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Lemon Buttercream Frosting

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Lemon Buttercream Frosting, is naturally flavored and perfect for any cake or cupcake. Not too sweet, not too strong, just the right amount of lemon in a frosting!

 

 

Lemon Buttercream Frosting main image for website

 

It’s CUPCAKE season and this Lemon Buttercream Frosting is a new addiction of mine!

This year at my daughters cupcake and lemonade stand, I decided to do a little experimenting with flavor combinations.

I made 3 different lemon style cupcakes and took them to each of my daughter’s teachers at school to taste test.

Would you believe that not a single one of them complained about having to taste test a variety of cupcake ideas?

Shocking I know.

 

Lemon Buttercream Frosting in a bowl already whipped together

 

However I finally decided on a Lemon Lovers Cupcake.

It included a lemon cupcake with a lemon whipped cream filling and a lemon buttercream frosting, topped with a lemon head.

However I couldn’t quite get the lemon whipped cream or the lemon buttercream to taste quite right.

I tried fresh lemon juice, lemon juice and zest and lemon extract.

As a result, all were failures according to my taste buds.

 

Lemon Lover's Cupcakes - Filled cupcakes topped with lemon buttercream

 

However, after much trial and error an idea came to me.

Would you believe that I just happened to have some lemon curd in my fridge?

If you know me, then this really isn’t much of a shock.

 is a pretty regular item in my fridge – if for no other reason than to eat it with a spoon.

However I decided to try experimenting with adding the lemon curd to my frosting and nothing else and see what kind of lemon flavor I would get.

And BAM.

That was it.

A natural tasting lemon buttercream frosting that wasn’t too sweet, wasn’t bitter and wasn’t overpowering.

 

Lemon Lover's Cupcakes - finished cupcakes ready to be eaten!

 

You taste the lemon but not in an overwhelming way.

It’s light and sweet and oh so tasty!

And there you have it.

A winner.

Sometimes (and by sometimes I mean always) cupcake and frosting experiments take several rounds of experimenting.

However eventually, if I don’t give up, I find the perfect combination and give myself a gold star.

If you love lemons and are looking for a lemon frosting that isn’t going to overpower your guests, try this one.

It’s a favorite of ours and we hope it will be yours too!

 

Yield: Frosting for 12 Cupcakes

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

Lemon Buttercream Frosting in a bowl already whipped together
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup salted butter, room temperature
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup cold or room temperature Lemon Curd

Instructions

In a mixer, blend butter until fluffy.
Add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until fully incorporated.
Add 2 Tablespoons of heavy whipping cream and 1/2 cup of Lemon Curd.
Mix well.
Spread mixture onto cake as a filling or coating or pipe onto cupcakes.

 

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Julie

Thursday 21st of December 2023

In England were I love we have lemon curd on toast for breakfast 😋

Jerilee

Wednesday 18th of May 2022

Totally amazing! I made a daffodil sponge cake and wanted to spruce it up a bit. I filled it with homemade lemon curd and decided to frost it with this recipe using the rest of my lemon curd. The flavor and texture was spot on. So creamy and not too sweet. I'll be making this ensemble again!

Janelle

Wednesday 13th of July 2022

Jerilee I would have LOVED a slice of your cake. Sounds absolutely amazing! Thank you for taking the time to leave the comment. I'm so glad this recipe did not disappoint!

Simone

Tuesday 17th of May 2022

Hi Janelle, I love making lemon curd and I'm going to try your lemon curd buttercream recipe. Once I pipe it onto cupcakes will it be safe to leave them at room temp for a couple of days or not? Thank you so much.

Janelle

Wednesday 13th of July 2022

Hi Simone. Unfortunately buttercream is made with real butter and will melt. So if your kitchen isn't hot, they'll be fine. However if your kitchen it like mine (hot and in the south) then in the fridge they go! I know I'm a little late in replying but thought others might have the same question. Thank you for your comment.

Stephanie

Monday 14th of June 2021

This was delicious-we added zest from lemon and it took it out of the park!

Nark

Sunday 13th of December 2020

Did I miss something??? this sounds delicious! but the recipe says to cook for an hour??

Janelle

Wednesday 16th of December 2020

Oh man, I am laughing so hard right now! Nope..no cooking! Updating now! Thank you for the heads up!

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