The Best Frosting {a.k.a. Magical Frosting}
User Reviews
4.5
The Best Frosting {a.k.a. Magical Frosting}
Description
The Best Frosting is prepared by cooking a blend of granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and salt with milk until thickened, then straining to ensure smoothness. After cooling the mixture to room temperature or refrigerating overnight and returning to room temperature, softened butter and vanilla extract are beaten in to form a creamy, airy frosting.
The cooking process gives this frosting a cooked, pudding-like base, which adds stability and a finer texture compared to uncooked frostings. The flavor is mild and sweet, enhanced by the vanilla. For a chocolate version, cocoa powder can be added before cooking, and melted, cooled chocolate mixed in afterwards.
The frosting can be piped after chilling for about an hour, though it is best used fresh as attempts to refrigerate and rewhip have proven unreliable in maintaining smoothness and structure.
Planning is important since cooling the cooked base takes time. The method ensures the frosting can hold shape better for decorating than some buttercreams without the raw taste of cooked flour.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups milk I use 1% or 2%
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract pure
- 1 ½ cups butter cut into 24 pieces, softened at room temperature, salted
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Slowly whisk in the milk until the mixture is smooth. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a medium saucepan and pour the milk mixture through the strainer into the saucepan. Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture boils and is thick enough that it starts to become difficult to easily whisk. This could take anywhere between 5-10 minutes, depending on your stove, heat, etc. It should bubble quite a bit at the end (be careful of the splatters) and thicken considerably.
- Transfer the mixture to a clean bowl and cool to room temperature – this is extremely important! If it is even slightly warm, the frosting won’t beat up properly. I refrigerated my initial mixture overnight. If you do this, make sure to pull it out in time to let it warm back up to room temperature. If you try to proceed with the rest of the recipe and the mixture is too cold, the butter won’t absorb into the frosting like it should.
- Once the frosting is completely cooled to room temperature (it should have no hint of warmth at all!), beat the mixture with the vanilla on low speed until it is well combined, about 30 seconds (a stand mixer will work best for this). Add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat the frosting until all the butter has been incorporated fully, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and let the mixer work it’s magic. Beat the frosting for five minutes, until it is light and fluffy. Let the frosting sit at room temperature until it is a bit more stiff, about 1 hour. I suspect if you chill it for an hour or so, it would be stiff enough to actually pipe with instead of frosting with a rubber spatula.
Notes
- Allow the cooked milk mixture to cool completely to room temperature before adding butter for proper frosting texture.
- Make the frosting fresh when possible; refrigeration and rewhipping can cause separation and loss of smoothness.
- Chilling the finished frosting for about an hour may improve piping results before decorating cakes.
- To make chocolate frosting, add cocoa powder during cooking and melted cooled chocolate after beating for a deep, light-colored chocolate flavor.
- Plan ahead to accommodate the cooling time required for the cooked base mixture.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.5
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