Silky Vanilla Butter Frosting

“I’m sorry to say that I didn’t really care for this frosting.I too, used it to frost a dark chocolate cake.It was easy to make, but to us, the taste of the flour came through, more than the vanilla.The idea is a great one–less sweet frosting is what really appealed to me,though I think that using flour may not be the way to go.”

“We loved this frosting!Followed the recipe as posted & it was so simple to make.Made sure to boil the mixture for a good 2 minutes; that really thickens it & also eliminates the flour taste. It took a good 1/2 hr to cool. With an electric hand mixer, slowly incorporated the milk mixture into the whipped butter.Like others, I baked Lennie’s Deep Dark Chocolate Cake (oh Lennie, this cake deserves to be in the hall of fame) & the frosting was so well suited to this cake.Had to wait an entire day to rate these recipes because I wanted to see if the frosting & cake was as good straight out of the fridge.The cake & the frosting were even better cold!If you find frosting with powder sugar a bit too sweet, I highly recommend using this vanilla butter frosting. “

“I hearby swear that I will NEVER use another vanilla frosting! This was too good to be true! It is absolutely silken in texture, not gritty or teeth aching sweet! I have been searching forever for a frosting like this…Sharlene, I am forever in your debt. Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is fab on chocolate cake, but I think DH wanted to lick the bowl clean, so I think it would be great on anything!”

“I was making Lennie’s Deep Dark Chocolate Cake, and saw Anu’s post that she had used this to frost it, so followed her lead.I’m glad I did.The frosting was simple to make.Its light texture, and just-right-sweetness was a perfect contrast to the ultra-black richness of the cake.Thanks, has gone into the recipe file!”

“Fabulous and really easy! I used only 3/4 cup butter, but didn’t change anything else. The vanilla flavour is strong and marvellous! I used this to frost Lennie’s Deep Dark Chocolate Cake (#12488).”

“Finally!A frosting that doesn’t make your teeth ache!!My first try had to be thrown out because I left the pot in step #3 for a bit too long and got lumps.My second try, I stirred almost constantly on step #3 (definitley good arm exercise!) and everything came together perfectly.This recipe is a keeper for sure!”

“You have a winner here.This was so light but creamy and not too sweet.Easy to make.I cooled it in the freezer to speed things up a bit.Next time I might try adding some cocoa to make chocolate frosting.Thanks so much for the recipe!Catherine”

“I am not big on vanilla frosting, so I melted 4 white chocolate squares and gradually added it along with the milk mixture.I also only used about 1/3-1/2 of the milk because I also made the chocolate butter frosting (tried to anyway) and it was too thin with all of the milk.This recipe all in all turned out to be wonderful with my subtractions and additions which will make it easier for me to make next time.”

“I really liked this!I make a sweet vanilla cupcake and this less sweet frosting with some cinnamon added was the perfect compliment!I love the fact that it’s not incredibly sweet.Everyone is begging me to make this again.i used my mixer and really made sure i beat the butter for a long time and also cooked the flour/millk mixture for the right amount of time.There was no flour aftertaste and for me the frosting was a great consistency.All you have to do is beat a little longer if you want it fluffier!Thank you!”

“While I was making this frosting I was skeptical.I was afraid that it was going to taste like flour.It turned out great.I really like the lightness of it.It is Buttercream without the sickening sweet taste.I frosted angel food cupcakes with this…and my 5 year old daughter and I are thoroughly enjoying them.Thanks for the great new frosting recipe.”

“No kidding-this is the best tasting frosting I have ever had! It takes a bit of attention to make-but oh is it worth it! I have made it twice-and both times it got rave reviews from all. The perfect recipe for all of us who like buttercream-but dislike the super sweet granular taste these frostings usually have. Honestly-you must give this one a try!”

“This frosting is wonderful!I found it while searching for a recipe for peanut butter frosting that didn’t contain cream cheese, or an entire box of powdered sugar!I reduced the amount of butter and replaced it with peanut butter.The result was a taste and texture I never would have dreamt possible from my kitchen, but rather a 5 star restaurant! i spread it on Lennie’s Deep Dark Chocolate Cake for a dessert for which I received tons of compliments!I will make it again as written, with peanut butter, and maybe even experimenting with different extracts and flavorings!”

“Great frosting Sharlene – very different indeed and easy too.I topped Lennie’s Deep Dark Chocolate Cake with this for Christmas and got rave reviews and requests for recipe.Thanks a bunch. :)”

“I gave it the old college try – and followed the directions exactly – but I had difficulty with this recipe! I recommend stirring CONSTANTLY over LOW heat(rather than frequently over medium high heat as stated in step 3). I ended up with some very brown blobs at the bottom of the mixture (and a burnt pot) so I had to discard everything. BUT the “taste test” raised this from *** to **** . Thanx Sharlene!”

“THIS IS SO GOOD! This is the first frosting I have ever made and liked. I always think it’s too sweet and now I know how to avoid that. Thanks for a great recipe. When you follow the directions and cook the mixture long enough and cool completely before adding butter, there is not a trace of flour taste in the icing. “

“I’ve made this several times now and it always comes out great!It will be fluffy and taste great if you make sure to beat the butter until fluffy, (which can take up to ten minutes or so), cool the milk mixture completely (when cool it is thick, very thick, like drop cookie dough), and cook for the right amount of time (boil 2 mins, not cook 2 mins total.Too short of cooking time will leave a flour taste).It takes some time and planning but is well worth it!I’ve made a chocolate version by melting chocolate chips into the hot milk mixture.YUM!”

“This recipe is absolutely amazing. It is most definitely different from most other frosting recipes I’ve used… in a good way. The only thing I would recommend is constantly stirring while the mixture is on the stove (I continued to use an electric hand mixer). This will prevent any bumps and bubbles and create a smooth even mixture. I highly recommend giving this a try.”

“This frosting is amazing! The flour, sugar, milk mixture sounds a little weird when you first look at the recipe but it turns into something incredible! I was sure that I had made it too thick, but once I combined it with the whipped butter, it turned into a creamy and smooth consistency. I really like that this frosting isn’t overly sweet. It is by far the best frosting recipe I have ever used! Thanks so much for a great recipe! I will make this over and over again!”

“This frosting tastes great!All I keep on hand is whole wheat pastry flour and this worked beautifully!Even thicker!I halved the recipe and used 2% milk.Thanks for a great frosting without sicky-sweet confectioner’s sugar!!!”

“YUMMY!!! I loved this frosting!! It was creamy and silky and so delicious. I frosted chocolate cupcakes but I substituted coconut extract for the vanilla and topped them with toasted flaked coconut. It was a hit!!”