When it comes to recipes, it boils down to following directions.

Sometimes.

I don’t claim to be the best baker or cook in the kitchen, but I do well. My favorite “wins” are when I try something and it comes out perfect the first time.

It’s the second time, and every other that follows, that royally annoys me (unless it’s my chocolate chip cookies, which I can make in my sleep).

This was the case with ermine frosting, also known as boiled milk frosting.

The first time I stumbled upon it, I was working at my first newspaper.

Bored one night after work, I baked what was supposed to be a red velvet cake.

I didn’t have either the correct amount or the right kind of red food coloring, and my cake came out a little dry and gray.

Yes, I unintentionally made a gray sponge.

I made a cream cheese frosting, which was perfect.

A few nights later, I attempted another red velvet, and it was a masterpiece.

The only thing different was I found the less-sweet ermine frosting recipe, which many blogs and websites said to try since it’s a pretty rich cake already.

As the perfect red sponge cooled, I got to work on the topping.

Once it was cooled and whipped, I masterfully globbed on the concoction, stood back and admired it.

It was the thing of dreams. It was a work of art.

I still chase after making a cake of that caliber some years later.

Imagine my surprise when, about a year later, I was baking in my new kitchen in Montana.

Not sure what to do between downtime from covering wildfires and researching different permits needed for outdoor activities, I turned to baking.

The cake part came out great. The ermine frosting? It was a monstrosity.

No matter the hours of scouring the internet, talking to accomplished bakers or trial-and-error, I couldn’t get this stupid frosting to set.

It was either beady (curdled) or soupy.

The pros online said if ermine comes out curdled, you can keep beating the ingredients and eventually it’ll take proper form.

Or if it’s runny, the mixture is too warm, so pop it in the fridge for a few minutes.

When I say nothing has ever worked, I mean it.

It wasn’t until I came back to this newsroom that a coworker and I were exchanging recipes. I chronicled my journey with this fussy frosting, and she lovingly assured me it wasn’t the recipe.

Feeling empowered, I went home a few weeks later and tried again.

Wouldn’t you know, the dang recipe came out perfect?

I did nothing different than recipes have said, or what I did that first time it worked some years ago.

Ermine has shaken my confidence in the kitchen and makes me doubt myself so much that the next time I make a red velvet cake, I’m going to make the cream cheese frosting.

If anyone has tips or tricks with ermine, please help me regain my confidence and share your wisdom.

Now excuse me while I go eat (gasp) store-bought icing.

Ermine frosting

Ingredients

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

1 cup (two sticks) butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In a medium saucepan, whisk together flour sugar, and salt.

Whisk in milk, turning on the stove on a medium heat.

Continue whisking until the mixture is thick like a pudding.

Remove from head and pour into a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, making sure the covering touches the mixture.

Cool to room temperature.

When the mixture is cool, use an electric mixer to beat the butter until it’s fluffy.

Gradually add the cooled mixture a little at a time, adding the vanilla in the process.

Continue to whip the frosting until light and airy, but not quite like whipped cream.