Old Fashioned Flour Frosting

Don't let the name "Flour Frosting" deter you from making this. It is a misleadingly unappetizing name, however, this recipe is a must for every baker's repertoire. It is one you have likely tasted before - maybe even without knowing it. This is a classic recipe that has either been lost, forgotten or overshadowed by new frosting fads. If you haven't tried it frosting is not too sweet. It's is light and fluffy and so so easy. It doesn't involve eggs or tempering or candy thermometers. Just a good, sturdy electric mixer because you have to beat the heck out of it for the magic to work. You will end up with a luxuriously smooth frosting that goes well with banana bread, chocolate cake, zucchini bread, red velvet cake... the list goes on!

I had someone tell me that one taste of this frosting brought her back in time to her mother's kitchen where it was used to frost all the family birthday cakes.



The Best Frosting Ever aka. Flour Frosting
adapted from Tasty Kitchen

5 tablespoons Flour
1 cup Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Butter
1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar)

1. In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. You want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. [I sometimes do this the night before and leave it in the fridge overnight, then continue with step 2 the next morning. On the other hand, if you are in a hurry place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.] It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step. Stir in vanilla.

2. While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don’t want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour mixture and beat the living daylights out of it. If it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough. Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream. It is now ready to use.