Ermine Wrapped Velvet

I love frosting…
I am thoroughly convinced that the only reason cake was invented, is as a vehicle to get the frosting into your mouth when a spoon is not readily available. Most people are familiar with ButterCreme – (just say no to margarine) be it American, French, Italian or Swiss. Then there is Pseudo-ButterCream, Confectioners sugar, milk and a lot of butter. There is 7-Minute frosting, Sea foam Frosting, Burnt Sugar Frosting; Browned Butter Frosting…. I could go on, but these are the classics through the ages. Then suddenly, Carrot Cake hit Studio 54 and Cream Cheese Frosting and Leisure Suits were all the rage. I count this a good thing, for I adore Cream Cheese; not so much the Leisure Suits….

Then, the Yuppies came……
And as time in the kitchen decreased during the "dot com" boom, more and more pre-packaged “Tub” frostings adorned the cakes being haphazardly tossed together during cell phone conversations. A glimmer of hope remained though, for a few real frostings, blessedly bereft of hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup, survived in little pockets across America…

But one, in particular seems to have been dethroned from its rightful place; ruthlessly supplanted by a stronger contender.

Cream Cheese Frosting, for it was young, spry, quick, and nimble and only required 3 ingredients.
So what frosting is this that I speak of…? The humble yet deliciously unparalleled Ermine Frosting... whose rightful place is draped across an expanse of Red Velvet Cake. Yes, that is right, and thanks be to my Grandmother, for she kept this frosting alive in our family, never succumbing to the simple allure of the Cream Cheese.

OK, now that this is starting to sound like a prologue to a B movie.…

What the heck is Ermine Frosting, you ask?

Ermine frosting is a “Boiled milk” frosting, sometimes referred to as “Butter Roux”, although that is not technically correct, since it is not based on a roux. Ermine frosting is simply a different method of making a ButterCreme using the gluten in flour and casein in milk to create a suspension, instead of the albumen in egg whites like Swiss and Italian ButterCreme or an emulsion with egg yolks like French ButterCreme…

So what makes Ermine so special?

Well, it has to do with the mouth feel of the gluten vs. albumen. While ButterCreme is the "ultimate" when it comes to silky smooth and creamy, Ermine is a little more dense, but at the same time, just as light, creating a paradox. If ButterCreme is silk, Ermine is, as it’s name implies, Mink/Ermine. Light, smooth, soft and creamy, but firm with slightly more body.

I urge you to try this frosting the next time you indulge in a Red Velvet Cake… Restore this neglected frosting to it’s rightful place, you will NOT be disappointed.

Ermine Frosting

It does need to be refrigerated though, just like French and American ButterCreme, as it does not stand up well to temps above 70 degrees.

1 cup Whole Milk
3 TB AP (All-Purpose) Flour
Pinch of Kosher Salt
1 cup unsalted Butter
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla

Whisk flour into milk and place over medium heat in a small sauce pan.


Cook mixture, whisking frequently, until thickened; (when a drizzle of the mixture leaves lines in the top for just a couple of seconds before “melting” back into the mass)

Remove mixture from heat and whisk in salt;
Pour into a bowl to stop cooking, covering with plastic wrap on the surface to prevent crusting.
In a stand mixer, begin creaming the butter and sugar until fluffy.

Add vanilla and mix to combine.

When milk mixture is slightly cooled; add 1 TB at a time to the creamed butter mixture while the mixer is running on medium speed.
Slowly but surely the gluten will pull in the butter into a pseudo emulsion (I think it's actually a suspension).
You should have an extremely fluffy, light and buttery frosting when completed.

And what vehicle should you use to eat this divine frosting????

Why, Red Velvet Cake, or course....

Red Velvet Cake

2 1/4 cups Cake Flour 
1 1/2 cups Granulated Sugar
1 cup Buttermilk
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
1 TB Natural Cocoa Powder (Not Dutch)
1 tsp Vanilla (Bourbon)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Kosher Salt 
optional – 1/2 oz red food coloring (try to find one made with red #40 allura ONLY, as red #3 has been shown to cause Thyroid cancer)
optional - About 1 pint of raspberries to "smush" between the layers

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Grease and flour the bottom only of 2 9-inch cake pans, or grease and line with parchment rounds.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Whisk together the Flour and Salt.
Combine the Cocoa, Vanilla and Red food color (If you are foregoing the food color, whisk the cocoa into the flour and salt mixture and add the vanilla to the buttermilk).
Add eggs to the creamed butter mixture and beat a little longer, until well combined.
Add the cocoa mixture and mix 30 seconds. just until color becomes uniform
Add Buttermilk and flour mixture, alternating, beginning and ending with the buttermilk.
Measure 1 tsp Baking Soda into a small dish, add the Cider Vinegar and let it foam a little.
Add to the cake batter and incorporate with a few quick strokes.
Working quickly, so you don’t loose the leavening power of the soda, divide the batter between 2 cake pans.
Bake cake for 35–40 minutes or until it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.
Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes, turn cakes out onto a cooling rack.
Chill, covered in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before frosting.

Mangia!!
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