I’m finally back from my 3-week long holiday from Taiwan! 3 weeks seemed really long for a holiday but we truly experienced what it means by “time flies when one is having fun”. All the photos are still processing-in-progress with X, so it will take some time before I can start posting about the trip 😉
So while waiting for the photos, I’m gonna share a very simple frosting recipe that I’ve found from Tasty Kitchen. This frosting has the texture of buttercream, but it’s not as sickly sweet as traditional buttercream. It’s also lighter and holds pretty well at room temperature. I’ve made it before for my Oreos and Chocolate Mousse Layered Cake, but I think the frosting deserves a post on its own! 😉
Start off by measuring some milk in a pot.
Add in some flour.
Whisk together to combine.
Heat it over medium heat and whisk constantly.
Cook the mixture until it has thickened – like a glue consistency.
Let the mixture cool completely – it must be cooled completely so that it will not melt the butter mixture when added in later on.
While the milk mixture is cooling, measure some butter and sugar.
Cream until light and fluffy.
Add in some vanilla extract to taste.
Then add in the cooled milk mixture.
Beat until light and creamy and use as desired!
- 155 ml (2/3 cup) milk
- 3 tablespoons plain flour
- 150 grams (2/3 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 150 grams (2/3 cup) caster sugar, processed into a fine powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Whisk the flour and milk together in a small pot. Heat the milk mixture over medium heat and whisk consistently until it has thickened into a glue-like consistency. Remove from heat and let cool completely. To speed up the process, place the pot over a ice water bath to let it cool faster.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the butter and superfine sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla extract and the cooled milk mixture. Beat with the electric mixer until thoroughly combined. Use it to fill, frost or pipe as desired!
- Store the frosting in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Let it soften at room temperature before using.
Variations:
- Chocolate: Sift and beat in 30 grams (1/4 cup) of good quality cocoa powder.
- Coffee: Dissolve 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon (personal preference) of instant coffee powder in a little warm water and mix it into the frosting.
- Mocha: Combine the Chocolate and Coffee variations together!
- Matcha: Dissolve 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon (personal preference) of green tea powder in a little warm water and mix it into the frosting.
love the result of your frosting. I made mine using granulated sugar and want to try this one as well to see which is better. I have a question about the butter, 2/3 cup how will I measure it in terms of stick? Thank you so much.
Hi Luanne! 2/3 cup is 1 1/3 sticks of butter 🙂
[…] (step-by-step photos can be found here) […]
I’ve really grown quite fond of cooked frosting lately- It tends to be less sweet than the straight American-style buttercream. This one looks like a very promising approach, nice and creamy!
I know. Where I come from, frostings have been made this way for years… 🙂
[…] make a batch of your favourite vanilla frosting (enough to fill and frost an 8-inch […]
HI Jasline, thank you for visiting my blog. I love this frosting, it look really good. With flour added the butter cream won’t melt so fast? Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Have a nice day.
Not anymore… Luckily! Because there is work to do!
Thank you Raymund! It’s pretty interesting – there’s no flour taste and it’s not cloyingly sweet like buttercream! 😉
Thank you Janine! Hope I’ll get around posting the photos up soon… :p
Thanks Jo! It will probably last a couple of hours out of the refrigerator, but it will last slightly longer in air-conditioned rooms. 🙂 Hope you’ll like the recipe!
Thanks Villy! Haha I’m still in a holiday mood… are you?
Thank you! I think this a great substitute for buttercream, hope you’ll like it too! 😉
Thank you Uru! Have a great week ahead!
Thank you! I used cornstarch as well before, I think it thickens better than flour. I think this frosting will be making appearance quite often here! 😉
I’m glad the photos helped 🙂 Hope you’ll like the frosting!
Thank you Sibella! I’m quite amazed by the results of this frosting too, absolutely no flour taste too! 😉
Thank you! Hope you’ll like it!
Very interesting way of making frosting, I never knew that there is a cooked version of it
cant wait to see your TW pictures – your travel pics always look so awesome! and definitely gonna try this one out just because the first picture got me sold!
welcome back! looking forward to read about yr Taiwan trip!
I’ve not attempted such a recipe..does the frosting on the cake keep well at room-temp in sg?
I have never heard of this before. I will have to give it a try. September we have 3 birthdays in our family and lots of cakes to frost.
Welcome back! I’m also just back from 2-week holiday… Sigh.. Can’t wait to see your photos!
Hi Angie! Thank you! I like this frosting as it’s not as sweet as other buttercream recipes and it tastes much better than whipped cream frosting! Hope you’ll like the recipe 🙂 The frosting can keep up to 5 days in the fridge in an air-tight container. 🙂
This looks divine! I haven’t made a cake with frosting before, but i want to give this a go. How long can I store it in the fridge before I put it on my cake?
Thanks!~~
Welcome back! I love trying new frostings, so I’m excited about this one.
Welcome home, Jasline! As much as I enjoy buttercream, sometimes its’s almost cloyingly sweet. Yours recipe sounds like a vast improvement. Thanks for sharing.
Welcome back my friend – what a crazy delicious looking frosting 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Welcome back! I love this icing recipe. I use a very similar one for whipped cream icing. Instead of flour I use cornstarch either thickener would work wonderfully. Your icing is beautifully thick and creamy.
I’ve heard of this frosting before but it’s nice to see the steps as well. Sounds like a very practical invention. 🙂
Great recipe! I like flour based frosting a lot! It is so much richer in taste!
An interesting frosting which Ishall try sometime. Thank you! 🙂