Ermine flour frosting is the most amazing alternative to cream cheese frosting. This is an “old time” recipe that was originally given to us by my husband Derek’s grandmother, Maw Maw (Lavada Condo.) It’s a delicious, fluffy, sweet, traditional vanilla frosting. And it’s so easy to make!
This frosting will go perfectly with a red velvet cake or a chocolate cake. But I’d personally even put it on a carrot cake or a white cake. It’s just so delicious that I think it goes with everything.
It comes out a lot lighter and fluffier than cream cheese frosting, and in my opinion it’s a lot more flavorful and delicious too.
Ermine Vanilla Frosting Ingredients
This frosting goes by many names: flour frosting, Ermine frosting, vanilla frosting… The ingredients are for one regular-sized cake, but I’d make double so you can keep half in the fridge and add a little dollop on the side of each slice of cake as you serve it. It’s that good!
- 5 tablespoons of flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup sugar (try for a smoother sugar rather than the coarser varieties if you can)
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine at room temperature
Flour Frosting Directions
First, mix the flour and milk until smooth.
Pour the flour/milk mixture into a small saucepan and cook over low heat until it’s thick and smooth. This process takes longer than you might think, so don’t get in a hurry and pull it off the heat too fast!
Feel free to turn up the heat a little in order to speed up the cooking. But if you do, watch the frosting closely so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. Or so the milk doesn’t curdle!
Stir the frosting in the pan frequently.
There will be a point when you think the frosting is done and thick. But this is too soon. KEEP GOING a little longer after this point. Keep cooking until the frosting is thick enough that it forms a loose ball in your saucepan. The photo below demonstrates what it should look like when it’s ready to be taken off the heat.
Let the mixture fully cool. I’ll often do this step before making my cake, so it has enough time to cool before the next part. Or I might put it in the refrigerator. It’s essential that it’s fully cooled before you add it to the butter mixture, or it will melt the butter mix and make the texture weird.
So while it’s cooling, move on to your next step.
Cream the sugar and butter (which should be at room temperature) and vanilla in a mixer until smooth. Make sure it is very smooth and try to use a smoother sugar rather than a coarse one if you can.
Add the cooled flour mixture.
Beat in the mixer until smooth. This will also take longer than you think. There will be a point when you think it’s done, but the texture is still just a little coarse. Keep beating past this point, because it will get pretty fluffy if you keep going. See how fluffy it looks in the photo below! It looks fluffy and smooth. This is what you want. Feel free to test a little to make sure it’s at a smooth consistency. Don’t be afraid to beat the mixture quite awhile.
Put the frosting in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before you frost your cooled cake. (It’s imperative to make sure your cake if fully cooled before you frost it!)
This is the consistency your frosting should be at:
Now frost a fully cooled cake. It will look like this!
Ermine Flour Frosting Recipe (Cream Cheese Alternative)
Description
This traditional frosting is a delicious alternative to cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
5 tablespoons of flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine at room temperature
Instructions
Mix the flour and milk until smooth.
Pour the flour/milk mixture into a small saucepan and cook over low heat until it’s thick and smooth. Prepare for this part to take awhile! Don’t rush it.
Stir frequently. There will be a point when you think the frosting is done and fully thickened. Keep stirring and cooking until it basically forms a loose ball in your saucepan.
Let this fully cool.
Cream the sugar and butter and vanilla in a mixer until smooth.
Add the cooled flour mixture.
Beat in the mixer until smooth. You want all the coarseness from the sugar to be gone, and the frosting to be kind of fluffy.
Put the frosting in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before you frost your cooled cake.