The other night I was looking for a new frosting/icing recipe to try... found one that was part of a cake recipe and listed simply as 'frosting' at the bottom of the cake recipe.

I LOVED the final result but was wondering if this frosting recipe has a 'better/real' name other then 'frosting'?

frosting ingredients:
1 cup milk
3 tbs flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1 tsp flavoring

directions: beat sugar with butter. heat milk with flour. cool. combine the two (and flavoring) and beat until light and fluffy.

Is this a recipe that anyone recognizes under another name?

It almost has the consistency of whipped cream when done (when at room temp). and since it's all butter it firms up hard when put into the fridge.

I've only used it on cupcakes so far but since it firms up (when chilled) i wonder if it can be used like IMBC or SMBC and firmed up to make nice crisp edges when applied to cakes??

I know this recipe - even used it several times. I'm not at home but I'll look it up. Seems like it has an odd name.

Wilton calls it French Buttercream Icing


http://www.wilton.com/recipe/French-Buttercream-Icing-1

Hope that helps.

cooked flour frosting, i think. or old fashioned. let me look it up

Thanks everyone!

I looked at the recipe on the Wilton site quoted above...the ingredients are the same but the proportions are different and the steps in the process are different... they may yield the same result but I'm not sure.

Thanks everyone!

I looked at the recipe on the Wilton site quoted above...the ingredients are the same (except that wilton also adds salt) but the proportions are different and the steps in the process are different... but they probably yield the same result.

I noticed that the Wilton version says that you must refrigerate the icing (ie refrigerate the cupcakes you use it on)... why? is it to firm it up or because something will spoil if left out? if the latter, what will spoil? the butter should be good for at least a day or two considering the sugar content should it not? or are they worried about the milk? either way wouldn't the sugar content help things and thus you wouldn't need to refrigerate at least for a day? unless you are in a super hot climate or out in the sun on a mid summer day of course

Yep it's cooked flour/Mary Kay frosting. It is traditionally used to ice an RV cake, but it can be used for any cake. My husband's grandmother uses a similar recipe to ice her strawberry cake (DH strawberry). It's one of the best cakes in the world! I have left out slices of her cake for several days and never noticed a problem with the icing. You can use shortening too, but butter is the best.

Annie

Crazy question...does this recipe call for granulated sugar instead of powdered? I'd like to try it and need to know.

Toba Garrett's book refers to a similar recipe as "French Vanilla Buttercream"

http://www.sweetcelebrations.us/files/french_vanilla_buttercream_a_la_toba.pdf

i've also heard it called "custard frosting" or "heritage frosting"

Granulated. It will dissolve when you beat it.

This is called cooked flour frosting. The Bettercreme thread also calls this Mock Whipped Cream frosting.

I have also always heard it called cooked flour frosting. It was popular years ago. You will find this recipe in all of the popular mid-century cookbooks. In this buttercream, be sure not to rush it. Anthing with flour, such as a roux or a bechamel sauce, requires that the flour taste be cooked out. In my cooking experience, I have found the magic time to be 15 minutes. If it is made quickly, you will taste the raw flour.

I think naming it French buttercream is one of those names that tries to make something more basic sound more regal, like still calling a frosting buttercream when no butter was used at all.

This recipe has much more humble beginnings. It was a staple recipe in many family kitchens before the Crisco era took over and we lost so many great frostings due to this ingredient that was both more economical and easier to make.

This recipe is very good when cooked correctly.

I've made this many times, always knew it as Mock Whipped Cream. For anyone who does not like marshmallow filling in whoopie pies, this recipe is excellent.

when i made it (using the recipe at the top of this thread), I vigorously stirred the milk (in a pot) with a whisk as I slowly added the flour. then heated to almost a boil.... and continued to stir until both hands started to get very tiered - it was roughly 8-10 min. it thickened up to coat the back of spoon but was still liquid. took it off the burner and while I waited for it to cool I put the butter and granulated sugar in my mixer and let it mix on medium for about 10 min (scrapping down the sides several times). By that time the milk mixture had cooled so I added it to the mixer that had the butter and sugar... continued to beat for another 5 min (until i could no longer taste the granules of sugar).

it was super light and fluffy - it was white (a little off white actually) but not ivory or butter yellow in color.

it's been out on the counter for 3 days now and looks, smells and tastes just like when it was made.

I used to make a recipe very similar to this many years ago and the cake always sat out for days while being eaten. We never had a problem with spoilage but, Wilton may be saying to store in the fridge in case someone does get sick. Although they don't get sick from the icing but from another reason they do not want to be liable for saying it is perfectly fine to leave it out.. Who knows what conditions exist in every home, i.e., sanitation, pets etc.
evelyn

Thanks for sharing this! Does anyone know if you can swap out the flour for rice flour so its GF (gluten free)? Thanks! Theresa

I've used Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten-free Baking Flour (what a name!) in this frosting before, and it works very well. You can definitely taste that it isn't "regular" flour, but it isn't very noticeable at all once flavoured.

It's an old-fashioned southern recipe. Magnolia Bakery uses it for their frosting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MabaxZtRHks&feature=player_embedded#!

Thank you Stephanie!
Theresa

Thanks for that suggestion too! Personally I don't care if there's chestnut flour in any GF flour because it tastes 'heavy' to me. The stay-away-from-beanflour idea is good. Although I'm not the family member who requires GF, I am always looking for ideas on that front too! I feel a test batch of something coming up this weekend!!

The Cooked Flour Frosting is in the earliest recipes for Red Velvet Cake--way before Cream Cheese Frosting, and it's lovely! It's easy to make up a big batch of the flour-milk paste to make it whenever you need a quick frosting.

There is another similarly made frosting that also has an ancient beginning: German Buttercream. It takes the flour milk paste of the cooked flour frosting a creamy step further by making a classic Pastry Cream with Vanilla beans milk and yolks that you then cool to room temperature and begin to beat in the butter a little at a time till silky smooth.

The recipe can be found here at http://bravetart.com/recipes/GermanButtercream