Ermine Frosting
Ermine Frosting is the Goldilocks of buttercreams. It’s less sweet than American Buttercream and a little sweeter than Meringue Buttercream. This old-fashioned frosting is juuuust right!
All About Ermine Frosting:
Ermine frosting is known by many names; boiled-milk frosting, roux frosting, Heritage frosting and flour frosting to name a few.
Whatever you call it, this is an old-fashioned frosting recipe that starts with a pudding base. Then you add the pudding to whipped butter to make a light, luscious and silky smooth cake frosting.
Because the sugar is cooked into the “pudding” base, there is no grittiness in this frosting. What you have is a creamy, airy buttercream with a lovely milky flavor.
Ermine is the traditional frosting for Red Velvet cake. I love to use it as the base for Malted Chocolate Frosting and to frost Malted Milk Blondies. Use coconut milk in the pudding to make Coconut Rum Frosting.
Ingredients
- All Purpose Flour – The flour thickens the milk to create the pudding base.
- Sugar – Sugar sweetens the frosting.
- Milk – Is the base for the pudding mixture.
- Vanilla/Salt – Together they balance the flavor of the frosting.
- Butter – Use unsalted butter to control the amount of salt in the recipe.
How to make Ermine Frosting:
- Cook the flour milk and sugar together over medium heat in a small saucepan.
- Cook the flour mixture until it is thick like pudding.
- Whip the butter until it’s light and aerated
- Add the pudding and mix it until combined.
- Switch to the whisk.
- Whip until the frosting is light and fluffy like whipped cream.
Storage
- For best results, Ermine Frosting should be used to fill and frost your cake as soon as it’s made.
- If you do make the frosting ahead of time, refrigerate until ready to use. Bring the frosting back to room temperature then rewhip to aerate.
- Because it’s made with milk, after 3-4 hours at room temperature a cake iced with Ermine frosting should be refrigerated.
- Ermine frosting can be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap in a double layer of plastic to prevent it from picking up off-flavors in the freezer. After defrosting, rewhip to revive the buttercream.
FAQs about Ermine Frosting:
Yes, add food coloring to the pudding base or to the whipped buttercream.
The frosting will keep up to a week in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer.
If your Ermine frosting is runny either the butter was too soft or the pudding was warm when added to the butter. Chill the frosting briefly and then re-whip.
The pudding was probably too warm when added to the butter. Chill the frosting briefly and then re-whip.
No, Ermine frosting will not form a crust. It will firm up a bit in the refrigerator. For a true crusting buttercream make American Buttercream.
If you’d like to try a slightly richer version of this frosting, here’s a recipe for German Buttercream. German Buttercream has an egg custard base instead of a pudding base.
An if you love chocolate, try this Malted Chocolate Frosting which is a version of Ermine Frosting.
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Ermine Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 oz granulated sugar (1 ½ cups)
- 2 ½ oz all purpose flour (½ cup)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 12 oz whole milk (1 ½ cups)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 12 oz unsalted butter (room temperature)
Instructions
- Combine 12 oz granulated sugar, 2 ½ oz all purpose flour and ¼ teaspoon salt in a saucepan, whisk to combine. Slowly whisk in 12 oz whole milk until smooth. Heat the mixture over medium low, whisking constantly, until it begins to boil.
- Continue to cook and stir for 2-3 minutes until it thickens to a pudding-like texture. Immediately remove from the heat. Transfer to a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and cool to room temperature.
- Cream 12 oz unsalted butter until light and fluffy. Add the pudding, a little at a time, until completely incorporated. Switch to the whisk attachment and whip the buttercream until it’s light and fluffy.
- Use immediately to fill and frost your favorite cake.
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Hey, if I wish to make the frosting a little more firm, then what can I do? I’ve noticed that it becomes soft quite soon after I take it out of the refrigerator. And if I use any fondant accents, they just slide right off!
Thanks in advance! 🙂
Yes, this is a softer frosting. Maybe not the best for fondant decorations. I generally use a Meringue Buttercream when I’m working with fondant decorations. As far as making it firmer, you could try adding some powdered sugar but I’m not sure that would work since powdered sugar can just end up absorbing moisture and making the frosting runny.
Hi Eileen.. Youve been such a wealth of knowledge for a homebaker like me! Thank you..
Ive been going over your frosting recipes for a couple of days now in search of a stable sandwich cookie filling for our hot summer weather. It needs to be able to not crust, not melt and definitely take being out of the fridge for a 24-48 hours atleast. And I plan to blend some cardamom powder in with the sifted icing sugar or granulated sugar to get some cardamom flavour as well. Do you have one you recommend? I was thinking of trying cream cheese frosting but I worry it would spoil. ABC then? With water instead of milk? Thank you so much for all your content! XX
If you want a frosting that can be left at warm temperature for 1-2 days I recommend making ABC with vegetable shortening rather than butter. ABC will crust though. What type of cookie is this and why does it need to be left out so long? Just asking about the situation so I can make other recommendations.
For ermine frosting – you use a p flour – have you tried it with fine cornflour?
I use ap flour. I’m not sure if what you refer to as cornflour is the same as cornstarch. If so, you’d get a very different result with cornstarch. The “pudding” in the Ermine frosting must be cooled before it’s whipped into the butter. A pudding made with ap flour is very stable and can be cooled and then whipped into the butter without breaking down. Cornstarch can be used to thicken the pudding, but, once the pudding is cooled if you stir or whip the pudding the cornstarch will release the liquid and the pudding will break down. So it’s not the best option for whipping into frosting.
If I use coconut milk will The frosting still need to be refrigerated?
Nope.
Looking through your frosting recipes, I found the Ermine & tried it & I love it but it’s a tad ‘soft’. Then just now I’m scrolling through the list of Buttercream frostings & I read this: “The process for making Ermine frosting starts with a “pudding” made from milk, sugar and cornstarch.”
The recipe listed does NOT include corn starch, so I’m wondering if this is why mine turns out ‘soft’ (my last batch was so soft the top layer of cake slid off to the side in transport….)
Adding to my comment above, I have read through the whole description and see where you say that the ‘pudding’ may have been too warm. What temperature should it read on a thermometer?
I don’t check the actual temperature of the pudding, but it should be completely cool to the touch. What’s really important is the combined temperature of the butter and the pudding. If you’re working in a hot kitchen and the butter is quite soft and melty and you add pudding that isn’t completely cooled the frosting will be softer. You can chill the frosting briefly and then whip again. If you find your butter has gotten too soft you can lightly chill the pudding before adding it to the butter. I like to start with butter that is warm enough that’s it’s pliable, but it’s not at all melty and/or greasy.
Hi Nancy, Sorry for the delayed response. I don’t always see the comments right away. That note about cornstarch was a typo. I’ve corrected it to say the pudding is made with milk and flour. The frosting was likely soft because the butter was too soft when combined with the pudding, or the pudding was still a little warm. Generally, if you chill the frosting a little and then whip again you can correct the texture.