Easy Ermine Frosting Recipe

Hey, I'm John Kanell, and today on Preppy Kitchen, we're making a silky smooth ermine frosting. So let's get started. This frosting is actually cooked, so grab a pan, and we're gonna add two cups or 400 grams of granulated sugar in to give it a start. Ermine frosting is the original frosting for red velvet. Comes from the 1800s. It's been really popular, one, because it's delicious, smooth, and creamy, but two, it uses less expensive ingredients, so especially during the Depression, this was a really popular frosting for cakes. We also want 2 1⁄3 of a cup or 80 grams of all-purpose flour. Grab a whisk, scale's done, and give this a really good mix. If you don't mix this well right now, the flour could form some clumps, which could be problematic. It's called ermine frosting because it's as smooth as ermine fur, which is a smooth fur. Ermine fur is what you see on like kings and queens in like cartoons, it's like the white with the little black tails on it. Little black dots. Two cups of whole milk, we're gonna whisk this in. This recipe, by the way, is so long overdue. It's been basically since I started putting YouTube videos up, I've had requests for ermine frosting, so I'm sorry it's taken this long. It's a totally classic and delicious one, and it's finally going up on the channel. Let me know if you have any other frostings or cakes or whatever else you'd like to see on the channel. All right, this goes onto medium-high heat right now. We're gonna bring this to a simmer. While this is overheat, you are gonna be whisking constantly, and if you have one at home, a narrow whisk is the best because it'll really get into the corner of your pan. By the way, if you like my videos, hit that subscribe button. There's two new recipes and shorts every single week. Whisk, whisk, whisk, start at the center, move out, and then go back to the center, and just keep it moving. You do not want anything to scald or burn because that won't be creamy, that won't be smooth, that'll be chunky. Try not to lose patience with this and walk away. Nothing is gonna happen until you get to that six or eight minute mark, and then it'll start simmering. Once it starts simmering, immediately reduce heat to medium-low, but keep stirring. My mixture just came to a simmer. I reduced heat to medium-low, and now I'm gonna keep whisking for a minute or two until it thickens into a pudding-like consistency. Take a look, it's totally thickening up. I whisked this for two minutes. I am taking it off heat right now, and we're gonna transfer this into a glass bowl so it can cool down. So as you can see, the flour really did its job, and now I have what's basically a milk pudding, unflavored milk pudding, thick but silky. Right now we're gonna transfer this into the bowl, and then let it cool to room temperature. Depending on the ambient temperature, it'll be about three hours to cool to room temp, but you could make this a day in advance and keep it in the fridge. Just leave it out on the counter before you use it so it comes up to room temperature. It can't be that cold. Grab a piece of parchment, place it right on top, and press it down. This will prevent any skin from forming. Also a no-no. We'll be back later. My ermine mixture is completely room temp. It's time to get some delicious butter in the story here. You want one pound, 450 grams, or two cups of unsalted room temperature butter. It should be nice and soft. Your fingers should be able to indent nicely without adding too much pressure. The little sticks or quarter sticks of butter are so charming until you have to unwrap them all. Several hours later. Half a teaspoon of salt. Pop your paddle attachment on and cream it up. Beat this on medium speed for about two minutes until it is smooth, creamy, and beautiful. My butter looks gorgeous. Creamy, soft, light, no lumps, it's perfect. Which means it's time to add our ermine mixture in. And the one thing I'll say is, it's probably gonna have stuck to the parchment or plastic, so just have your spatula at the ready. Peel it up and then scrape it off. You don't wanna waste, do you? Pop your mixture onto medium-low speed. And we're gonna add the ermine mixture two to three tablespoons at a time. Just let the mixer run for a bit, and then we're gonna scrape it down. The key here is to make sure everything is mixing really, really well, and you do not want to add it all at the same time. Back to mixing on medium-low. Two to three more tablespoons. Add more of the mixture. You're just waiting for it to incorporate fully before you go ahead. And you're gonna repeat this until you're all done, scraping down every once in a while to make sure that the mixture is completely homogenous. I'm adding the last batch in right now. Okay. Everything's incorporated, now it's time to add two teaspoons of vanilla for flavor. Increase the speed of your mixer to medium. And you're gonna let this mix for one minute. The texture will change, it'll be fluffy and beautiful. After a minute, it's like a frosting cloud. What's funny is it has a similar vibe to Swiss or Italian buttercream. This is a great frosting to make if you want something that's not too sweet, super creamy, and really easy to make. So if American buttercream isn't your favorite because of the consistency or the sweetness level, this is it. It has a similar vibe to French, Italian, and Swiss buttercreams, which are super creamy and not too sweet, but this is so much easier to make. Even though I love those, this is like the simplest recipe. It's delicious. Your ermine frosting will last for up to a week in an airtight container when refrigerated. Just let it come to room temperature and give it a good beat afterwards so the texture gets restored. You could also freeze it for up to three months. Just make sure you press plastic over the top before you cover it so that it doesn't develop a film. Thaw, let it come to room temperature, and give it a whip. Use this for cupcakes, cakes, floofy pies, or eat it by the spoonful. There's something so pleasant about it. It has a lovely way of dissolving in your mouth, and it's just perfectly sweet and creamy. I hope you get a chance to make this delicious recipe, and if you like my videos, hit that subscribe button and check out my frosting playlist.