Saturday, July 3, 2010

Perfect Frosting a.k.a. Flour Frosting

I know, it sounds weird doesn't it?  But honestly, when I saw the picture of this frosting over at Our Best Bites I knew it was worth a try.  These girls don't mess around with mediocre food so even though I was worried a little bit I moved forward confident that they wouldn't steer me wrong. 
 I love frosting, but I am not good at making it.  So attempting yet another recipe that is supposed to be easy and tasty made me a bit nervous (my track record is not good, not good at all!)  Then there were the ingredients--I was leery of the flour, would the final product taste like raw cookie dough?  I was leery of the granulated, yes granulated, sugar, would the final product be gritty?  The answer was no to both.  I got a light, fluffy, creamy frosting that wasn't overly sweet and doesn't crust up like some butter creams do.  It was the perfect topping for my 4th of July cupcakes.
 Perfect Cupcake Frosting and Filling

Recipe Source: ourbestbites.com

**Cook's Note: I am very generous with my frosting as you can see from the pictures.  If you are like me, you may want to double your recipe in order to have enough for all of your cupcakes. 

3 T Flour
1/2 C milk (whole milk is best, but I used non-fat when it's all I have and it's actually fine)
1/2 C real butter
1/2 C sugar (that's granulated sugar, not powdered sugar)
1 t vanilla extract, or other flavor if you wish.

Whisk together the flour and the milk. Heat in a small sauce pan on medium heat. Whisk continuously until it starts to thicken. This is the critical point for any of you who have had problems with this recipe.  Let it cook, while stirring, until it looks like pudding (you should be able to see the bottom of the pan when you stir it).  Push through a strainer to remove any lumps and allow to cool completely.  If you don't, it will melt your butter and sugar mixture.
In an electric stand mixer, using a whisk attachment, beat the butter and the sugar until well combined and fluffy.  Then while beating, add in the thickened milk mixture and the vanilla. Beat on the highest speed you can (it may look strange at first as the flour mixture and butter start to combine, but just let your mixer keep working for you and it will all come together) for at least 7 minutes. It may take longer, but I found the longer it mixed the fluffier it became.

Tips from Our Best Bites
1. Use real butter, and a good name-brand. Cheap butter does weird things. (**Cook's note, my butter was fine, it was a store brand and the cheapest I could find)
2. If you beat for the 6-8 minutes and the mixture still looks strange, beat longer and at a higher speed if you can. It should come together, but it takes a little patience!
3. Store at room temperature in a sealed container. Frosting may separate in the fridge, but you can store it overnight if left at room temp and in a well sealed container.

Total Cost-$.69!
Butter $.54
Flour $.02
Sugar$.05
Milk$.08
Vanilla Free

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17 comments:

  1. I love frosting as well. Chocolate is my FAVORITE!

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  2. People think I'm crazy when I tell them that my favorite frosting in the world is my Mom's buttercream frosting that uses granulated sugar instead of confectioner's sugar. I can't tell you how I miss my Mom and her perfect-every-time frosting! Mine never turns out quite as good as hers did, although a couple of my sisters have mastered it beautifully. Her recipe is very similar to yours except hers uses cornstarch instead of flour. Growing up with this frosting has caused me to not care for the ultra-sweet "buttercream" frostings that rely on confectioner's sugar.

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    1. People thought I was crazy the first time I made it, but my family loves this frosting now. I have tried it with cornstarch too with fabulous results. Thank you for sharing your family story here on my blog!

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  3. Hi Jenn! Just wanted to let you know I got your blog for SRC and made your Flour Frosting! I was amazed at how you couldn't even taste the granulated sugar...it was so smooth!!!! I actually used the frosting for my son's 6th birthday cake and some cupcakes I served along side. Thx for sharing!

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    1. Asiya, I'm so glad these turned out well for your son's birthday! Thanks for posting one of my recipes for the Secret Recipe Club!

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  4. I have made this frosting for years! Substitute 1/2 the butter with peanut butter for a great peanut butter frosting.

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  5. Thank you Jenn I love this recipe. I ran out of powdered sugar and in a pinch looked up non powdered sugar frostings. I like you have had trouble in the past with homemade frosting. This was easy and so much better than powdered sugar frosting. To be honest, I never really cared for powdered sugar frosting as it is too sweet and has a funny taste to it.

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  6. I'd love to try this, it sounds so interesting! Is there a button on here for Pinterest? I'd love to pin this & try it later :)

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  7. I don't have a stand mixer - would a food processor work, or would it be better to use a hand mixer? I love that you dont have to refrigerate and that it has a lot less sugar than buttercream. Thanks!

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  8. How is vanilla free? It's probably the most expensive ingredient in this recipe

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    1. It was FREE because it was gift given to me by a good friend who makes her own vanilla. Please note that I was a couponer at the time I was tracking the expenses related to these recipes. As a couponer, it was a regular occurrence for me to have items listed as FREE because I didn't pay for them between sale prices and coupons. Never did I promise that my price would be the same as yours.

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  9. I've tried to make it three times tonight now it's 1:30am and none of my cookies will be done. Looks like I'll be stopping at the store tomorrow morning very frustrated!!!!

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    1. I'm so sorry yours didn't turn out. Mine is always a huge hit, but the recipe must be followed exactly.

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  10. My mom used to make this, and I hadn't seen the recipe in years. Thanks for posting it.

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  11. I have used this or something very close on layer cakes, but never cookies. My recipe is one stick of butter and 8 Tbl. crisco. Butter and crisco have to be soft and milk at room temp to get the best whip and non granulated texture. I don't mind it refrigerated. It will harden when chilled and soften up when set out at room temp again. Has been my favorite for years.

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  12. I made this using pressure butter. Fabulous!! I ate some with no cake mmmm! 😋

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