This was my first time making any kind of buttercream frosting, and it was ridiculously easy. And it was Oh My God good. We’re thinking of making another batch and just eating it as a dip with fresh fruit. Super simple and super yummy.
Ingredients
1 cup milk
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1½ cup brown sugar
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt (if you use unsalted butter)
Directions
Stir the milk and flour together and mix over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until it thickens. It changes suddenly, so don’t walk away from it.
Set the milk aside to cool, and combine the sugar, butter and vanilla in a mixer.
Beat on medium speed for 5-10 minutes — colder butter will take longer — until the sugar is dissolved and you don’t taste the graininess of it any more.
Add the milk mixture to the butter mixture and stir until smooth.
The finished texture is surprisingly light and fluffy, considering what went into it.
I’ll be back soon with the banana cake this went on.
Yes that’s right, not banana bread: banana cake.
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41 Comments
Oh yum!! I've never had brown sugar frosting, but now I think I must!
Drew, Did you MEAN cook or did you mean cool?
Oops! Why didn't the spell-check catch that one? Yes, I meant "cool". Thanks. I've fixed it above.
I just found your blog and truly appreciate your down to earth goodness. This frosting looks incredible….Drew, I have always wanted to make buttercream frosting (vanilla) and was wondering if you could tell me how to do it? Thanks, and I hope you stop by and visit me sometime too. Roz (bella)
I've never played with starch-based frostings, so I find it kind of odd. I bet that it holds up better than a European-style egg-based buttercream. I can imagine that the brown sugar/molasses-y flavor would work well as a fruit dip.
Bella, this was my first buttercream. Maybe Jenni can help you.
So Jenni, since you've never done a starch one, maybe you can point Bella to a good vanilla buttercream?
Okay, then, Drew.
Hi Bella,
The problem with the term buttercream is that it means different things to different people. There are simple buttercreams where you basically whip butter (and maybe another fat) with powdered sugar, a pinch of salt and a little liquid (cream, milk, even water or lemon juice) to get the right spreading consistency.
Then, there are the egg-based buttercreams. Some are based on egg whites and some are based on egg yolks. You basically cook the egg foam with a sugar syrup, whip to cool and then whip in butter and flavorings.
Both types are lovely and have their place. So, I guess the question goes back to you. Exactly what sort are you looking for?
OH YUMMY THANK YOU'S!
I haven't had this since my Grandma was alive, and couldn't remember what all went into it to attempt making it myself. I kept thinking it was Coke for some reason.
Cannot wait for Banana bread and cake!!!
This frosting is DANGEROUS! I was dying to try it ever since you posted the recipe, so last night I pulled out my trusty Joy of Cooking and found a quick cake recipe that only required one egg (didn't feel like going to the store.) I also had some strawberries that I wanted to use up so I sliced them and put them in a paper towel to take off any residual moisture. Between the two cake rounds I put a layer of frosting and a layer of sliced strawberries, then I iced the rest of the cake with more strawberries on top. It was freaking delicious! The strawberries really worked well with the brown sugar. I was amazed how smooth and fluffy the frosting turned out. Thanks!
Tell the truth … how many strawberries did you dip in the frosting and never made it onto the cake?
Ha! If I had my way I would have tossed the cake and sat on the couch with a bowl of strawberries and the frosting.
I have been addicted to bananas lately but recently have had a few turn too brown for my liking to snack on. This cake will be my solution next time!
Bakingblonde, it's either that or smoothies for me.
Hey Drew!
Thanks for the recipe! A friend and I are testing it out right now both in Cake form AND in Muffin form! (Well. muffin tops to be precise). The problem we're having at the moment is with this icing
We decided to make a batch and a half of the icing so that we could put extra icing on top of the muffins (yum!). As soon as we combined the sugar mixture with the thickened flour mixture it became instantly watery and dark, dark brown. Nothing like any of the pictures you show. We've gone over the recipe over and over and can not figure out where we've gone wrong…. we fear that we'll have to either go to another recipe, or even worse go to store bought. Egad!!
Any help?
Thanks!
I suspect the flour/milk mixture was still too hot when you added it. I don't know if there's still time to save it, but I would try refrigerating it and trying to beat it again once it cools down. If you've already melted the sugar and butter then I don't think you're going to get a fluffy texture, but it's worth a try.
Will it make enough to cover the entire banana cake?
This batch was plenty to cover the 3-layer, 9-inch diameter cake, plus in between the layers, with a bit to spare. If you look at the first photo, you can see it's laid on pretty thick on top. I normally don't do that, but what else was I going to do with it? (Meaning I ran out of strawberries to dip in it.)
I followed the recipe exactly and the frosting turned out super runny and I couldn't thicken it up.
I hate when someone tries something and it doesn't work. Did the milk and flour thicken up properly? How warm/cold was the butter when you added it?
I don't do pastry that often, so I may have just gotten lucky. Maybe you can drop Jenni an email and ask for ideas.
Do you know if it keeps its form (can you decorate with it)?
Amy, I found this very soft, and someone mentioned above that theirs was watery. I'm sure with a little experimentation it could be thickened up, but I haven't taken the time to do that.
Hi:
When I saw where Drew was from, I knew why I spent time writing this recipe down.
Hey Drew, I’m from Cleveland too. The ethnic foods, as well as American dishes are well
represented there. Please keep these recipes alive!
Dolores, I’m always looking for more classic recipes. Got any you’d like to share?
Fantastic cake recipe, but the icing is a complete failure. I’m assuming, upon retrospect, that the thickened flour-milk mixture should be refrigerated?
I tried twice to make the icing and both times it separated completely. A complete mess. On both occasions I let the flour and milk cool for a good ten or fifteen minutes; didn’t mix it right off the burner. To be honest, this is a pretty weird recipe for icing, anyway: brown sugar, not white or icing sugar, and white flour, but no eggs!? Bizarre. Adding a significant amount of icing sugar thickened it up slightly, but couldn’t keep it from separating. No offense, Drew, but I wish I had read the comments here beforehand.
Nonetheless, the cake itself turned out picture perfect and it tasted amazing to boot. The icing may look silly but it’s still delicious!
Rikushix, I’m really starting to wonder if I got lucky with this. Or if I tracked the amounts as well as I thought while I was adding them.
Looks like I’m going to have to give this one another go and report back.
I don’t know what went wrong for the people above, but my icing came out great-tasting, nicely textured, and actually looks smoother than in the picture. The texture is loose and light (a little like Kool-whip maybe? Not the taste, just the texture).
I followed the recipe exactly except I did it all at high speed with the whisk attachment, used dark brown sugar, used a splash more vanilla, and included the “gravy” mixture when it was still just a bit warmer than room temperature. The reason I did that was that after 10 minutes of whipping, my brown sugar had not begun to dissolve (Before I started, I was skeptical that it would dissolve that way, so I started to panic a little at that point). It de-crystallized very nicely once the milk mixture was added. Thanks for a great recipe!
P.S. The dark brown sugar gave it a strong carmelly-tangy flavor, almost like a cream cheese frosting. This would be awesome on brownies or chocolate cake.
Hi Drew, just wanted to add my two-cents worth, so to speak. I had already made a banana cake from another website, but didn’t have any cream cheese to make the frosting, so I got online and found your brown sugar buttercream frosting. I had never made a frosting like this before, but followed your directions to a T, and the frosting turned out beautifully. I did let the milk-flour mixture sit out quite a while (I was also making dinner) so it had gotten pretty cool. Same with mixing the brown sugar/butter/vanilla, I let it mix for at least 10 minutes because, again, I was busy. Not sure if those two things made the difference or not. Maybe the point is not to be in a hurry. In any case, the frosting was exactly what I was hoping it would be. Next time, I’ll try your banana cake with it too. Thanks!
I should probably also include that I started out using the wisk attachment on my KitchenAid mixer to mix the brown sugar/butter/vanilla, but it didn’t seem to be doing the trick, so I switched to a beater blade attachment, the kind with the rubber along the edges to continually scrape the bowl as it’s mixing. It did a much better job of getting the brown sugar mixed in, and it did eventually dissolve. Also, as to the taste, someone remarked last night that if they hadn’t known better, they would swear there was cream cheese in the frosting. It was that creamy and good.
Debbie, I’ve got to get one of those beaters with the silicone. I’m just trying to get past the $30 price tag on it.
Drew, once you have one, you’ll wonder how you got by without it. Definately worth every penny! In fact, we don’t even use the blade that came with our KitchenAid anymore.
So I read the receipe in a real hurry and somehow overlooked that you had to heat the flour and milk over medium heat. Stupid I know , so what I ended up with was something that looked like oatmeal. I also blame the fact that I was watching the Olympics at the same time. That said, I was able to take the whole oatmeal looking mess, heat it on the stove and make a lovely thick yummy glaze to use cover a cake.
Sheehan, some of the best recipes started out as failed versions of something else. Congratulations, you win!
I have made frosting using flour & milk cooked & cooled many times. two secrets to the success of this type of frosting. 1. start with butter that is cool but soft.
2. Make sure your flour mixture is completly cooled before adding it to the butter mixture. If you are in a time crunch put the pan of cooked flour /milk paste over a large bowl of ice ..it will cool quickly., or put it in a bowl in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Don’t worry if you still have some sugar grains in your butter…if you have beaten it well and it started with cool soft butter the cooled flour mixture somehow makes them disappear. I will now prepare this recipe and I have no doubts that it will be a delicious success …Thanks for the recipe
I soooo wish I would have read through these comments. I didnt know the flour mixture had to be completely cooled. I ended up with a light brown gravy. Had to run out to the store just for more butter late at night because the cake was for my son to bring to school for his birthday! I have yet to make the second batch because I have a newborn to tend to also…. Lets hope it comes out right!!
The Banana Cake and Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting are delicious! I made them this morning, but instead of making a 3-layer cake (which would be way too much for my husband and me), I made it into 2 small cakes — a 6″ round 2-layer cake and a 5-1/2″ x 7-1/2″ oval 2-layer cake. Then I took one of the cakes to a friend who doesn’t bake.
The recipe for the cake and frosting were the perfect amount to do both little cakes.
And Judy is right about the frosting. I couldn’t get the brown sugar to dissolve completely, so I came and read everyone’s comments to see if anyone else had the same problem. Sure enough, once I combined the milk/flour mixture with the butter/brown sugar mixture, it smoothed up quite nicely. My friend even thought that the frosting had whipped cream in it!
Thanks, Drew! (Maria thanks you too!)
Carol, I was completely amazed by the texture, too.
I just came across this recipe and it sounds soooo delish! I love to bake and I follow recipe’s to a T, no short-cuts! So my question is, about how long should the milk & flour mixture cool? Also, this may sound dumb, but is there a strong brown sugar taste to the frosting, or just a hint? Thanks in advance!
Sorry I missed this question when you first posted it. But to answer it, allow it to cool until it won’t melt the butter on contact.
And no, there’s not a strong flavor to it. Just a light sweetness.
I wanted to try something different for a birthday cake and found this recipe. I was a little bit worried because of the comments from people who had problems with it, but I found it very easy. I did cook the flour and milk mixture about the time that I took the butter out to soften; so, it had a long time to cool. And as someone who frequently “cheats” and softens butter in the microwave, I was surprised to find how soft butter can be while it is still cool. The finished icing was incredibly easy to work with, and the cake was one of the most attractive ones I’ve made. I was uncertain whether the cake needed to be refrigerated. I finally put it in the fridge overnight and took it out a few hours before serving. I will definitely be using this recipe again.
So I just finished making this Frosting, and its like soup! What the hell am I suppose to do with soup frosting?? Seriously. I came up to check the recipe, I added all the right amounts, and SOUP!