Versatile Cake Filling and Frosting

When I was a child we visited the home of one of my parents friends and the lady of the house served a brilliant red cake with a frosting that was not butter cream (the only kind I had had up to that point, being a mere 7 years old). Not only was I taken with this cake and frosting, but my mother was as well and that is how the original Red Velvet Cake recipe made its way into our household. To this day I refuse to eat Red Velvet Cake with any other frosting but the one that starts by cooking flour and milk on the stove top.

When I saw this recipe listed as a "filling" for a poppy seed cake I thought I'd copy it down for future reference. I did, but then got busy with life and working full time outside the home and didn't get around to really looking at it. Once I did, I realized it was not just a poppy seed or white cake 'filling' but was in fact, the recipe for the frosting and filling we've always used for our Red Velvet Cakes!

Versatile Cake Frosting and Filling

1 cup half-and-half or milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup superfine sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Gradually whisk together half-and-half and flour in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, whisking constantly, 5 minutes or until a thick paste forms. Remove from heat; cool. Cover and chill 1 hour or until cold. Beat paste, butter, and salt at medium speed with an electric mixer. Gradually add sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Stir in extracts. Use as a filling between layers or frosting.