I think I finally figured it out!
I never figured out why Red Velvet cake tasted different. Of course, I expected a difference from my grandmother’s cake, but, still, something was off.
When I got my grandmother’s recipe, I figured it out. It called for cooking flour and milk, then mixing with butter and sugar. I had never seen anything like it.
It is called a “cooked flour” frosting. (Catchy title, huh. I am thinking of going with “Heirloom Frosting.) Yet, the few times I made it (including under the supervision of my grandmother), it never seemed to come out right. It always had a grainy texture to it. I tried superfine sugar, but that still did not make a difference.
I was reading a few places online, and one recommended beating the frosting for a longer period. With other types of meringue based frostings, it says to continue beating after the point it looked curdled, until it comes together.
The very first time I made the frosting, I did not let the milk and flour mixture cool enough, so it melted the butter when I added it. The second and third time, I creamed the butter and sugar for longer periods of time, and added the cooled milk/flour mixture, and it still came up grainy.
This time: I mixed one cup of milk with four tablespoons of flour, and cooked until thick. I let this cool for about an hour.
I mixed the sugar in a food processor for a bit. I added some of the 1/2 cup of shortening to the food processor, to try to get the sugar to adhere better. (I have no idea if this worked.) I mixed the remaining shortening, and 1/2 cup of butter with the sugar/shortening mixture. I creamed this for about 5 minutes. I added the cooked flour mixture in, and let it mix for another 5 minutes.
I stopped it a few times to taste. The longer I let it mix, the more smooth it became.
I frosted a few of the red velvet pumpkin cupcakes, and put the rest in the fridge.
Just a note: This flour, like meringue based buttercreams, tastes like butter when refrigerated. So, let the cupcakes or cake sit at room temperature, or let the frosting come to room temperature and re-beat it before frosting.
Also, the last two times I made this, I did not include any extract (mostly because I was out of vanilla.) You can put extract into it. My next experiment with this will be to play with flavorings :)
Heirloom Frosting
24 Services, or enough for a 3 layer 8 inch cake.
1 cup milk
4 tbsp flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter (or you can use all butter or all shortening)
Whisk together 1 cup of milk and 4 tbsp of flour. Cook over low heat until very thick. Let cool to cool room temperature.
(Optional: You can process the sugar for a short period in a food processor. This may or may not make a difference, and was not in any recipe I have seen.)
Cream together 1 cup of fat (either the shortening/butter mix, or all butter), and 1 cup of sugar. Make sure to fully cream these together, at least five minutes. Once the butter is light and fluffy, add the cooked flour mixture. Mix until it looks like whipped cream. You can add vanilla extract towards the end of the beating process.
