Feel free to use whole milk, 2 percent or skim when you make frosting. For a more decadent frosting, grab some buttermilk, half and half or heavy whipping cream. Ganache frosting, for example, calls for semisweet chocolate melted in simmering heavy cream. Professional and home chefs also occasionally use goat's milk, either for health-related or taste reasons.

Non-dairy options are a tasty and simple way to accommodate vegans or those who are lactose-intolerant. Soy milk, almond milk and rice milk work just as well as cow's milk in frosting recipes. Depending on a recipe's ratio of dry-to-wet ingredients, the taste of almond or soy milk may yield a different -- but still pleasant -- icing flavor.

There are scores of frosting recipes that don't include milk at all. Some of these contain merely sugar; butter; a creamy cheese or cream product, such as sour cream or yogurt; and a little water. Choose creamy cheeses such as goat cheese, mascarpone and Neufchatel, which is comparable to cream cheese but contains a third less fat. Neufchatel or mascarpone combined with confectioner's sugar makes for a sweet, creamy mousse-like frosting.

Ermine or butter roux frosting is a whipped frosting associated with traditional red velvet cake recipes. This frosting evokes Italian buttercream, the sort you might enjoy on a slice of wedding cake. It has volume and an air-light texture, spreads and pipes easily, and you can flavor or color it however you like. Central to ermine frosting is the roux, a mixture of flour and cold whole milk. After assembling and chilling the roux, combine it with creamed butter, sugar and flavor, and whip until fluffy. Vanilla-flavored ermine frosting pairs well any type of cake, elevating it from plain to elegant.