Ermine Buttercream

Name: Ermine Buttercream
Yield: about 3 cups
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 240 ml whole milk; 30 g all-purpose flour; 200 g granulated sugar; a pinch of salt; 230 g unsalted butter, at room temperature; 2 tsp vanilla extract; ¼ tsp almond extract (optional); ⅛ tsp butter flavoring, such as LorAnn (optional)

Also called flour buttercream, boiled milk frosting, cooked flour frosting

A cooked flour-and-milk buttercream, light and silky, for cakes, petit fours and filled donuts.

Makes: about 3 cups

Copycat Make ahead Freezes well

Inspired by Viking Pastries, Ardmore, Pennsylvania (1956–2018)

Ingredients

Scale

Amounts are for the recipe. Sizes, times and temperatures in the method are not scaled.

240 ml1 cupwhole milk
30 g¼ cupall-purpose flour
200 g1 cupgranulated sugar
a pinch of salt
230 g2 sticksunsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tspvanilla extract
¼ tspalmond extract (optional)
⅛ tspbutter flavoring, such as LorAnn (optional)

Amounts worked out from the other system are rounded.

Method

Flour paste. Whisk the flour (30 g¼ cup) and sugar (200 g1 cup) together in a saucepan. Add the milk (240 ml1 cup) and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thick like pudding and bubbling, 5 to 7 minutes.
Transfer to a shallow bowl, press plastic wrap onto the surface and cool completely to room temperature. Warm paste melts the butter.
Whip. Beat the unsalted butter (230 g2 sticks) on medium-high for 3 to 5 minutes, until very pale and fluffy. Add the cooled paste a spoonful at a time, beating well after each.
Switch to the whisk attachment and beat on high for 5 to 7 minutes. It will look broken at first; keep going until it is light and silky. Beat in the vanilla (2 tsp), and the almond extract and butter flavoring if using. It will be pale yellow, not white.

Notes

For a white buttercream, use 115 g butter and 115 g shortening, with the ⅛ tsp butter flavoring to make up for the shortening's blandness. All butter tastes better.
Storage. It keeps a week in the fridge or 2 months in the freezer. Bring it to room temperature and whip again. If it breaks, keep beating, or chill it 10 minutes and try again.

Used in Classic Petit Fours Glacés, Viking Buttercream-Filled Donuts