Ermine frosting is so fluffy, creamy, and delicious. It tastes a lot like whipped cream but is more stable. It starts with a boiled milk paste that gives it a fabulous whipped texture. It is frequently paired with red velvet cake but is great with so many desserts.
This frosting is fluffy and smooth and perfect. It starts by boiling milk and flour together to make a paste and that is whipped into butter to make a frosting that isn’t super sweet, but is really light and airy.
It is a lot like whipped cream, but more stable. It is a classic topping for red velvet cake, but is great in a variety of applications!
It is hard to believe, but I have been making this frosting for 10 years now! I was working with my friend Vicki and her birthday was coming up. Of course I had to bake her a cake!
She requested red velvet cake with whipped cream frosting. I had never heard of such a thing, other than the frosting some grocery stores call whipped cream.
As far as I knew, red velvet cakes were topped with cream cheese frosting. Apparently this is quite a point for debate, is it ermine frosting or cream cheese frosting that is the proper way to frost a red beauty.
Vicki was obviously on team boiled milk frosting and I am always happy to try a new frosting! She searched for the recipe of the exact thing she was talking about.
I had certainly never made a cooked frosting like this! I had melted chocolate for frosting before and made Marlene’s Fudge Frosting, but never something quite like this.
I instantly fell in love. This frosting is not too sweet, it is just right.
The flavor is subtle, a lot like whipped cream! However it does have better holding time and you don’t have to worry about mixing it too long and turning into butter… it is already butter!
The first time I made this for my family everyone loved it. I made a couple of brownies, covered them in whipped cream frosting and topped them in berries.
Everyone was asking for the recipe. Since then I have used the basic a idea for a number of other recipes. I love the final texture it gets.
If made properly you could certainly frost a layer cake with it with no problem! You can also use it to pipe onto cupcake or do embellishments on your cake.
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Of course this frosting is great on red velvet cake and the brownies with berries as I described above. I also used it on my Rolo poke cake and that was scrumptious if I do say so myself!
This frosting was also the perfect way to wrap a blackberry shortcake cake too! It really gives the feeling of whipped cream but with less worry!
Pipe Borders & Cupcakes
Ermine frosting can be used to pipe simple decorations. If you find the frosting is too soft to pipe, chill it for 10-15 minutes and try again.
I don’t think I would use it to do anything too detailed or small. It is a softer frosting and likely wouldn’t hold a perfect shape.
However it is perfect for ruffly piles, borders, and large rosettes.
Tips and Tricks for making Ermine/Boiled Milk Frosting
Getting the milk and flour paste just right is the key. You want it to be a thick paste before you remove it from the heat.
Be sure to keep stirring it, especially as it thickens. You don’t want it to scorch on the bottom of the pan.
Originally I made the paste from just the flour and milk and added the sugar with the butter in the mixer. After a really long mixing period, it dissolves and isn’t grainy.
Lately I’ve taken to adding the sugar to the milk and flour to make sure it is dissolved.
If the frosting seems a bit loose when you are done, there is a chance your butter was over softened or your paste wasn’t all the way cooled. Try placing the bowl of frosting in the refrigerator for 15 or 20 minutes and whipping it again.
If it is still loose, the paste probably wasn’t thick enough. A bit of powdered sugar or heat treated flour can help tighten it up this time.
Just cook your paste a little longer next time!
Does boiled milk frosting get hard?
Boiled milk frosting does not form a crust. If you need to set the frosting, using the refrigerator is the way to go.
The frosting will get soft again once it is at room temperature. If you need a frosting that crusts, try crusting buttercream.
If you are a frosting fanatic like me, check out my Frosting 101. It goes through the different types of frosting and links to all sorts of delicious recipes!
Ermine Boiled Milk Frosting
Ingredients
- 5 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup butter softened (must be real butter)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- This first step is the most crucial part to this frosting turning out. In a saucepan, whisk together the flour and sugar. Add the milk a few tablespoons at a time to get started. Stir until there are no lumps. Once you have a smooth paste, add the remaining milk and stir until combined. Turn on the burner to medium heat. Continue to whisk and cook until the mixture thickens to a paste consistency. You want it to be pretty thick. It will be tempting to walk away and so something else, but don’t. Once it starts to thicken it will go really quickly and it is important you don’t get lumps or scorch the bottom. Place paste in the refrigerator to cool.5 Tablespoons all purpose flour, 1 cup milk, 1 cup granulated sugar
- Once paste is room temperature or cooler, add butter and vanilla to mixer bowl. Turn on low and stir until smooth. Add flour/milk paste and whip on high for about 10 minutes. Don’t try to cut the time short, you really want to whip a lot of air into it.1 cup butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Spread on cakes, cupcakes, cookies or whatever scrumptious treat you are making!
Notes
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Should the frosting get hard in the fridge? I’ve made some before and when I refrigerated my cake the frosting got quite hard and fell off the cake.
It will definitely get more firm in the fridge. The butter is soft at room temperature, but much harder when chilled. It shouldn’t fall off the cake though. Most butter based frostings get firm in the fridge, but bakers usually use that to their advantage. I haven’t seen it cause those kinds of issues.
How many cups of frosting does this recipe make? The “18 servings” amount isn’t clear.
When I frost a layer cake, I use 3/4-1 cup frosting in the middle, and about 2-1/2 cups around the sides and top.
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
It makes about 3 cups of frosting. So, it will do a light coat on a layer cake but you can scale it up a bit if you want a little more.
This was great! Had a very old family recipe for chocolate layer cake but the frosting recipe was lost. Creamy & not too sweet!
Thank you for this recipe! My mom used to make Red Velvet Cake with a similar frosting that used Crisco (I refuse to use Crisco). I’m thrilled to find one that doesn’t use Crisco or Cream Cheese. Can I use whipping cream in place of milk.
Yay! Yes, I prefer butter to shortening as well. Whipping cream should make it even more creamy and delicious.
Can this frosted cake be frozen. I’m planning to make a red velvet checkerboard cake for my daughter’s birthday. I’ll have to travel 2 1/2 hrs with the cake and I think it will travel better if it is frozen.
I think that’s a great idea!
Salted or unsalted butter?
Either work. Add a small pinch of salt if you use unsalted.
@Carlee, Thank you.My mom used to make this. Going to try.
I hope it is just like hers!
Can you make the flour milk mixture day before and refrigerate
Yes, that will work great.
Just wondered if cake needs to be refrigerated once it’s been iced….
Ermine frosting can be left at room temperature for a day or two, but should be refrigerated after that. If you are transporting it somewhere and want to make sure it is set, it’s a good idea to chill it before you go as well. However, the frosting definitely tastes best at room temperature.
Would I be able to add a layer of chocolate ganache to the top and drip down the sides using this recipe? My granddaughter wants a chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting,raspberry filling in middle with chocolate ganache on top. Can I add white food coloring to get true white color?
I would chill the cake first to set the frosting, then add the warm ganache. That sounds absolutely delicious. And yes, the frosting is pretty white on its own, but a little whtie food gel should help get it all of the way there.
I love the part of dissolving the sugar first brilliant! I’m a fan of stabilized whipped cream icing so I used half heavy cream and half milk and 4 tablespoons of flour! Super fluffy but still piped perfectly! Next time I’ll try all cream! This recipe will replace my stabilized cream icing! Love it! I added some almond liquor to it with no problems!
I’ll bet it is fabulous with cream. I need to try that next time. I am so glad you liked it!