Whipped Peppermint Frosting

Creamy Mint Frosting. A creamy, not too sweet, buttercream. A cooked flour mixture is the magic behind this fluffy delicious minty frosting!

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup milk I used whole milk
1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, cool room temperature
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract make sure this is peppermint, not just mint
1/4 teaspoon salt
green food dye optional

Instructions

Make the cooked flour portion of your buttercream. Place the 3 Tablespoons of flour into a small sauce pan and place over medium low heat. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the milk insuring that all flour gets incorporated and you don't have lumps. You're creating a slurry.
Slowly whisk in the remaining milk. Adding small amounts of liquid at a time will help you avoid any lump issues.
Continue to whisk constantly over medium heat and continue whisking for 1 minute after the mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat. Transfer to a shallow dish to allow for faster cooling. Once it cools off a little, press a piece of plastic wrap on the surface to deter a skin from forming.
Allow to cool at room temperature until it's just barely warm, then transfer to the refrigerator. It will become a soft solid mixture once it is cooled.
With a mixer, beat the two sticks of butter, sugar, vanilla, peppermint and salt until well combined and fluffy. I like to beat this for 2-3 minutes.
Slowly add spoonfuls of the cooled cooked flour mixture into the butter, beating well after each addition. After all of the cooked flour mixture has been added, continue beating the mixture until it is light and fluffy and the sugar is completely dissolved (check by rubbing some frosting between your fingers.) If the mixture looks curdled, it isn't done yet. Just keep mixing it until it all comes together. This shouldn't take longer than about 2-3 minutes after your last addition of the cooked flour.
If your mixture won't get passed the curdled stage, it might be too cold. Take about a Tablespoon of the curdled frosting and put it in a small microwave safe bowl. Heat for 5 seconds or until JUST melted. It should not be hot, just melted. Add back into the bowl with the rest of the frosting and continue beating until whipped and fluffy. Add green food dye, if desired and whip until combined.

Recipe Notes

*Frosted items can be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator. If you opt to refrigerate, allow to come to room temperature before serving for creamiest texture.

*You can see how much frosting I piped onto each cupcake in the photos. Even with that amount, I still had a good 3/4 cup of frosting leftover, so there's enough to pipe pretty generously.

*If you want enough frosting to frost and fill an 8 or 9" layer cake or 24 cupcakes, you'll need to double the recipe.

*Mint extract smells/tastes like spearmint, not peppermint. I made that mistake once. Avoid your frosting tasting like chewing gum and make sure you buy peppermint extract...unless spearmint is truly what you're looking for.

*Peppermint extract can be strong. 1 teaspoon was plenty for me to get a good mint flavor. You can add or reduce the amount to taste.

*This is not a frosting that I make ahead and store in the refrigerator before using. It's really tricky to get it to whip back up to it's wonderful fluffy self after it's solidified in the refrigerator. I opt to pipe it as soon as I make it and then store the frosted cake/cupcake.