Traditional Ermine Frosting

This recipe is for the traditional red velvet frosting. It is more traditional than the cream cheese counterpart that most people use today. Most people call this a “boiled milk frosting,” which is a more vintage style and more traditionally used with the red velvet cake when the cake first hit the scene many years ago in the mid 20th century.

This is the recipe I prefer for many of my cakes. It isn’t as sweet as many of today’s frostings or the powdered sugar frosting most bakeries use, or you buy at the store. It also uses butter instead of the crisco most bakeries use. It complements many cakes, especially red velvet or chocolate cakes. This frosting also works well with cupcakes, and you can color this frosting, too.

So, let’s get started.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 C. All-purpose flour
1 C. Sugar
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1 1/2 C. Whole milk
1 1/2 C. (3 sticks) Unsalted butter – softened
1 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the milk and whisk to combine well.
2. Turn the heat to medium and whisk constantly until the mixture thickens. Once it thickens, continue to whisk for 1 minute. This just cooks out the raw flour taste.
3. Remove from heat and transfer the mixture to a bowl. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let it cool completely at room temp. This may take 2 to 3 hours.
4. In a large bowl or a stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth. This should take about 2 minutes.
5. Add the cooled flour mixture and continue beating until smooth and well combined.
6. Add the vanilla and continue beating until well combined and the mixture is fluffy. This should take about 4 minutes or so. ( You can also add in any food coloring you like with the vanilla)
7. Frost your favorite cake as desired. \

• This makes enough for a 9×12 or a two-layer cake.
• You can double this recipe if you have a larger cake or need extra for decorating.
• When adding the vanilla extract, you can add any food coloring you like. I like to use gel or powder food coloring so it doesn’t alter the consistency of the frosting that I use. This frosting has the best texture, so I don’t want to ruin it with a more liquid food coloring.
• Make sure the cooked base is completely cool before adding it to the butter, or the butter will melt. We don’t want that.
• If you want to make this a chocolate or carob-flavored ermine frosting, just add 1/4 cup of cocoa or carob powder to the base ingredients before cooking. Follow the remaining directions and make sure that it is completely cool before adding it to the butter.
• You can also add some toasted coconut to the final mixture and gently fold it in before frosting your cake. I love how versatile this frosting is. You can also switch up the flavor by adding in different extracts. Use coconut extract with the toasted coconut flakes for a coconut frosting. Add coffee extract with the cocoa powder for a deeper chocolate flavor. Add almond extract and then frost the cake and top with toasted almonds, or fold them into the frosting. The sky is the limit with this frosting, and this is why I love this frosting so much.