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Square image of frosting looking smooth and wavy

Light And Creamy Ermine Frosting Recipe

My fluffy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting, also known as Ermine Frosting, isn’t overly sweet, it’s silky smooth, light, creamy and easy to make!
4.88 from 8 votes
Prep 20 minutes
Cook 5 minutes
Cool 40 minutes
Total 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 1
Calories 3064 kcal

Ingredients

Fluffy Ermine Frosting

  • 150 g granulated sugar
  • 40 g all-purpose flour
  • 250 g whole-fat milk
  • 300 g unsalted butter softened (see notes)
  • 14 g vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
  • 1/4 tsp fine salt

Instructions
 

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

  • Make milk paste - Add the sugar and flour into a medium sized saucepan (non-stick or stainless steel). Mix until well combined. Add the milk and stir until everything is well combined. Place on medium heat and stir using a silicone spatula (if using a non-stick pot) or the same whisk (if using stainless steel). After about 3 minutes of continuous stirring, the mixture will begin to thicken and then become a pudding like texture. Once the pudding begins to boil, take off the heat, transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to cool completely to room temperature.
  • Whip butter – For this recipe, you’ll need to make sure the butter is softened. I’ve left instructions in the notes on how to do that. Add the butter to a large mixing bowl and use an electric hand mixer to whip on high speed until it lightens in color and becomes creamy, about 3-4 minutes.
  • Add milk paste – Scrape down the bowl and add 1/4 of the cooled milk paste, vanilla extract and pinch of salt to the whipped butter. Whip on high speed until well combined. Scrape down the bowl and repeat until all the milk paste is in the frosting. Once it’s well combined the frosting is ready to us!
  • If the frosting is too stiff – add it to the microwave for 5 seconds, then mix together using a spatula until it’s as soft as you need it.
  • To store frosting – Place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for 3 days. Thaw to room temperature before whipping again.
  • To freeze frosting – Add to a zip lock bag and seal. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw to room temperature and whip again before using.
  • To color frosting – use food color gel, not liquid food dye. Mix in until you reach the color you want. A little goes a long way and the color intensifies the next day

Notes

Softened Butter - Make sure your butter is softened for this recipe. It’ll help with the structural integrity of the frosting. I have a full guide on how to properly soften butter on the blog, but for reference, softened butter is 18C / 65F on a thermometer. Cut it into cubes and let it sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours until it reaches this temperature to until it’s soft enough that when you press on it with your finger, it leaves an indent with some resistance.
How much frosting do I need to make?
This recipe is enough to fill and frost a two-layer 20cm / 8-inch Vanilla Cake or 12 cupcakes with high frosting swirls or 24 cupcakes if you’re smearing it on with a spoon or spatula.
Storage - Buttercream can be stored in an airtight container and kept in the fridge for three days. Let it thaw at room temperature before whipping up again to use on cakes and cupcakes.
Nutrition - is an approximate and is based on per 1 batch. See above note for how much one batch will work for.
A note on measurements - this recipe is offered in weight measurements. This is in an effort to offer the most accurate way to get the best results. Cup measurements simply aren’t accurate enough for a recipe that needs precision and cup sizes differ depending on where you are in the world. Here is where you can learn more about how to measure ingredients using digital kitchen scales!

Nutrition

Calories:3064kcal | Carbohydrates:194g | Protein:15g | Fat:252g | Saturated Fat:159g | Polyunsaturated Fat:10g | Monounsaturated Fat:65g | Trans Fat:10g | Cholesterol:675mg | Sodium:713mg | Potassium:514mg | Fiber:1g | Sugar:164g | Vitamin A:7902IU | Calcium:389mg | Iron:2mg
Keyword Buttercream, Ermine, Vanilla
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