Cake in my family. It thrills my heart to know it is not a lost art!! I was simply doing some late night browsing, but now have a plan for tomorrow morning 😉
Thanks Ladies!!!!
Mel! I’ve made this unbelievably divine frosting a few times before (it’s my most favorite frosting of all time btw). And I just made it again last night for some spiced apple cupcakes I was making for work. And I mixed in your Divine Caramel Sauce because I wanted to make “caramel apple cupcakes.” And wow is it good! I mixed in just enough sauce to give it a slight caramel flavor, I piped it on the cupcakes and then drizzled more caramel on the top. I can’t tell you how good it was. I was almost tempted to fill a bowl with frosting (pretend it was ice cream) and drizzle it with the caramel. Ok… I was tempted but I just did a spoonful, haha. So I just wanted to say again how much I love this frosting. And the caramel sauce too! Thank you!
Just had to make this today- the first recipe I tried on my new stand mixer- yay! I’m a buttercream afficienado-always on the search for a great frosting. It was truly delish, not difficult to make, & made plenty! I think it tastes like cake batter (like pound cake??)…thanks for sharing!
Delicious, just made this and it is the best frosting ever!!!!
OMG!!! This is amazing!!! I was looking for a fluffy frosting for sandwich sugar cookies, and this fit the bill perfectly! I, too, really don’t care for buttercream frosting. I love whipped cream frosting, but it’s just not stable enough for long. This frosting is like buttercream and whipped cream frosting had a perfect love child!!!
I am wondering if you think I could use honey instead? I LOVE this frosting and have made it many, many times according to your recipe. But, I need a honey frosting and since I am spoiled with this frosting and hoping the honey would work. Thanks! 🙂
Sue – I’ve never tried this with honey. It probably will just have to be a trial and error if you are looking for a honey frosting. Good luck if you try it!
Erica – feel free to read through the comments – others have asked this same thing. It fares best at cool room temperature (gets a little melty in too warm of weather).
Tricia – I use salted butter and yes, I have piped with it before.
A – I’ve only ever used cornstarch and haven’t tried other substitutions.
This is the only frosting I use on Red Velvet cake! It is so much better than Cream Cheese frosting on Red Velvet.
Could I use cornflour instead of cornstarch in this? Or normal flour?
Do you use real butter for the magical frosting, and if so, salted or unsalted? And, did you ever try piping/decorating with it?
Thanks!
Hi! will this frosting hold up in warm weather? 🙂 thanks!
Shelley – yes, I’ve piped with it and it works great!
Oh my goodness! I made this for my husband’s birthday cake yesterday, and it was amazing! I made a Chai Spice version….I almost ate the bowl full after the first boiling step!!! lol Everyone loved it, but I will say it makes a lot more frosting than I would normally need, I think next time I’ll try a half batch. 🙂
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!
I tried to make this just tonight, and I can’t get it right. I followed instructions to the t, and on the stove, it just wont harden. i tried hand whisping, machine whisping for 20 minutes.. i can’t figure it out :/
im not much of a baker, maybe thats why :/
please help, im having a party soon and id like to test/master this before then! 🙂
Hi! This recipe looks amazinggg!!! However, after I spread it on a layered cake, can I refrigerate the cake, or will the frosting harden and turn yucky? Should this frosting be kept at room temp?
This is the best frosting ever. I use it on my red velvet cake all the time and it is always a favorite. You are right it doesn’t whip well the next day or after it has been frozen, I tried that at Christmas. I will have to try the chocolate version though.
Hi Abigail – I am far from an expert on converting to weighted measures. You should probably trust a google search more than my attempt…sorry I can’t be of more help!
hi, this looks great and i can’t wait to try as an alternative to overly sweet fatty icing recipes. is there any way you can convert the recipe to weighed measurements? i find american cup sizes are different to europe and don’t want to ruin the ratio of quantities (eg how much is a stick of butter?). would be much appreciated as i will be guessing and ‘googleing’ otherwise!
Hi there,
Just a suggestion for the chocolate version, I grew up with my mom making a version of this frosting. She made the best chocolate frosting. I still don’t have the full recipe but it is similar to this one. If you’d like a suggestion to making the chocolate version darker and more chocolate-y then replace the milk with chocolate milk!! I promise. It will give you the desired effect and you will love it even better!
Abby – yes, I still add the vanilla with the chocolate version.
Hey Mel,
I am getting ready to make this and the unbelivable chocolate cakef or my boyfriend college gtaduation this saturday and I was wondering for the chocolate version do you still add the vanilla?
I would like to let you know you have this frosting recipe down to a T. I’ve made it several times over the past 6 months and it gets rave reviews. The thickness of the cooked ‘batter’ has varied for me but it always seems to still turn out great. It’s my favourite frosting in the world and I am also not a big frosting fan. I love this and your pretzel recipe so much. Please keep up the excellent work, my co workers and tastebuds thank you, my thighs curse you hehehe…
Hi
Would love to give this ago… But wanting to put it under Fondant on a cake not cupcakes…. Has anybody tried this? Or would you think it being too soft to go under Fondant? (Don’t want it to slide off!!)
Thanks
Rohini – do you mean making it stable enough to pipe with? I’ve piped with it several times and while it is on the softer side, it still manages star tip and other fine tips well enough (although isn’t stiff enough in my opinion for extravagant roses or other flowers). I don’t think adding shortening will help it stiffen more – perhaps powdered sugar or just extra time chilling in the refrigerator.
Is there any way to make this frosting stable enough to decorate cake? Will adding some shortening help?
Mel…..this is my all time favorite frosting and has been for YEARS! This frosting is the classic one for Red Velvet Cake…..but recently I’ve noticed that people use a cream cheese frosting for it. In my (and my family and friend’s) opinions, this is the best!
Oh, and I sped up the cooling process by placing the bowl over a bowl of ice water.
Made the chocolate version for my son’s “football” birthday cake. I added brown food coloring to make it darker and used 5 oz. dark/semisweet combination for the added chocolate. Received rave reviews!
Well, having made this already three times I thought I would add to the comments. The comments helped me decide to make these and I appreciate them and enjoy reading through them. I too started with the PW’s recipe but ended up with lumpy frosting so I googled that and got your blog page about it. Your frosting is much tastier and the people I served it to were quite impressed. The only thing I can add or reiterate (if anyone will read this far) is to cover the flour mixture with plastic wrap while it cools so it doesn’t get the “skin” on it. Thanks so much for this recipe!
This is the traditional red velvet cake frosting old timey Southern cooks used to use. I made it and it came out perfectly. When I achieved full large boiling bubbles the frosting suddenly completely thickened. I let it fully cool, and the butter was completely room temp. I was surprised at how quickly the butter incorporated because I had tried Swiss meringue in the past with disastrous results.
Next time I am going to try partial cream cheese b/c that sounds really good.
I am a butter cream hater and I have spent ending hours on the internet searching for a good substitute.. I had bookmarked this recipe for a while and I made it 2 days back and it was truly MAGICAL!!! Thank you very much Mel for sharing this great recipe with all of us!!!
Rohini – I measure the 1 1/2 cups milk in a liquid measuring cup.
I am new to baking, when you say 1 1/2 cups milks are you referring to the liquid measuring cup or the usual measuring cup which is used to measure the flour? Thanks !
I wanted to add that I thought this had flopped because it looked like it was starting to separate after beating for 5 mintues…however, I placed it in the frig and it totally stiffened up perfectly. And the taste is amazing…so don’t throw it out too soon!
Hello Mel, I just made this frosting earlier today for the first time with chocolate cake and it was really delicious. I added 2 sticks of butter and 8 ounces of cream cheese as I wanted to make it less buttery and it was perfect. I had no problems with the frosting separating or not working except for waiting for the flour mixture to cool down! It is really the best frosting and magical which will become my go-to frosting now instead of the meringue-based buttercreams or the overly sweet traditional icings. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!!
Hi Gina – the chocolate shouldn’t harden if it is being cooled just to room temperature…I think we are thinking the same thing – “cool to the touch” is another indicator the chocolate is ready to be used. You just don’t want it warm at all or it will melt the frosting. Also, I mentioned in a comment above that I haven’t had the best success halving this recipe – it didn’t quite work out. You might have different results so I’ll leave it up to you whether you want to halve it but my recommendation would be to stick with the full recipe if you want “true” results. Good luck!
I’m also wondering if you would recommend halving this recipe? I was going to try out two chocolate frosting recipes on Friday to compare chocoalteyness and I would prefer not to have a huge amount leftover.
Hi Mel! I’m new here, I discovered your wonderful site a few days ago. I plan to make the chocolate version of this magical frosting on Friday but I have a question. After melting the chocolate and waiting for it to come to room temperature, will it harden again once it reaches room temp? Should I just wait until it is cool to the touch?
Thank you for any advice!
Hi Ann – I wouldn’t recommend cutting this recipe into thirds…it is definitely best made with the full batch. I’ve had funny things happen to it when I’ve tried to cut it down. If you really want to try, you’ll have to figure out the math on the ingredients – I don’t want to mess it up for you. Good luck!
Could you give me this recipe cut in thirds? Like using 1 stick of butter not 3..and so on.
Thank you!
My middle son (6 years) just requested this for his birthday, – “no cake Mama, just this frosting”. And I agree – a keeper for sure!! 🙂
Delicious! I made this for the first time today. I was nervous because my milk mixture didn’t thicken very much, or not as much as the recipe seems to say. However, i let it cool completely, and whipped in margarine (had this one hand, instead of butter) and it light, fluffy, and delicious!! I also put it in the fridge and it thickened more, so expect it will be great to pipe (haven’t tried that yet). Don’t be intimidated by this recipe- it works!! 🙂
Hello. My name is Enaj. I have just met you, and I love you 🙂
I found your site through Annie’s Eats and started browsing through your recipes. When I stumbled across this one, I was skeptical. Like you, I hate butter-based frosting (always too greasy, always too sickly-sweet). “Magical Frosting?” Not likely, I said. But, I swear, the absolute moment I put a finger-full of this heavenly stuff on my tongue, I was hooked. Goodbye cream cheese frostings, goodbye substandard buttercreams, this is my new go-to frosting recipe.
I’m actually quite embarrassed to admit this, but, I made this frosting to go with your “Unbelievable Chocolate Cake” and I am, at this very moment, waiting for it to cool to room temp. to be frosted. That’s right, this frosting tastes so incredible that I couldn’t even wait to put it on the cake before commenting on how much I love it. It’s perfectly sweet and flavorful and silky smooth.
This is the first of your recipes that I’ve tried and, I guarantee, it will not be the last. Let me say again, I love you … and this frosting.
Thanks for the tip, Ron. I will try my double boiler next time. Mel, I just replaced my cornstarch today (just in case that was a contributor), so I’m good to go! Perhaps I’ll get a chance to give it another shot next week! Crossing my fingers! 🙂
Note to Carol….I had the same problem…..solution…..DOUBLE BOILER! Has been great ever since. Once it thickens I put it in an icebath to cool it down and it’s ready to use in less than 15 minutes. Thanks again Mel….great frosting!
Carol – hmmm, I’m not sure about cornstarch going bad but since it is fairly inexpensive, it may be worth picking up a new box and trying it, although I’m not sure why it would contribute to the sugar scorching. Good luck!
I have RevereWare, so I’m guessing it is not the pan. It took about 20 minutes to get to a reasonably thick gravy-like texture. I will purchase some whole milk and try that. (I also used 1%) The only other thing I can think of is my cornstarch. I’ve had the same box for quite some time. Does it ever really go “bad”? I just got thinking about that.
Carol – what type of pan/pot are you using? Is it really thin on the bottom? I’ve never had trouble with this scorching but I use a heavy-bottomed pot (nothing extravagant or expensive but definitely not thin aluminum). That would be my main guess if you are whisking constantly over heat that isn’t cranked up too high.
That’s weird, I even leave mine unattended for a bit and mine never scorches. Don’t give up, this is th best frosting ever!
I have tried this 3 times and failed. The sugar in the blend scorches before it gets thick. I wisk constantly over med to low heat. It never gets near as thick as I know it should. I thought perhaps there was a typo in the milk amount. What might I be doing wrong? H-E-L-P!!! It looks great in the pics!
I am making the frosting for the first time as vanilla. I’ve been using cocoa powder to turn it into a deliciously milky chocolate frosting and can’t pull myself away from it. I just tasted the vanilla frosting and it holds true to the magical words. I don’t use a strainer and just dump it all in the pot and use all flour cause i forgot the cornstarch the first time and didn’t notice a difference… Soo good!
What a wonderful find! I’ve made this twice now, and used it on my chocolate cupcakes as the final, beautiful counterpoint to the ganache I’ve dipped the cupcakes in. I think I may tweak just slightly with a pinch of salt next time, since I use unsalted butter, but I can’t really imagine it being much better. I use the chocolate cake recipe with the buttermilk and the cocoa, and put a Hershey’s kiss in the center. I think maybe I swiped the idea from the Pioneer woman, but your icing makes it the bomb!
I made it last night for a wonderful chococalte cake. It is awesome. Still I feel I don’t reach the perfect moist, but will work on it. Thanks for your tips!
Kristy – I usually have to refrigerate it a little longer to pipe it. It definitely is on the softer side, though.
I loved this buttercream- it was definitely a hit. I had a little trouble piping it though. Any suggestions for getting the right firmness for piping? Thanks.
So yummy!! I made the chocolate version to go along with your chocolate cake recipe! I am never disappointed when I make your recipes 🙂
This is my go to recipe website!
I just posted an eggnog version of this! If you like eggnog you should check it out. Thanks so much for the recipe – I LOVED it.
Thanks for the recipe. My husband and I don’t usually like frosting either. But we had to make cupcakes today for my daughter’s birthday and we loved this. It is so light and creamy, not greasy, and it tastes like Whipped Cream Frosting. I agree with others who said that the flavor seemed to improve even more after sitting about an hour. And I didn’t have any milk in the house, so I used Almond Breeze Almond Milk – unsweetened vanilla, and it was wonderful.
Oops sorry, I meant 2-1/2 sticks of butter, not 2-1/2 cups. Yikes!
I made this frosting for my sisters birthday last night. As I was adding butter I was taste testing. I also had my daughter get in on the action. We only used 2-1/2 cups butter and added 1/2 cup powdered sugar at the end. My sister and everyone at her house raved about the frosting. It will be my go to frosting (and my sisters too) from now on. Thanks.
Oh, I’ve added food coloring plenty of times and it works beautifully! I add it at the end of whipping. I’ve used this for piping all my cupcakes and it pipes and holds forever! I also live in Alaska though so no worry about it being too hot 🙁
Oh my gosh! I tried this recipe with brown sugar on carrot and banana cupcakes, delicious!
I’m trying this for the first time and I cooked it for quite sometime and it started to catch on the bottom (will use a double boiler next time), and mine also is the consistency of condensed milk. Could this recipe work with 2 cans of condensed milk or do you need the thickening cornstarch and flour mixture to set up the frosting?
Ron – I’ve never tried it with the sweetened condensed milk so I’m not sure about the answer. My inclination is to think that the frosting needs the cornstarch and flour to thicken and whip properly.
I did just see in the comments (should have read some of them first) that you said it does work to do the piping on the cupcakes; do you have an opinion on adding food coloring?
Also, the last time I made this frosting – I didn’t want to frost all of the cupcakes at once since it was just for my family. I just kept the frosting in the fridge and we used it when we wanted a cupcake. It stayed perfect; like it was fresh but I did not re-whip it. It was hard to spread being that it was firm and cold though!
Jackie – I’ve never added food coloring to this frosting…I think it might work although I would add it right at the end of whipping so the frosting doesn’t get overwhipped. My only concern is since the frosting is so buttery, with coloring, I”m wondering if the color will fully absorb or if it will look grainy?? Not sure, but it’s worth a try. Let me know how it goes if you try it out!
So, I love this frosting as much as you do 🙂 I plan on using it this weekend on cupcakes – have you ever ended up piping with it and, if so, did it work? Also, can you add food coloring to this one? I’m going back and forth between coloring it and just using colored sugar on top . .. I don’t want to mess up the consistancy of the frosting.
wao sorry, didn’t see your response. Thanks a lot! (running to the kitchen!:))
Hi, I’d like to put this frosting on cupcakes, but you mentioned that its consistency might not hold up being piped like a regular buttercream(?). Would it be too soft to create swirls on cupcakes? Thank you!
Hi, I’m thinking of putting this frosting on cupcakes, but you mentioned that it doesn’t really hold up when piped? would it be firm enough to make swirls on cupcakes like regular buttercream? Thanks a lot!
Ruby – I think the frosting is a bit harder to pipe if doing fine details, but I’ve used it to pipe large swirls on cupcakes and it works great.
I’ve made this frosting twice. I made it yesterday and it was gobbled up by my co-workers in less than 2 hours. I had to make another cake for today because I was craving a slice so badly.
I absolutely love your recipes and have placed you in my permanent read section! Your version of this frosting (adding the sugar in the cooking process) is fantastic and eliminates a good step that would probably make the icing grainy if added after the cooking process. I really really really appreciate your tips and side notes and updates. Keep up the great work or I’ll wither and die into a crumpled mess of flour and sugar!
To save time, I’ve made the flour mixture the day before with great success, that way you only need to beat the butter in, instead of having to wait for it to cool.
Hi Kristen – sounds like a fun birthday bash! In answer to your question, yes, I would double the recipe. I have a feeling you’ll have some leftover but I don’t think one batch will be enough to do both the cake and cupcakes. I haven’t had great success making this frosting in advance, although several other commenters have said it works just fine to make it the night before. If you have the time, I would say make it the morning of for the best results. Good luck!
Hi Mel!!
My son and daughter both share the same birthday, it is on Sat. Oct 1st. I was going to make the unbelievable chocolate cake for my son, and do your vanilla buttermilk cupcakes for my daughter. I want to use this frosting for both the cake and cupcakes. I take it I have to double the recipe for this frosting to have enough to frost the cake and cupcakes right? Also, their party is on Sat. at 1:00. Would it be best to make the frosting in the morning that day or the night before? Thanks in advance!!!
I made this for a birthday cake recently and it was completely awesome! I doubled the recipe because I was making an 11×15 sheetcake and I wanted to decorate it. I chilled the “decorator” icing for just about 20 minutes and it piped beautifully. I even had some leftover. Bummer! 😉 This will definitely be a go-to recipe for me in the future. I made a half chocolate-half red velvet cake and it was awesome on both. I am pretty sure it would make cardboard taste good. Thanks for the recipe!
Do you think that this frosting needs to be refrigerated? I made this today for my son’s birthday tomorrow…
Maria – yes, this frosting needs to be refrigerated long term. Did it work out?
Just an update: I had leftover frosting that I refrigerated for 3 days then took out the morning I needed it and used it about 8 hours later and the texture was perfect, like fresh. I didn’t re-whip it.
Oh my gosh! I, like you am a frosting hater. I usually scrape it off to the side, but not any more 🙂 since finding this recipe 3 days ago, I’ve made it with your chocolate cake recipe into cupcakes twice! I’m going to be huge from eating it all the time. It’s hard not to eat 6 cupcakes a day! I’m breastfeeding twins and they get so upset when I eat chocolate but I can’t help it, I’ll deal with gassy babies just to have this frosting on your chocolate cake 🙂 thanks so much for sharing! Btw, my Dh has approved of the both the chocolate cake and frosting too, which is huge because he swore I already had the best recipe!
This recipe is my favorite! You could also add a little Amaretto Extract to it if you can find any. I have never been able to.
Yummy Frosting!
1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup shortening
8 oz cream cheese, softened
(Whip these together very well)
2 LBS powder sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla (not imitation, it makes a big difference trust me)
1/2 tsp. pure Almond Extract
1/2 tsp. Coconut Extract
Add milk to desired consistency, I use about 1/4 cup, or even a little less. Depends on how thick you like it. You can also use coconut milk if you are making coconut cup cakes just make sure to add a little more coconut extract if you do. I personally like it with just regular milk.
Can I freeze the frosting. We are going up north and I want everything already made. This was amazing! I just made it for my son’s 1st birthday party.
Michelle – unfortunately, I wouldn’t suggest freezing this frosting. I’m sorry! I hope you have a way to make it work still. If you DID freeze it and it worked, be sure to let me know! I’m thinking it might have a weird, separated texture if it is frozen and defrosted.
I have been using your recipes for a long time with great success but have never commented on your site…but after making this frosting I just HAVE to thank you:) I made it with your chocolate cake recipe for my little boy’s birthday but I added chunks of oreos to the cake and then whipped crushed oreos into the frosting. Honestly, I can’t believe any of the frosting actually made it onto the cake! My boys (I have 4 like you) were begging for spoonfuls of it. My husband NEVER eats cake but I made him taste this frosting and he ended up eating 2 pieces! It really is magic! I’m sad for all the commenters who said it didn’t work for them because it is amazing! Thanks.
Mel, may I suggest that you add to this recipe your comment about how I doesn’t work to refrigerate the frosting before piping or spreading this frosting? I had dimmed the comments a week before I made this and must have missed that comment. I was so excited when my frosting worked. It was so tasty and I am glad I indulged myself and had a cupcake with it before I refrigerated the frosting. It was only in the fridge about 5 hours and I tried letting it sit and un-chill and then I rewhipped it….and 🙁 . It does not taste as good as when it was fresh. I am glad I tried it fresh because if I hadn’t, I don’t think I would make this again. For me, I will only use this frosting if I have time to prepare it and serve it fresh. I am taking the cupcakes to my family dinner today but my opinion if it has that much butter in it it has to taste incredible or it’s not worth the calories and fat grams. This stuff is definitely worth it, as long as you eat it when it’s fresh. Thanks for an awesome recipe.
Oh my. I must say, I am a sweet frosting fan but this, even though it is not sweet, is DIVINE!!! I am putting it on the sisters cafes lindt truffle stuffed cupcakes and I know it will be perfect with the sweetness in the cupcake. This is much easier than a chocolate frosting I tried that has flour in it. It just takes time. Well worth the wait. I am a huge fan and I am sure this won’t help me to not become huge physically but this is worth every calorie and fat gram. Please make a cookbook Mel. I don’t care if every recipe is on your blog I would still buy it! Love everything that comes from your site!!! Thanks a bazillion.
I tried this frosting recipe yesterday and was disappointed with the results. The frosting literally fell off my cupcakes. I have made other flour frostings where you mix the milk and flour first, cool and then add to the butter/sugar mixture and never had this result. Is it possible to overbeat the frosting?
Hi Linda – sorry this frosting didn’t work out for you. Did the frosting fall off the cupcakes because it was too runny? Yes, you probably can overbeat the frosting but it would probably make the frosting very stiff – is that what happened do you think?
I was sold on this recipe UNTIL I saw it required 3 sticks of butter. 3 sticks?? You have all the fat/oil in the cake and then you slather it was butter?? No wonder you were trembling and weak when eating the frosting… it was probably a mild heart attack. haha
PS I posted your recipes today at the Sisters Cafe. You rock!
Mel, can we just adopt you as one of our sisters? I am totally jealous of Erin. Seriously you are amazing! I loved this frosting (and that is understated)! And your vanilla cupcakes are to die for, too. Thanks again for some seriously fabulous recipes.
Hey!
I am sorry and I don’t know if you said it somewhere else but I couldn’t find it. What was the cake you made this with? Was it the Divine Chocolate one? This is my first time coming to this site. But I found this recipe through pinterest and it looks great. I am a frosting lover so I am interested to see if I will like this. There is a place here in Tampa, FL that has the BEST cupcakes and frosting but it is the most unusal frosting so I am hoping this one is similiar to it. B/c its very light and buttery though the usually the coat the frosting on the top with the sugar crystal sprinkles. So good… I can’t wait to try this! Thanks Casey
Casey – I used the frosting on the Unbelievable Chocolate Cake. Hope you like the frosting if you try it!
I’ve now made this frosting several times and it is *always* much softer than a buttercream. The first time I did this (and I let my frosting cool overnight in the refrigerator and then brought to room temp), I had trouble with my 2nd layer wanting to slide off and the frosting on the top and sides holding on just barely to the top and sides.
I solved this in follow-up batches by not allowing the frosting to come to room temp completely so it was a bit more solid. Then I frosted the top of the bottom layer and refrigerated it so it would solidify. About an hour later, I removed it, put on the top layer, finished frosting (did refrig. the remaining frosting for 30 min. of that hour) and then stuck it back in the refrigerator.
This frosting acts more liked a whipped cream frosting which needs to be kept cool and refrigerated.
I loved the taste of the icing, however I could not get it to set up. I beat the frosting for over 5 mins and let it set for over an hour, but the frosting never set. I used the frosting on the cake but it just ran off the sides. Help please because the taste is amazing. I would love to make the frosting again just need to know what I did wrong.
Hi Shauntae – sorry the frosting didn’t set up for you. The main reason this frosting doesn’t set up is if the base (the mixture that was cooked on the stovetop) didn’t cool completely. I’ve had the same thing happen to me even when that frosting base was just every so slightly warm. It needs to be completely cooled. Other than that, I’m not sure why that would have happened. If you try it again, I hope it sets up perfectly for you!
Oh, the great frosting debate. I usually only comment after I have tried something because when I read comments, I wish I could filter and only read comments of people who have tried the recipe. But I have a few comments to add here. Fr the carrot cake people, mel’s whipped cream cheese frosting would be perfect. I don’t care for it on cookies, but it’s great on bars and cakes. It is truly divine. I made sugar cookies recently and hidden in mel’s recipe for vanilla buttermilk cupcakes is a great buttercream that I love on sugar cookies. I have yet to try this frosting, but last week for my sons birthday I made the monkey cake on our best bites. The cake was a Martha Stewart and I didn’t care for it but the frosting was from our best bites and so good. It’s a chocolate version of this magical frosting but uses chocolate chips to hold it together. Darker chocolate and very tasty. I couldn’t strain mine…it was too thick. Maybe I cooked it too long. Anyway, there’s my 2 cents. Mel, you have the best recipes hands down. I can’t wait to try this…so far I feel like our taste buds are identical. I am sure people send you recipes a lot. I found a focaccia recipe that people have gone nuts over…my husband says it’s the best bread he’s ever had and it’s way easy. I found it in a cookbook when I couldn’t find a focaccia recipe on your site. If you want to try it, let me know. I know a bread recipe is the last thing you want….you have so many winners….but if you want it, I will send it to you. Thanks for making me a cooking star!
Jill,
It may be that your butter was too warm. When a recipe calls for ‘room temperature’ butter, it means that you can put an indent into the butter with slight pressure, but it should not be squishy. You should still be able to cut it into separate pieces. If you can’t, it means it’s too warm.
My son’s girlfriend loves chocolate so I made this recipe (along with your dark chocolate cake recipe) for her. Based on past experience, to get that rich dark chocolate taste, I omitted the semi-sweet chocolate in the frosting and substituted 1 cup (instead of 1/4 c.) Hershey’s dark cocoa. Perfect.
Hi Mel! I was wondering if this frosting could be made a few days in advance? I’ve actually made it a couple of time already and have had a lot of success with it, but I’ve never tried to store it for any amount of time. Thoughts?
Hillary – I’ve made this frosting in advance, just once, and I have to say the results did not fare well for me. I made it a few days in advance, stored it in the refrigerator and took it out a few hours before to let it come to room temperature. Then I rewhipped it (following the advice of the original recipe) and it completely went grainy and separated on me. I couldn’t ever get it back to the right consistency. You may get different results than me, but that’s my fair warning that making it ahead was a bust – which is a bummer since it would be nice to be able to rely on advance preparation!
I have just made the frosting, and I find it very disappointing. I read from someone else that their comment is the same as mine. The butter is separating a lot. I made sure the mixture was completely cooled and I mixed it for 5 min. I let it set for an hour and I also refrigerated it for a time trying to get it to set up and have a little more body to it. I have frosted the cake and it is drooping off and looks separated. What did I miss?
Jill – I have no idea what you missed and I’m not sure why it would be separating. Whenever I make this, it whips together like a fluffy, creamy whipped cream. The temperature of your butter might be an issue (either too cold or too warm) but really, it’s almost impossible to know why it would have separated unless I could be right there with you while you made it. I’m sorry!
Thanks for your feedback! I think I made my question a little confusing… I, too, won’t frost my cake more than a couple of hours before serving, but I was wondering how you store your cakes with this frosting after you’ve had the party and eaten some of the cake. Do you keep the leftover cake on the counter or put it in the fridge?
Lindsay – oh, that makes sense. I usually store the leftovers in a cake cover at room temperature if I think we’ll eat the leftovers within 24 hours. To be honest, we haven’t had leftovers beyond that but if I did, I’d probably put them in the refrigerator after that.
Hmm.. I do have another question, too. After the fact, is it best to keep cakes frosted with this frosting at room temperature or in the fridge for the next few days? Will it ‘hold together’ sitting out on the counter? Thanks for all your help!! =)
I, as well, have tried the Tasty Kitchen (PW) recipe and quite liked the taste of it, but it didn’t seem to come together as well as I had hoped. I am intrigued by your recipe (as you have tried the Tasty Kitchen one, too), but I am wondering about the amount of butter this recipe calls for… 3 sticks of butter seems like a lot! Does it have a greasy/filmy/overly buttery taste to it? Also, do you use unsalted or salted butter for the frosting? I am wanting to find a good frosting recipe for a chocolate cake for my husband’s birthday. It really does look great…and any feedback you have would be great! Thanks so much!!
Lindsay – reading through the other comments on this, you’ll notice that there are a fair amount of people that do think it is very buttery. That’s actually what I like about it but it might be a turn off for you. I always use salted butter because I never buy or have unsalted butter on hand. As for storing the frosted cake, I’ve never frosted a cake more than a few hours before serving. The frosting hardens quite a bit in the refrigerator (I’ve noticed with leftovers of the frosting) so I’m not sure you would want to store the frosted cake in the refrigerator. I’m afraid that when it came to room temperature it might separate a bit – which is what I’ve seen happen to the refrigerated frosting leftovers. Hope that helps!
I made this today to ice some hummingbird cupcakes and it was amazing! Not to sweet, not greasy.. just great! I did cut out one stick of butter and added 6 oz of cream cheese (I had a partial block in the fridge) so it had just a subtle cream cheese flavor. Also, I refrigerated it for a few hours to pipe it on which worked like a dream too. Thanks for sharing I will be keeping this around!
Now that it’s been a few weeks since making this, I can talk about it. My 3 year old insisted on having a princess birthday cake, so I obliged, thinking I could make it with this frosting. The frosting was so good! I kept snitching at it. I colored it pink, and frosted the princess cake (I piped it and it worked great). I finished the cake completely at 12:30, it was beautiful and finished! Then, at 12:45, before I could even take a picture, the whole thing fell apart. It was so sad! The birthday party was supposed to start at 1:30, so I whipped up a “cake” out of a paper plate stuck on Barbie, frosted it with a can of the nasty store-bought cake, and we blew candles out of that, then I served scoops of my collapsed cake. Everyone thought the frosting was good, the presentation…not so much!
Hi Mel,
I want to try this frosting, but I don’t need 4 cups. Will it work just as well if I cut the recipe in half?
Hey! When I add the butter I find that the frosting starts to separate. Do you know why this is?
Hi Jessi – that is normal for this frosting. Once the butter is added piece by piece, the frosting will look like it is separating but as it mixes (and it needs to mix for a long time), it will come together. Make sure the frosting base is perfectly cooled before adding the butter. Hope that helps!
ok, I made a comment about the yummy delicious “unbelievable” chocolate cake with ganache and said I would try the magical frosting. Well, my oldest daughter, 11, was the first to taste it while it was in the making process and she said it reminded her of cool-whip but a little firmer. I thought that was a pretty good description. I made the “unbelievable” chocolate cake for my youngest daughter’s 8th birthday last month. I also made the “magical” frosting to go with it and topped it off with ganache….OMG…that was the BEST EVER. The whole family fell in love with the cake combination. Even my babysitter said she had never had cake/frosting that good before. It was chocolately, moist, creamy, rich, and fluffy all in one bite. It wasn’t overly sweet, it was the perfect combination to make your taste buds give you a hug.
Oh..my..gaaaah!! I too was left speechless when I tasted this. I just made a batch for my son’s 2nd bday party which is in a couple days. I’ll be making one of your cupcake recipes to put this on top of. I hope it’s just as good after it sits in the fridge for a couple days.
I’ve been wanting to try this frosting for months and I finally made it today! It’s soooo good! I don’t like buttercream or gritty/sugary frosting but this was creamy and delicious! Where has this been all my life?! LOL
I let the frosting chill a little bit in the fridge after the final step. Then I piped it onto red velvet cupcakes. Yum! Thanks for the great recipe!
Did you ever pipe with this?? I am hitting birthday season here in Minnesota!!
I have wanted to make this for a long time, but I am gluten-intolerant so the flour was a no-no. Today I made it for my son’s birthday cake, and just subbed cornstarch for the flour (when using flour as a thickener, you can sub half the amount of cornstarch instead) so 5 T. total cornstarch, and it came out perfectly! I could not believe how delicious, how light and fluffy and perfect it was! A lot more work than my standard powdered sugar frosting that I always make, but so much more delicious! Thanks for another great recipe, Mel!
Catherine – look at you getting all brilliant and making this recipe gluten free. That’s awesome! Thank you so much for checking in with your variations…I know it will be able to help others with gluten intolerance.
I made this back in December for my daughters 2nd birthday and it was a hit! I made the chocolate version today for my mom’s birthday and it was wonderful!!! My husband has already requested that I make it for his birthday!
Christine – glad you loved both versions!
Having tried this last night, and I’m pretty sure I made it correctly, I thought it was so-so. Really I think it’s a matter of preference. I don’t like butter cream, so I thought I would love this, but I didn’t. Everyone else thought it was just ok too. The texture was great, but the taste was lacking for me and I thought it was too buttery. Sorry Melanie, this was the first of your recipes that I haven’t raved about, but everyone has different taste buds. One thing I can’t wait to make are your vanilla pudding cinnamon rolls on Christmas again this year. Those are definitely magical in my family!
Shante – my only wish is that everyone’s taste buds love this frosting as much as I do, considering I make it for everything. But I’m glad you shared your opinion even though you weren’t crazy for it!
For Tricia,
Try adding salt to help with the soapy flavor. I’ve always had trouble with frosting and recently realized that the answer was more salt. It helps fix weird chemical flavors. Good luck!
Mel I am also very, very picky about frosting. In fact, I usually scrap off most of it when eating any kind of frosted dessert. I hate when it’s too sweet or too gritty. This frosting was neither! It was, as you call it, magical – so smooth, light and fluffy, and not too sweet. This was my first try at homemade icing and it came out perfect! I put it on the Schoolyard cupcakes (which are also awesome, btw). Thanks so much!
Tiffiny – thanks for letting me know you loved this frosting – great idea to use it on the schoolyard cupcakes. I’ll be trying that thanks to your suggestion!
My flour mixture is currently cooling, I’m getting excited!
Has anyone tried a non-dairy version of this frosting? If so, what modifications did you use? I was thinking of Coffee Rich or soy in place of milk, but have never tried boiling either. And would sub. margarine for butter. Any thoughts?… Need a TNT, non-dairy frosting that is not overly sweet. Taste and quality come first.
Good luck on your non-dairy search, Cristina. I can’t give any advice at all since I’ve never worked with diary replacements.
Tricia – hope you can save it!
We moved a couple of months ago and I had LOTS of butter in my freezer. I was too cheap to just throw it away. Honestly, I was too cheap to give it to a neighbor. That is when I canned it to make it “moveable” and it is great! It was super duper easy. Totally google it!
Once I adjust the frosting with more sugar, I think it will be great. I love texture of it so I am sure that the 3rd time will be a charm!
after seeing the version on tasty kitchen, i had my doubts–i’m a skeptical person by nature. however, i find myself believing your assessment of this frosting and am now itching to try it myself! what can i say, melanie, except that you’re worthy of my trust. 🙂
Still not great after an overnight in the fridge. I think it’s better, but my 5 year old is telling me to leave it off the cupcakes! I added some powdered sugar, and I think I will add even more. I think it can be saved. Maybe.
I just made it, and it tasted…SOAPY? I can’t figure it out because I know I used clean utensils. The prefrosting mix was tasted, and it was OK. Not soapy, not overly sweet. The only thing I can figure is my butter was off? I didn’t actually taste the butter before it went in to the mix. It was in an unopened box, but I’ve had it about a month. Do you recommend unsalted butter? Or, fresh butter?
I haven’t scrapped it yet. It’s sitting in the fridge, firming up, I’m hoping for some magic!
Tricia – well, I have to say, I never thought I’d hear this frosting described as soapy! I have no idea what might have happened. Butter shouldn’t go bad after a month, but you might check the expiration date to be sure. I always use regular, salted butter. Let me know if the taste manages to change after the sit in the refrigerator!
After posting my last comment, I read through a bunch of other’s. Linda (comment #53) helped me realize that I am probably doing it right. I think next time I will add a little more sugar for my taste. Like this recipe needs more calories, right?? 🙂
Thanks Mel! Love your website!
Morgan – I think you are doing everything right. This is definitely a recipe that is going to either WOW people or leave them wanting for more sweetness. I liked the frosting for it’s mild sweetness but you should try adding more sugar next time. I’m glad you liked the chocolate cake, though! And as for canned butter, I’ve never used it (or heard of it to be honest) so I’m not sure the effect it would have on this frosting. If you have access to regular butter that comes in 1/2 cup sticks, you might try that to see if it helps the frosting’s taste.
So I made the Tasty Kitchen version a few weeks ago and thought it was “so so.” Seriously nothing to write home about. I was sure I did it wrong because everybody raved about it. Then you posted this recipe and I made your version tonight along with your Divine Chocolate cake recipe (though I made mine into cupcakes!).
I haven’t even frosted them yet but have licked the spoon of the frosting a couple of times. I must be doing something wrong because I think it is rather boring! I hardly taste any of the sweetness. I used canned butter for both. Do you think that makes a difference? The butter smells and tastes the same but I just can’t imagine why I don’t just love it. I love all things sweet, and I usually love all things that other people totally love….so I am afraid I a missing something. Perhaps a 3rd time will be a charm and I will make sure to use freshly store bought butter????
p.s. The Divine Chocolate Cake IS MOST DEFINITELY AMAZING!! That is a recipe that I will forever hold on to! Thanks! 🙂
I made this tonight and it is great. I let it set in the fridge for about 20 minutes and then piped it on cupcakes. I had enough for 24 cupcakes with some leftover. I may or may not have piped some of the extra icing directly into my mouth…..:)
Steph – thanks for the laugh. Seriously. I’m glad I’m not the only one that sneaks a little frosting into the old gullet!
I am so excited to see this recipe and the chocolate cake recipe!! My son turns one on Friday and I wanted to make him a cake and my 3 year old demanded that K wants a choclate cake. I just pulled the cake out of the oven and the frosting is waiting to go on. Can’t wait to try it!!
this might be JUST what I have been looking for. I have a super delish moist chocolate cake recipe (which I bet rivals yours – I have not tried yours yet so I can’t truly judge – but will soon!) that my husband also loves but he does NOT like my homemade frostings (picky picky) and I cannot STAND store bought frostings. I’ll try this week!!!
I also made the Tasty Kitchen version of this and it turned out a huge flop. I always trust Cooks Country so I’m sure you’ve got it right here!
Just tried this tonight! It tastes awesome! Having tried both the tasty kitchen version and this one, I think that I still prefer the tasty kitchen version. I don’t have a problem with it tasting gritty and it doesn’t have as strong of a buttery flavor to me as this one did, but this recipe is still a keeper! I can’t wait to try the chocolate version!
Melanie – thanks for checking in on this recipe! Glad you liked it!
It will thicken more upon cooling, but it definately should not be as pourable as a glaze when you finish cooking. It needs to be brought to a full boil, while you cook and stir. The flour will not properly thicken the milk unless it is brought to a full boil, not just a few tiny bubbles around the edge of the pot, but the whole mixture should be bubbling.
Turn the heat down to medium and cook and stir a minute or two more for good measure.
You should not be able to pour it into a bowl to cool. You should have to use a rubber spatula to scrape it out. It should be soft and smooth, but thick ……more the consistancy of peanut butter.
Be sure to cover it as it cools so that it doesn’t develop a hard skin like pudding does if not covered.
My mix is currently cooling, even as we speak. What should it look like while cooling? Mine kinda reminds me of sweetened condensed milk at the moment…thick but kinda could be poured like a glaze (it IS still warm). Is this normal? Should I be panicking yet? Of course, I also used skim milk (it’s what I had), so if it’s supposed to be thicker or pastier (like the Tasty Kitchen version, which I tried and was a huge mess) that may be the trouble. Thanks for any tips!
Miss L – my mixture is the same consistency as what you have described. I’ve made this frosting three or four times now and the first boiled mixture is always thick but if I tipped up the bowl, it would slowly (very slowly) pour out – like a very thick pudding before it has set up. I wouldn’t panic if I were you since it sounds like your consistency is like mine has been. The mixture should be thick enough that it starts to get a bit difficult to wisk it toward the end of the cooking process but it shouldn’t be so thick that it clumps up and is a big mass. Hope that helps. Let me know what the result was!
I think people are having trouble w/The Tasty Kitchen version simply because they are not cooking the flour-milk mixture long enough nor beating the frosting enough.
This is an old-time, simple recipe we used to call Poor Man’s Whip Cream Frosting. It has the taste and texture of whipped cream and is definately not a sweet buttercream frosting. The original recipe called for shortening (Crisco), but I make it w/butter instead.
In a saucepan, gradually add 1 c. of milk to 5 Tbs. flour, stirring to avoid lumps. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower heat to medium and continue to cook and stir til a thick paste, about 5 min. Cool completely. This can be done ahead of time, placed in small bowl, covered and refrigerated.
When ready for frosting, remove from frig and bring to room temp.
Beat 1 c. room-temp butter til light and fluffy, about 2 min. Add 1 tsp vanilla and 1/3 c. regular sugar and beat til well-combined. Add another 1/3 c. sugar and beat, then another 1/3 c sugar (1 c. total). Scrape sides of bowl and beat 2 min.
Add half of milk/flour mixture and beat well. Add remaing milk/flour mixture and beat 2 more minutes til fluffy and you can no longer feel the sugar if you rub a bit of frosting between your thumb and finger. That’s your Poor Man’s Whipped Cream Frosting!
If a sweeter, more flavorful frosting is desired, add 1/2 – 1 c. conf. sugar and another tsp vanilla..
Linda – thanks for your comments. As a clarification, this particular recipe that I posted, after boiling the flour and milk, should not be quite as thick as peanut butter as you mentioned in your comment. The consistency of this boiled mixture will be shiny and thick, like a really thick pudding before it has set up. It will take effort to continue whisking it but it shouldn’t be so thick that it masses together in a ball. My issues with the Tasty Kitchen weren’t with the fluffy outcome. It seemed to beat up just fine and work out that way but the texture was grainy and the flavor seemed off somehow. I liked this other version a bit better because of the cornstarch addition because it seemed to take out some of the flour taste/grittiness. You’ll have to let me know if you try the version I posted. If not, it seems like you are quite the expert on your own recipe – glad you love it!
Is this frosting really, really light and buttery tasting? I made a frosting this weekend that was with egg whites and a lot of butter like yours and it was so light it almost tasted greasy. But if you’re convinced this is the best I want to try it.
Marci – yes, this frosting really is light and buttery. It is a completely different texture than egg-white frostings I’ve made before. I hope you like it if you try it!
It’s me again…just giving feedback so others know how it was. I didn’t end up putting cream cheese with it since I already used the 3 sticks of butter, though I may have tried omitting the one stick and adding the cream cheese if I’d seen that suggestion first. So, my mom tasted it and thought it was cream cheese frosting without any cream cheese. I guess I fooled her! Regardless we all loved it on the carrot cake my dad ended up making, which was moist and yummy! Once again two winning recipes.
Thanks for the feedback, Shannon! That’s funny (and wonderful!) that your mom thought it was cream cheese frosting anyway. Makes it easy on you!
I’ve made a flour based frosting before but it didn’t come out quite right. The taste was very good (Kinda like Farina) but it wasn’t frosting-ish. I’m gonna give this one a try.
I read in the comments about a cream cheese version….hope you’ll update us on that one if you give it a go.
~ingrid
I love your blog and I have tried dozens of your recipes. This frosting however seemed wrong to me. It didn’t have much taste to it. To me the frosting on a cake is supposed to make the cake pop. The consistency of the frosting was fantastic, but the flavor was lacking in a major way. Maybe I am too used to my butter cream, sugary frosting. If I make this frosting again I will definitely try adding more sugar.
Kristi – sorry that this frosting just didn’t taste right to you. I’m glad you left the comment, though, because it gives me the chance to clarify that this is definitely not an overly saccharine sweet frosting (which is probably why I like it since the sugary buttercreams aren’t my thing). This frosting is lighter/fluffier and less sweet than many traditional frostings and I love it for the reason that I can still enjoy the cake without being overwhelmed by the frosting. Although I completely understand how all of us have different feelings about our frostings! I think if you dare make it again, you could definitely try adding more sugar – although I don’t know how that would impact texture. Let me know if you try it and thanks again for your comment!
The. Best. Frosting. Ever. Nuff said. I just made it, and had to get on here and say that it is amazing. Thanks for sharing!
Adam B – thanks for your agreement that this really is the best. I was a bit nervous after posting it and issuing my claims that it is the best and has changed my life and yada yada. But I am ecstatic to read that others are loving it as well. Thanks again!
Shannon – I think there is actually a cream cheese version of this where you cut the butter down to two sticks and use an 8 ounce block of cream cheese that has been softened and add it to the frosting in pieces with the butter. Since you already made the frosting, it wouldn’t hurt to blend in the cream cheese and see what happens but I’d definitely make sure the cream cheese is very soft and I’d whip it up on it’s own before adding it to the frosting to avoid lumps. Let me know if you tried it!
Here’s the chocolate frosting to knock your socks off. It was published in a complementary issue of Cuisine at Home to go with an old fashioned chocolate cake. Both recipes have been posted together on Food.com….but it’s the frosting that’s the star in my opinion. The cake? Amazing for a cake with no eggs or dairy.
http://www.food.com/recipe/old-fashioned-chocolate-cake-with-glossy-chocolate-icing-102587
Ok I hate frosting. So when this popped up I made it the same day. I tasted the mixture when cooling, Hmmmm….interesting. I tasted the frosting after whipping in the butter….hmmmm still average. However, when I let it set for an hour and then put in on a chocolate cake…..it was just as you described it. DELISH!!! I don’t know what the waiting had to do with it but everyone who ate the cake thought it was indeed MAGICAL! Thanks!
Tracy – I was reading your comment going, ok, I hope it finally tastes magical…and I’m so glad that whatever the waiting did to the frosting turned it great for you. Thanks for the review!
My sister called me yesterday and said, “I have a favor to ask you.”
“What?” I asked.
“Mel posted a new frosting and cake recipe–I need you to try it.”
“Well, for you, I guess I will. Twist my arm….”
And so out of sisterly duty I made this amazing chocolate cake and frosting. I really don’t even like frosting (except your cream cheese frosting) and I feel sort of neutral about cake, but this frosting (and cake) is in a league of it’s own. It was so amazing. I’m so glad you’ve gone through all the legwork to find “the best”…because I will be looking no further!
Reyna – love the sisterly duty. Will you be my sister, too? I’m with you on the not loving frosting thing so I’m glad this converted you to loving some kind of icing. So glad you liked both recipes!
Wow! I am definitely bookmarking this recipe. I am not a huge frosting fan either, but this recipe sounds unique so I am going to give it a try!
This, too, is my favorite frosting recipe! It is much easier and lighter (at least I think so) than the traditional Italian buttercream. I will definitely try your recipe for accompanying chocolate cake. Congrats!
oh, i forgot to ask….should i store the frosted cupcakes in the refrigerator or covered at room temp? thanks!
Jeanette – sorry my response is late on this. I’m glad that you liked the cupcakes and frosting! If it were me, I’d store them covered in the refrigerator. Before serving, I’d let them sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to take the chill off.
made this tonight with the chocolate cake recipe that you posted on 9/24. i made the cake into cupcakes and it worked just fine. it was really good and i really like this frosting for a change. one one cupcake, i sprinkled a little bit of instant espresso granules on top and it was yummy!!! the frosting stiffened up once refrigerated for an hour and i was able to use a 2d wilton tip to make a big swirl on top of the cupcakes. thanks for another winner! 🙂
Jeanette – glad to know the frosting worked well enough to pipe with. I actually made it again this week and piped with it, too, and it worked great. Thanks for your review!
So I made the frosting and I keep licking my fingers – it is so light and fluffy even with so much butter. Yum! But now I’m wondering what would happen to the texture/flavor if I decided to add some cream cheese to it to go on the carrot cake. Although the flavor of this is really good, I too think cream cheese flavor is so yummy with carrot cake. If I softened the cream cheese first and blended it in room temp do you think it would be gross or would it take it to another level? Maybe I’ll just try it and let you know.
On the stand mixer did you use a paddle attachment or a wire whisk/whip attachment?
Carrie – I used the whisk attachment.
I too was wondering how it would work without a strainer. I don’t even own a strainer, so I’m wondering are there different kinds? (sorry… I have no idea) And if there was one strainer that was a must have in the kitchen- what would it be? Thanks.
Andrea – there are lots of different brands of fine mesh strainers but I got mine at Walmart or Target (can’t remember which one) several years ago. They came in a three pack of different sizes and are made of thin wire with a black plastic handle. I use them all the time – for basic pasta draining to straining puddings/custards/frostings, etc. They are very reasonably priced. If you had to just buy one, I’d get the large-ish size – mine is probably right around 8 inches.
I have had good luck with the “other” recipes for this floating around and used through the years, but this one looks better! I could not longer make the other ones, they had crisco and we have not eaten that in years. Your shared recipe is all butter, thanks.
As a fellow frosting hater, your review sounds great, I bet it is the corn starch that makes this frosting differant. Can’t wait to try.
I’ve tried ‘the best frosting’ as well, like many of these other people and was also disappointed. Anytime someone praises something so much I have to give it a try! And this does look really good! Although the picture of it in the bowl kind of looks like mashed potatoes to me hehe.
You’ve convinced me; I must try this!
I’m making my mom your carrot cake recipe this weekend for her birthday. I have only had cream cheese frosting on carrot cake. Would this magical frosting being magical even on that? I trust you…if you say yes then we are going for it! I am also not a typical frosting lover, the canned stuff is fake tasting and usually the other stuff is just not quite right.
Shannon – actually, now that you mention it, yes, this frosting would be divine on carrot cake. I think if you twisted my arm, I’d probably always prefer the classic cream cheese frosting with carrot cake, but this magical frosting is seriously so light and creamy it would taste delicious, also. Let me know if you try it!
Magical for sure! 😉
I have used the Tasty Kitchen version and we really liked it, but now I’m dying to try this one! I’ll wait for the delectable cake post tomorrow though :).
Thanks for sharing this recipe! Now you have stimulated me to make a cake today! It looks yummy in the photos.
Yum, I have been making the Tasty Kitchen version for a few months and fell in love with that frosting! I am excited to try your version. They are similar enough that I know it is going to taste divine!! I can’t wait to try the chocolate version too. Thanks!
Do you think this frosting would be good with fresh or frozen strawberries beat into it? I was given the most divine strawberry cake recipe, but the frosting doesn’t do it justice. This frosting you have sounds a bit lighter (you know, 3 sticks of butter makes it lighter) which would be good with the strawberry cake. Their frosting was only butter and powdered sugar. Thanks.
Sara – I think this frosting would be even more magical with strawberries (or strawberry puree) beaten into it. Take care that the strawberries are not overly watery or else it might thin out the frosting too much.
I thought i was the only one who had issues with that frosting recipe on tasty kitchen/pioneer woman… I look forward to trying this recipe!
Now I have to make a cake today to try this frosting. Like you, I tried the recipe on Tasty Kitchen because it claimed to be the best frosting ever. I was so disappointed! Can’t wait to try your version. Thanks.
Hmmm….. usually I like homemade desserts much better than store-bought ones. But I have never ever tasted a homemade frosting that I thought compared to Betty Crocker Creamy Deluxe French Vanilla – not the whipped stuff, not Duncan Hines, not the plain vanilla or any other flavor – specifically Betty Crocker Creamy French Vanilla. To me, that frosting is the perfect frosting for a moist chocolate cake – creamy, rich, not too sugary/gritty. I honestly have doubts that this frosting will compare. It sounds like a lot of work too – will my curiosity be enough to convince me to do all this work to try something new? I wish someone else would make it and let me try it lol. If I ever do try it, I’ll come back and let you know what I think.
(And if anyone is looking for a quick shortcut, please try the Betty Crocker Creamy French Vanilla! …. and I have my opinion about chocolate cake mixes too – if you’re going for a mix, it has to be Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Dark Chocolate Fudge – again, this specifically – not Betty Crocker, not Devil’s Food Chocolate . Trust me, if you are looking for a quick, store-bought chocolate cake with white frosting, pair these two!)
Kelly – I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on this issue since I have never tasted any canned frosting that compares to homemade (especially this recipe). But having said that, I think it’s great if you’ve found a version that you love because it definitely makes life easier! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I just made this to go on your chocolate cake I made last night and it seems to be separating. Ahh! What did I do wrong?
I make frosting almost identical to this. My only extra is the press the cooked and thickened mixture through a strainer to ensure there are no lumps from the thickener. The best ever frosting hands down!
Jenn – hopefully if the mixture is well strained prior to cooking you won’t need to strain it again – although, I guess I wouldn’t hurt, right?
Mel, what is the purpose of the strainer? I tried to make your Schoolyard cupcakes without using a strainer, and it was utter disaster. It seems like the strainer wouldn’t make that big of a difference though.
Marian – the strainer should help eliminate any lumps from the frosting. It is fairly important in this recipe, I would say. As for the Schoolyard cupcakes – I’m sorry about the disaster. That frosting has definitely gotten mixed reviews and I’ve been in the process of testing it to figure out the quirks.
yay! I love frosting! Although unlike you, I could eat buttercream frosting all day long. That doesn’t mean that I’m not looking for another recipe though – can’t wait to try this!
Ah, this is the recipe my grandmother has been using for over 50 years! It is truly magical. And having messed it up many times, the key is definitely cooking the flour mixture slowly, and letting it cool completely. I’ll have to give it a try with the chocolate!
i can’t wait to try this. i found a similar recipe on a blog that is written by a professional chef and she too said it was way over the top delicious. thanks!
Awe Mel – this recipe came 1 week too late. I was searching for a good frosting recipe for Trevor’s birthday cake last weekend. The one I found was ok, but this one sounds much much better! Guess I’ll just have to try it on Ethan’s cake in October.
This icing is not what I expected, did not like it at all, tasted much better, don’t waste your time
Thanks to you, Melanie, I am a Cook’s Country subscriber now! I saw this recipe in the latest issue and was hoping you would test it-and you did! I can’t wait to see what cake recipe you paired it with. Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
I think my grandma used to make something like this. It was incredible!