Reviewed: Mar. 31, 2009

Fabulous! Soft, creamy, and not sugar-coma-inducing. I'm not all that experienced at making frosting, but this came together very easily. I substituted another half-cup of butter for the vegetable shortening and used confectioners' sugar rather than granulated. I ended up adding maybe a quarter-cup more sugar (if that) in small increments until the frosting tasted "just right" to me. Excellent, will use this recipe again!

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danceswithcats

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Reviewed: Feb. 9, 2009

As is, its not very good. I beat the sugar with the butter/shortening for 20 plus minutes and it was GRITTY. I decided to add the flour/milk mixture while still warm, hoping it would help with the sugar. It did a bit, but still was a little gritty. I tasted it and it was pretty bland, so I added some almond extract and a few shakes of salt. Like others said, its more like whipped topping than the frosting I'm used to. I also had to add some powdered sugar to sweeten it up and thicken a bit. Edible, but I would not go through the trouble to make again.

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COOKINWIFEANDMOM

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Rochester, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Dickinson, North Dakota, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 20, 2008

This recipe is FANTASTIC. Lumpy 1st time because I didn't heat the mixture correctly. The 2nd time I started w/flour on low/med heat slowly added milk. Once mixed together with no lumps I increased the heat to get the thicker mixture. YUM!

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lilbkru

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Reviewed: Oct. 27, 2008

this frosting is delicious!definitely use this one each time i bake a cake.but make sure you stir the milk-flour mixture while you heated to make sure there are no lumps and beat it for a while before you add into the butter-sugar mixture.

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eisya

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Oct. 8, 2008

MMMMMM...Now that's what I call frosting. I only gave it four stars because I like frosting to be a bit thicker than this; but this recipe is perfect for the type it is. MOVE OVER WHIPPED CREAM CAUSE HERE COMES THE BUTTERCREAM. WooooHoooo!

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Nikki

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Elkhart, Indiana, USA

Living In: Silver Lake, Indiana, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 26, 2008

The best way to ensure you will not have lumps is to start with the flour in a sauce pan over medium heat and very slowly pour in the milk, whisking the entire time. Also, so as not to get that gritty taste, I added the sugar to the flour mixture just before taking it off the heat. I then let the entire mixture cool in the fridge before whipping it into the butter. It turned out perfectly!

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adrienne.annette

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Reviewed: May 19, 2008

I DID EXALCTLY THE WAY IT SAYS ,AND CAMEOUT VERY WELL,,,SOFT LIKE WHIP CREAM

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kochu

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Reviewed: Mar. 11, 2008

I just used this frost a great cake, and though my husband liked it, I found it to be indeed a bit waxy and flavorless, even with extra vanilla. Perhaps it is better with chocolate... either way, it didn't taste like the buttercream frosting I have enjoyed in restaurants. In terms of modification, I used 1/4 cup shortening and 3/4 cup unsalted butter. I recommend being very patient with the flour-milk paste, which easily clumps if heated too quickly.

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CRIMSONANDCLOVER

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Living In: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Reviewed: Mar. 10, 2008

I needed to make a frosting for a spice cake in a hurry with the ingredients I had in my house so I came across this. I somehow got lumpy milk/flour, which the recipe said to stir until not lumpy...well I stirred and stirred and still lumps. So I tossed it and tried again. Still lumpy. I proceeded anyway, using powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar (prior experience gave me grainy frosting). Minus the lumps, the frosting wasn't bad. Wasn't great either. But it was simple.

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LOVEALEGNA

Living In: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 19, 2008

I thought this was wonderful frosting, I had made a lemon boxed cake and didnt have frosting so found this and tried it, its light and fluffy, and has a consistency of whipped cream, I love that its not too sweet, we Americans make all our desserts sickeningly too sweet, if thats a word..I love it and it turned out beautiful.

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Jean

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Niagara Falls, New York, USA

Living In: Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 19, 2008

This recipe was great. A secret - you can alter this recipe just a tad to make sugar-free and shortening free. Instead of the sugar, add in 1/2 cup of Blue Agave Nectar (comes in a syrup in most health food stores) and instead of the shortening, add in 1/4 cup coconut oil (very healthy!) and 1/4 cup extra butter (so 3/4 cup butter total). For a special taste, add in 7 pureed strawberries (might have to add some water) and the taste is fresh and AMAZING, and low glycemic/sugar-free on top of that!!

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redflygirl

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Reviewed: Jan. 5, 2008

oops! I used this recipe and didn't beat it enough. Went to recipe for "white frosting" where it says to beat for 10-12 min and turned out great.

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pnutmommy

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Three Rivers, Michigan, USA

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Reviewed: Dec. 25, 2007

This was a nice, lighter-tasting change from the traditional recipes. Found it was not sweet enough for our taste so added about 1/4 C powdered sugar and about 1/2 t more vanilla on top of the other ingredients. Hard to get away from the taste of the flour. Might be worth experimenting with cornstarch? Next time I will cover the bowl before chilling in refrigerator as I found a skin formed on top of the flour/milk paste making it a bit lumpy. Was able to beat it out with the mixer and it spread on the cake perfectly. Covered my 9-inch layer with ample frosting and it looked beautiful.

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GULFTRADE

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Reviewed: Nov. 12, 2007

I thought this icing recipe was just a basic frosting.I didn't think it was great but it was ok.I was just looking for a icing recipe for on a box cake.I will keep this recipe on hand.

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luv2cook2

Home Town: Carlisle, Pennsylvania, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 9, 2007

Easy to spred, even when straight from the fridge. Good flavor and not greasy. Great on chocolate cakes.

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Jenny

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Marshalltown, Iowa, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 2, 2007

It was great. I had to fight my husband off the bowl so I could frost the cake. I only used 1/4 cup shortening and increased the butter by 1/4. I also added a teaspoon of almond extract. The butter I used was super soft, so I am not sure if that is why my frosting wasn't whipping up as much as I would like, so I added some powdered sugar until it was the consistency that I wanted. It could have been because I am in a high altitude area. But overall, very easy to make and great.

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Acceptance99

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 31, 2007

Eek! the shortening made it really waxy and flavorless. This is not for us, I won't be making this again.

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VIBI

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Reviewed: Jul. 11, 2007

Light and not at all gritty, despite the granulated sugar. I cooked the milk/flour paste until about the thickness of white glue. Beat for 5 minutes with mixer. Really good!

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sbrown

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Jun. 11, 2007

This recipe is stellar! I like that it doesn't require powdered sugar (which can be more expensive). But, it's hard to save enough icing to put on the cake.... I'd rather eat it by the spoonful. Add a variety of extracts or flavorings to vary the recipe.

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