I'm making a cake for Father's Day and I need an icing recipe that isn't very sweet.  He's not a fan of MMF or royal icing and kind of likes cream cheese frosting.  His favorite icing though is the kind used on the ice cream cakes you buy in the store (Carvel brand I think) so I was hoping to find a similar recipe for a regular cake and one that I could use food coloring in and pipe flowers with.  So far, I've come up with two options, (1) a whipped cream icing with gelatin to stabilize it or (2) a frosting recipe that uses flour.  For the second recipe, flour and milk are mixed together and heated (like making gravy) then mixed with vanilla, butter and sugar.   

Also, just to make this a little more challenging,  I need an icing that will compliment the flavor of a Honey Cake (recipe below).  I was thinking of giving the frosting a coffee flavor since the cake recipe already calls for coffee and because I want the frosting to be a light brown color.  Naturally, using a honey flavored frosting would seem more practical, but I'm not sure how honey would work in a frosting.  I'd imagine the honey would have to be heated so it would mix well with the other ingredients, but once it has cooled, it might be too stiff to work. 

Any ideas what route I should take with this cake?

Recipe from: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/09/majestic-and-moist-honey-cake/

3 1/2 cups (440 grams) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon (15 grams) baking powder 
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons (about 8 grams) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup (235 ml) vegetable oil
1 cup (340 grams) honey
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (95 grams) brown sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 cup warm (235 ml) coffee or strong tea
1/2 cup (120 ml) fresh orange juice
1/4 cup (60 ml) rye or whiskey
1/2 cup (45 to 55 grams) slivered or sliced almonds (optional)

You can buy imitation whip cream, called Pastry Pride or Whip N Top.  Both are not as sweet as any of the buttercreams.

If you want the coffee flavor just add a little instant coffee.  I would make it more like mocha adding 50/50 instant coffee and cocoa powder.

My favorite is Italian buttercream. It is so light and fluffy and no where near as sweet as ABC. You can buy Lorann's flavor emulsions or oils and flavor it any flavor you want. There are Sooooo many to choose from