This Heritage Frosting recipe is creamy and not overly sweet. It starts with a cooked flour and milk mixture giving it a unique flavor and texture. Such a great alternative to traditional buttercream!
Here we are again! Another Frosting Friday in the books! I am loving this series and hope you are as well. I can already tell it’s going to be a great resource for my site moving forward, mixing and matching cakes to different frostings! Yay for butter and sugar!
SO so many of you have asked about this frosting…requesting something a little less sweet than traditional buttercream.
My mom used to make this frosting whenever she made her Red Velvet cake…which I will be sharing with you guys soon! It happens to be the absolute BEST red velvet cake recipe in all the land and I am just sorry I haven’t shared it with you before!
Anyhow, part of what makes that cake the best is the FROSTING! I have heard this type of frosting called a lot of different things…Cooked Flour Frosting, Boiled Frosting, Magic Frosting, Ermine Frosting…
Anyhow, my mom called it Heritage Frosting, so that’s what I will call it too. The difference in the recipe is that you boil milk and flour together, almost like a gravy, until it’s very thick. This serves as the base of the frosting.
How to Make This Heritage Frosting Recipe
You let it cool completely. You can even do this step ahead of time and refrigerate it until you’re ready to use it!
While you’re cooking the milk and flour, you have to whisk it CONSTANTLY. You do NOT want any lumps, because once they’re there, there’s no turning back…trust me I’ve tried.
Basically you’ll end up with lumpy frosting and that’s just gross. Once the flour mixture is cooled, you mix together butter and sugar.
Here’s where I went a little off-script. My mom’s recipe (and most of the ones I have found online) call for granulated sugar. I have made it that way and it’s good. That’s the way my mom made it, and it’s probably the traditional way to make this frosting. HOWEVER.
This is my website and I get to make the rules. Please feel free to try it with granulated sugar, if you wish… but since I think you come to me for MY favorites, I actually like making this with powdered sugar.
Sorry, it’s just what I prefer.
I feel like the powdered sugar gives it a silkier texture…and actually it’s a little less sweet, in my opinion. I will include the granulated sugar adaptation in the recipe, so you can make your own choice.
Mix the cooled flour mixture in with the butter and sugar until it’s fluffy and silky!
Seriously how gorgeous is that?!
Now, another tip I will give you…
When I was testing this recipe, I made a few batches. One batch I used immediately on a cake and it was amazing. The other batch I saved and refrigerated to use on a cake later that week.
When I was ready to use the frosting, I pulled it out of the fridge and let it come up to room temperature. I re-whipped it, so it would be fluffy and creamy. But it just didn’t work. The frosting became thin and curdled-looking…and just kid of goopy.
Anyhow, I tried it again the following week, with the same results. So I don’t recommend making this in advance. I would make it and frost your cake or cupcake the same day. Once it’s on the cake, I had no trouble with the texture, although it does soften up the longer it sits, but it is still completely tasty.
You can absolutely pipe this frosting, but I would not use it for piping flowers or anything you would like to hold a clean shape. I like this best spread on, but that’s just my opinion!
Stay tuned for my Red Velvet Cake recipe!
Print
Heritage Frosting
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 3 cups 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Heritage Frosting recipe is creamy and not overly sweet. It starts with a cooked flour and milk mixture giving it a unique flavor and texture. Such a great alternative to traditional buttercream!
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- In a small saucepan whisk the milk, flour and salt together constantly on medium-low heat until the mixture thickens. You will want it to be the consistently of a very thick gravy.
- Remove the pan from heat and allow to cool completely, stirring occasionally.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer beat the butter and sugar for 1 minute, or until creamy. Add in the cooled flour mixture and vanilla. Mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Frosting will become thick and smooth.
- Use immediately.
Notes
I have never had luck refrigerating this frosting for later use. It tends to separate and get runny when re-whipping. I recommend using immediately.
If you prefer to make this the traditional way, sub out the powdered sugar for 1 cup of granulated sugar. Follow all the instructions the same way.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Scoop
- Calories: 197
- Sugar: 25.9 g
- Sodium: 349.1 mg
- Fat: 8.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 28.1 g
- Protein: 2.6 g
- Cholesterol: 3.1 mg
Want To Save This Recipe?
years ago my boyfriends mother made this frosting but instead of butter she used crisco i liked it because it wasn;t to sweet and it taste great on a cake that was cold from the frigerator
Can you use coffee creamer (vanilla, hazelnut, etc.) instead of milk?
Yes sure!
Love this recipe! My family have been using it for generations. We use it on chocolate mayonnaise cake. The creamy texture along with the moist chocolate cake is to die for. I also switched to using powdered sugar instead of the granular sugar. It does give it a smoother texture. I’m not a fan of buttercream frosting. Too sweet. My friends thought it was crazy that this recipe is cooked. Thanks for adding it to Pinterest.
Whipped up nicely; was a little too sweet for my liking, but I don’t have a sweet tooth. Others might find it perfect. Went on the cake nicely. Do not walk away from the stove when cooking – I did twice and had to start from the beginning 3 times! They’re not kidding when they say “stir constantly”. I would recommend this recipe.
I made this frosting years ago it was my go to frosting. I loved that the consistency was like whipped cream. I used to flavor it with koolaide the little packets before they added the sugar. I could make any flavor I wanted.
What a fun idea!
Could I use heavy whipping cream in place of milk?
I have never tried it that way so I can’t speak to the the results, although I imagine it would be thicker, so you might need to add a bit more.
I have a friend who is allergic to wheat and corn, so I can’t use powdered sugar or regular flour. Have you tried using coconut, almond, or other non wheat flours?
You could try arrowroot in place of the flour.
Hi there, would u kindly confirm what type of butter pls? Salted or unsalted.? Thank you. Can I also use plain flour instead of cake flour?
Thank you
I use salted, but it is a personal preference. And you use regular all purpose flour!
I’ve made a similar recipe for years. What I do differently is use granulated sugar- but I cook it with the flour and milk. No graininess(is that a word? lol). Then after it has cooled I beat my butter and add the mixture to it. My hubby loves it because it isn’t as sweet as buttercream. I get rave reviews whenever I use this on my cakes. Everyone asks for the recipe.
This is how I make it also, tried substituting cream cheese for part of the butter and it was the best cream cheese frosting EVER!!
I have made this many times. Because it is not so sweet, I like to use it as a filling, or else I will pour a chocolate glaze on top. Yum!!!!!
So glad you like it!