My Mom's Fluffy Frosting

I've never had anything like this frosting, but I believe it's a standard frosting originally used for a Red Velvet Cake. It's not easy to make, and I've discovered using my Kitchen Aid really makes a big difference. My mother never had a KA, she used a hand mixer and it still turned out perfect - it's just a lot of work.

It makes lots of frosting, easily frosts a 2 layer cake. During the holidays, I've been known to put some orange zest in a standard white cake to make something different. And once when I couldn't find my Bundt pan, I ended up making cup cakes with my pound cake batter and I frosted it with this frosting. My teenagers still talk about them. But more importantly, it's one of those things you make, and with every taste, I can close your eyes and for just a brief second and I'm 6 years old again standing in the kitchen with my mom. Those moments are important to me. I can't reach out and touch her, but it's nice knowing those memories are as close as my kitchen.

Martha's Fluffy Frosting

1 cup whole or 2% milk
5 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
2 sticks of butter or good quality margarine
1 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla

In a heavy saucepan, whisk the flour into the milk until smooth and no lumps remain. Over medium heat, cook mixture until it coats the back of your spoon, stirring constantly. When it gets to the correct consistency (thick and creamy) remove from heat and pour contents into a clean bowl to stop the cooking process. Let cool completely to room temperature. In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, beat together cold butter, sugar and vanilla until combined and fluffy, somewhat pale yellow in color. By tablespoons, add (while mixing) the cooled milk/flour mixture. At this point, your frosting will be yellow, rather gritty and might not look like a fluffy frosting at all - this is temporary. On medium-high speed, beat constantly until frosting gets very thick and turns a pale white. It can take up to 10 minutes for this step - but it's completely worth it. You can frost a 2 layer cake easily with the amount of frosting it makes - don't be afraid to use a generous amount in the middle of your layers. And I'll say it again, you can't just throw this together, but it's so worth the effort. I like it better than a traditional butter cream frosting.

Enjoy!