Lemon Buttercream Frosting

Creamy, tart, and creamy, this Lemon Buttercream Frosting is perfect for lemon lovers. It is perfect for topping cupcakes or frosting layer cake.

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Love lemon? You might also love this Lemon Meringue Pie, Lemon Cheesecake, or classic Lemon Bars!

To know me is to know my love of all things lemon. From ice cream to cookies to cake, I’ll take it all.

Especially when it comes in the form of buttercream.

This lemon buttercream frosting is everything I could want in a buttercream. Sweet, tart, and full of lemon flavor.

And yes, you could pipe it on top of your cupcakes, or you can be like me and just grab a spoon!

Ingredients

Butter: I like to use unsalted butter so that I can control the amount of salt. If you do use salted butter, you could probably omit the salt below.

Lemon Juice: You want fresh lemon juice here. Bottled will not work well for this recipe.

Lemon Zest: The lemon zest will give the frosting a nice punch of lemon flavor. Make sure when you zest the lemon that you are only getting the yellow part of the peel – not the white part of the lemon.

Lemon Extract: I like to add in a little bit of lemon extract to up the lemon flavor. This really is totally optional, though. The lemon zest and juice will give you great lemon flavor, but the extract really highlights the lemon. If you don’t want to use the extract, simply leave it out.

Salt: You just need a large pinch of salt, about 1/4 teaspoon.

Powdered Sugar: This is also known as confectioners’ sugar. I don’t sift mine before. I think 7 cups is the perfect amount, but feel free to play with this amount and add less if you don’t want it quite as sweet.

How to Make Lemon Buttercream Frosting

1. Start by beating the butter. I like to use my stand mixer, but you could use a hand mixer as well.
2. Add in the lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon extract, and salt.
3. Start slowly adding in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until it is all incorporated. You’ll want to do this with the mixer on low so that the powdered sugar doesn’t fly everywhere.
4. Once all of the powdered sugar is mixed in, turn the mixer to medium and beat the frosting until it is a light and fluffy consistency. I like to let it beat a full 8-10 minutes. This is my secret for a light buttercream.

Tips and Tricks

If your buttercream starts to separate or look curdled, just keep beating it. The lemon juice can cause some separation, but if you just keep beating it, it will all come together.

The lemon juice and zest won’t add much color, so if you want the frosting to be yellow, add a few drops of yellow food coloring.

The buttercream is easiest to spread or pipe when it is at room temperature.

Store any leftover buttercream in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You an also freeze the buttercream. Thaw at room temperature. Before using, you may need to whip it again with a mixer

You will also need to store any leftover decorated cupcakes or cakes in the refrigerator.

How to Use Lemon Buttercream

This lemon buttercream recipe is very versatile!

My favorite way to use it is on cupcakes. You could use a basic white cupcake to let the lemon in the buttercream shine, or for a good punch of lemon, use it on lemon cupcakes!

This also makes enough to frost a 2 layer cake, and it works well for that.

You could make sugar cookies and use this to frost the cookies for a treat full of bright flavors.

More Frosting Recipes

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
Funfetti Frosting
Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frosting
Fluffy Frosting
Fresh Cherry Frosting

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Lemon Buttercream Frosting

4.50 from 2 votes

Author: Deborah Harroun

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 0 enough for 24 cupcakes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

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Creamy, tart, and creamy, this Lemon Buttercream Frosting is perfect for lemon lovers. It is perfect for topping cupcakes or frosting layer cake.

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• ▢ 6 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• ▢ 1-2 teaspoons lemon extract*
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 7 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

• Beat the butter in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth and creamy.
• Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, extract, and salt. Beat to combine.
• With the mixer on low, start adding the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until all of the sugar has been incorporated. Start mixing on medium. Beat the buttercream until it is light and creamy, 5-10 minutes.

Recipe Notes:

*The lemon extract adds an addition punch of lemon flavor, but if you don’t have any or don’t want to add it, you can leave it out.

You can add a few drops of yellow food coloring to help color the buttercream, but it’s not necessary.

Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should be used as a general guide.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1/24 of recipe, Calories: 208kcal (10%), Carbohydrates: 35g (12%), Fat: 7g (11%), Saturated Fat: 5g (31%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 20mg (7%), Sodium: 24mg (1%), Sugar: 34g (38%)

Keywords: lemon buttercream, lemon buttercream frosting, lemon frosting