Using one bowl and just four ingredients, you can whip up a batch of this deliciously easy lemon buttercream frosting in just 10 minutes!
Everyone loves a good lemon flavored frosting. Perfect for springtime, this easy recipe is an American Buttercream Frosting, which means it is super easy to make.
Similar to this chocolate buttercream frosting, it has the classic sweet, fluffy buttercream flavor and texture most of us grew up on for birthday cakes and cupcakes.
This frosting is light, fluffy, sweet, and lemony - perfect for frosting yellow cupcakes, cakes, and filling French macarons. I made this with regular lemons, but you can use Meyers lemons too. Yum!
Ingredients
- Lemons - Use the zest and juice of one medium to large lemon. This will come to about 2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice and 1 tablespoons zest. Try to only zest the yellow parts of the lemon as the white part can be bitter.
- Butter - You can use either salted or unsalted butter in this recipe. If you use unsalted, you can add a pinch of salt to help cut the sweetness.
Making Lemon Buttercream Frosting
Traditional buttercream frosting is one of the easiest frostings to make and there are only a few simple steps.
Step 1: Cream Butter
Add the softened butter to the bowl of a standing mixer or large bowl with a hand held mixer.
When adding the powdered sugar, turn the mixer to the slowest speed and add it gradually so it doesn't spill out of the mixer. You can also place a hand towel around the top of the bowel to keep it from making a mess.
Mix on medium to medium high for 4-5 minutes, until the butter is very pale and yellow. Mixing the butter so long make it really light and fluffy.
Step 2: Add remaining Ingredients
Add the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest and mix on low for a minute until it incorporates. Mixing on low makes sure the powdered sugar doesn't spill out and get everywhere.
Once it's incorporated, mix on medium high for another 3-4 minutes until it is fluffy again.
At this point you can gauge the consistency. If you want it thinner you can add a tablespoon or two of milk or cream (but because of the lemon juice this often is not necessary).
That's it! Add to your favorite dessert and enjoy.
Variations
- Vanilla: mix 1 tsp of vanilla extract with the lemon juice for a vanilla lemon flavor
- Honey: Mix in 2 tablespoons of honey into the finished frosting for a honey lemon frosting
- Lavender: mix in 3/4 tsp lavender extract with the lemon juice for a floral lemon frosting
- Lemon Orange: replace half of the lemon juice and zest with orange
- Lemon Lime: replace half of the lemon juice and zest with lime
Tips and Tricks
- Zest the lemon first, then juice it. This is probably very obvious, but I constantly forget and go right to slicing the lemon! This makes it much more difficult to get the zest.
- When zesting lemons, try to get only the yellow part of the lemon. The white part can be bitter and add a slightly bitter taste to the frosting if you get too much.
- You want to mix the butter for a few minutes before adding the sugar and lemon. Mixing the butter until it is very pale makes for a really light and fluffy frosting.
- If your powdered sugar is very stiff or hard, put it through a sifter so there are no lumps in your buttercream.
- For a more intense lemon flavor you can add 1/2 tsp of lemon extract.
- You can easily double or half this recipe for a large or small batch of frosting.
When to Use
Lemon buttercream is such a versatile frosting! It's great for filling layer cakes and piping onto cupcakes, and goes with a variety of different flavors.
It is commonly paired with white cake, carrot cake and of course, lemon cake and cupcakes. You can even drizzle homemade lemon curd on top of the frosting like in the lemon cupcakes shown below.
The frosting is complementary to most light and fresh flavors such as strawberry, blueberry, and vanilla. It's also a great filling for macarons, cakesicles, jar cakes, and whoopie pies, and it's delicious spread on top of cinnamon rolls, Amish cinnamon bread, or sour cream cookies.
It would be great on this citrus Italian Hangover bundt cake!
FAQ
This buttercream frosting recipe makes 2.5 to 3 cups of frosting which is enough to cover about 18-24 cupcakes and a 9 x 13 inch cake. You can read more about how much frosting a standard batch of buttercream will frost in this vanilla frosting post.
Yes, this is an American buttercream so it will form a slight crust as it sits out.
Yes, the frosting and frosted cakes and cupcakes can sit out for 1-2 days, provided there is nothing else perishable in the filling such as whipped cream or fruit, and that it's not too warm out.
Yes! The frosting has a very slight yellow color, but you can add a few drops of yellow food coloring to make it darker yellow. Or, add what whatever food colors you want! It's light enough it will hold any type of food coloring well. I recommend gel food coloring for more vibrant colors.
American buttercream frostings are naturally very sweet frostings. But, you can always add less sugar!
I recommend starting with two cups of confectioners sugar and see if that helps to cut the sweetness. Just know that adding less sugar makes the frosting less stable for piping and sitting out.
You can also try adding an extra pinch of salt to help cut the sweetness.
Storing Lemon Buttercream Frosting
Like most buttercream frostings, this recipe keeps in the fridge and freezer very well. It's so easy to make, it's preferable to make the day you use it, but it can last up to a week in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer. Make sure it is very tightly covered in an airtight container in the fridge and in a freezer bag for the freezer so the butter does not take on flavors from your fridge or freezer.
When you're ready to use, let defrost in the fridge. Then, remove the frosting from the fridge and let it soften. Some people simply stir the frosting and then use it, but I like to remix it with a mixer so it gets really light and fluffy again.
Looking for more frosting recipes? Check these out!
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Lemon Buttercream Frosting
Equipment
- Zester
- Citrus Squeezer, optional
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup butter softened
- 16 oz powdered sugar 1 pound, about 3.5-4 cups
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp milk or cream optional
Instructions
- Using a hand held mixer or standing mixer, cream the butter using a paddle or whisk attachment on medium high until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. If necessary, half way through scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue mixing.
- Turn off the mixer and add powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest. Mix on low for a minute until it incorporates and starts to look crumbly.
- Turn up the speed and continue mixing on medium to medium high, about 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.
- If the frosting is too thick, you can add a tablespoon of milk or cream. If it is too thin, you can add another 1 or 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar.
Notes
- Zest the lemon first, then juice it. This is probably very obvious, but I constantly forget and go right to slicing the lemon! This makes it much more difficult to get the zest.
- When zesting lemons, try to get only the yellow part of the lemon. The white part can be bitter and add a slightly bitter taste to the frosting if you get too much.
- Make sure your butter is at room temperature or slightly cooler. The perfect temperature is if you press your finger on it, it will do a slight indent.
- You want to mix the butter for a few minutes before adding the sugar and lemon. Mixing the butter until it is very pale makes for a really light and fluffy frosting.
- If your powdered sugar is very stiff or hard, you might need to put it through a sifter so there are no lumps in your buttercream. I don't normally need to do this but it is something to be aware of if your powdered sugar is old and has visible lumps that don't break up when you press them.
- When adding the powdered sugar, turn the mixer to the slowest speed and add it gradually so it doesn't spill out of the mixer. You can also place a hand towel around the top of the bowel to keep it from making a mess.
- If the frosting is too thick you can add a tablespoon or two of heavy cream or milk. If it's too thin, you can add a few more tablespoons of powdered sugar.
- The frosting has a very slight yellow color, but you can add a few drops of yellow food coloring to make it darker yellow. Or, add what whatever food colors you want! It's light enough it will hold any type of food coloring well
- This recipe makes about 3 cups of frosting. It can easily be doubled as needed.
Lynda says
Only serve this frosting if you hate your guests and want them to leave.
JoJo says
Easy and delicious. I added lemon extract along with the juice.
Brenda says
Excellent lemon butter cream! I am blessed to have a Meyer lemon tree that has tons of lemons. So delicious. I used the icing on a banana cake.💛
Sophia Assunta says
So glad you liked it! And, the banana lemon flavor combo sounds delicious!!
Oliwka says
Unfortunately the amount of sugar was totally too much. It’s inedible.
Sophia Assunta says
So sorry you didn’t like this recipe. This recipe has tons of great reviews both here and on Pinterest, but it is an American buttercream, so it is on the sweeter side. If you’re looking for a less-sweet lemon frosting, I recommend trying lemon cream cheese frosting, or Swiss Meringue buttercream (there is a lemon version listed in the post).
Shawn Rogers says
A recipe is a guide but it’s not law.
Future reference and cooking I find all frostings to be way too sweet.
It’s better to use half the sugar and then go in increments of a half a cup to your taste.
To give the recipe a fail because you did it wrong is not fair.
It’s also about perception what you deem inedible maybe fine for someone else.
JohnnieAnn Shirle says
My goodness! My first time doing my own and it turned out so freaking awesome! I used heavy cream instead of milk. Fresh lemons made it. I didn’t really measure the lemon zest because it was flying everywhere! This is my favorite by far!
Sophia says
so glad you liked it!!
Gina says
I made this exactly as said, but it came out too soft and buttery tasting. I kept adding more powdered sugar a tbsp at a time. I probably used 1 1/2 cups more powdered sugar and added more zest. The flavor was delicious. I just had trouble with getting it fluffy. Maybe it’s something I’ve done wrong, so I will try it again and hope that I have better results. It is one of the better flavored lemon buttercream icing I’ve had.
Shawn Rogers says
You thought the buttercream frosting had too much butter flavor.
I recommend you go to the store and get something from Pillsbury in a can.
That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.
Dawn says
Can this be frozen? I’m going to be making lemon whoopie pies ahead of time for Christmas and want to use this as the filling.
Sophia says
Yes, it freezes really well!
theCookster says
How many tablespoons of frosting per cupcake from this recipe to cover 24 cupcakes
Sally Phelps says
What is the lemon colored drizzle you have on the cupcakes that are pictured in the recipe?
Sophia says
Hi, it’s lemon curd!
Keli says
Very lemony, easy and perfect frosting recipe. Thanks.
Terry T says
I have made this lemon frosting many times. It is fabulous! I reserve a little lemon zest to sprinkle on top of the lemon cake.