My Lemon Frosting gets its bright, fruity flavor from real lemon curd! It’s got a silky smooth texture and pipes beautifully, making it the perfect choice for topping both cakes and cupcakes. Recipe includes a how-to video!
The Best Lemon Frosting Recipe
This brilliantly flavored lemon frosting strikes the perfect balance between tart and sweet. With it’s pale yellow hue and bright, citrusy flavor, this frosting is a perfect choice for topping spring cakes and cupcakes!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- Unlike most lemon frostings that manage a shallow lemon flavor from lemon juice, lemon zest, or even lemon extract, this recipe has a robust flavor from a simple small-batch homemade lemon curd.
- It spreads and pipes beautifully, much like my classic buttercream frosting.
- Pairs perfectly with just about any springtime recipe, but especially my lemon blueberry cake!
To make sure the added step of cooking a curd was really worth the effort (a little time on the stovetop has certainly proven worth it for my German buttercream and ermine frosting!), I asked half a dozen of my family members do a blind taste test. When compared to a frosting made with lemon juice and zest, every single person overwhelmingly preferred this version, so I definitely think it’s worth the extra effort!
Let’s see if you agree 😊
What You Need
You only need a handful of ingredients for the most flavorful lemon frosting:
- Egg yolks. We’ll use these for our lemon curd. Don’t worry–they’ll be thoroughly cooked and safe to eat!
- Lemon juice. Fresh squeezed lemon juice is best for the most flavorful lemon frosting.
- Sugar. Compared to my classic lemon curd, you’ll notice that today’s recipe has a lesser amount of granulated sugar. This is intentional, since we’ll need to use powdered sugar later on and we don’t want our frosting to be overwhelmingly sweet.
- Unsalted butter. Use unsalted butter so we can control the amount of salt in our frosting.
SAM’S TIP: Do not add vanilla extract! It may seem odd to have a frosting recipe without any vanilla extract (even my chocolate frosting has a splash!), but I found that even the tiniest amount of vanilla completely dominated the lemon flavor in this frosting. It’s intentionally missing from this ingredient list, so leave it out!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Lemon Frosting
- Combine the lemon curd ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens.
- Pour the curd through a fine mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl and allow it to cool completely.
- Beat the butter until it is light and fluffy, then gradually add your powdered sugar until it is fully incorporated.
- Add the cooled lemon curd and mix until everything is completely combined. Use as desired!
SAM’S TIP: The curd must be cooled completely before adding it to the butter, or it could melt everything. Nobody wants to deal with that mess!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you could technically use a store bought lemon curd (about ⅓-½ cup), but the flavor may not be as pure and the frosting may end up sweeter.
This frosting is great on pretty much any cake or cupcake. I’d suggest you try it with my vanilla cake, white cake, strawberry cake, or if you’re crazy for lemon, my lemon cake!
If made in advance, yes, it needs to be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep this way for 2-3 days and will need to thaw to room temperature before you can spread or pipe it.
Once the frosting is on your cake/cupcake, it can sit at room temperature for several hours, but for best results, I recommend keeping it refrigerated.
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Lemon Frosting
Ingredients
For Lemon Curd
- 2 large egg yolks
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) lemon juice fresh-squeezed preferred
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 4 Tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter cut into pieces
For Frosting
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened
- 3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- In a small, non-reactive saucepan (see note), whisk together egg yolks, lemon juice, sugar, and salt.2 large egg yolks, ⅓ cup (80 ml) lemon juice, 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon table salt
- Add butter and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly until mixture is thickened (the whisk should leave trails through the curd and it should be able to coat the back of a spoon, see video or photos in post for visual if desired).4 Tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter
- Remove from heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl. Allow to cool completely before proceeding (you can transfer to the refrigerator to cool faster).
- Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, beat 1 cup softened butter until light and fluffy (high speed about 30-60 seconds). Gradually add powdered sugar until completely combined.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar
- Drizzle in cooled lemon curd and stir until completely combined. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure ingredients are well-combined. Note: if frosting is too thin you can add additional powdered sugar, up to 1 cup/125g.
- Spread or pipe over cake or cupcakes.
Notes
Saucepan
You must use a non-reactive pan when making lemon curd. Acceptable materials include stainless steel, glass, enameled cast iron. Avoid using aluminum, copper, or iron (such as non-enameled cast iron) pans, which can react with the lemon and cause a metallic taste.Storing/Making in Advance
The lemon curd can be made up to a day in advance, simply store in the refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to use (you do not need to return to room temperature before using). The assembled frosting may be prepared and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days before using, you will need to let the frosting return to near room temperature and stir until smooth before using. Once used to decorate a cake/cupcake, the frosting may sit at room temperature for several hours but for best results I recommend refrigerating.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Beth
If you use salted butter, it is considered safe to leave on the counter? My daughter wants to try to make the Lemon Blueberry Cake for 4H, but it has to be able to set on the counter safely for days (shelf-stable).
Thanks,
Beth
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Beth! Unfortunately because of the eggs in this frosting, we would still recommend refrigerating.
Rachel
I used this recipe but doubled it. The amount of butter seemed a me compared to my usually buttercream to be a little excessive. I followed the double recipe but used the original amount of butter (double exerting except the butter). I did need to use an extra cup or so of powdered sugar to make up for the fact that I’d removed two sticks of butter. Hands down flavor wise and texture it was the best frosting I’ve ever made. I think it’d be great with the extra butter but I just can’t justify a whole pound for one cake. My only other modification was adding zest into the curd because I wanted a very lemon lemon curd. Since I was staining it anyway I didn’t see any reason not to add it.
Maureen
Haven’t made yet but will because I LOVE buttercream frostings. After I make this, i will try it by using oranges. My brother is going to be visiting and he loves Anything orange. Can’t wait to try this. Just bought icing tips to use a few months ago and will use the first time with this recipe.
Sam
I hope you love it, Maureen! 🙂
Miriam Rose Blanar
I have 2 questions, first could I make this into an orange frosting? And second how much would I increase the recipe by if i wanted to cover a 24×18 cake plus add some decorations to it?
Sam
Hi Miriam! You could turn it into an orange frosting. I haven’t tried frosting a cake quite that large, but I would think you would probably need about 8 cups of frosting. This recipe makes probably about 3-4 cups of frosting so I would definitely double if not triple it. It also depends on how much frosting you want on the cake, but it’s better to have too much than not enough if you ask me. 🙂
Miriam Rose Blanar
I agree! Thank you! I decided I probably won’t do this one because I have no way to refrigerate this size of cake, but I’ll add orange zest and extract to your buttercream recipe. Thank you again! That helped a lot!
Connie Kilfeather
I make my own lemon curd in batches. Can you tell me how much to use for the frosting. Thanks.
Sam
Hi Connie! This is covered in the FAQ section in the post. Enjoy! 🙂
Connie Kilfeather
Thank you.
Elizabeth
Would you have a suggestion for turning this into a cream cheese frosting? I’ve never been a big fan of buttercream
Sam
Hi Elizabeth! I’ve added 4 oz of cream cheese to the frosting (beaten in with the butter in the beginning) to give it a cream cheese flair that’s not over-whelming (I found too much cream cheese can bully the lemon flavor and diminish the taste too much). You could also try preparing the curd and gradually adding to my classic cream cheese frosting (I would omit the vanilla extract) if you’re looking for a more intense cream cheese flavor, that should work just fine and be delicious 🙂
Marjie
I had never made lemon curd before and was a little afraid to try, but your recipe and video was so easy to follow. The frosting came out great!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Marjie! 🙂
Lizzy
My mom sent this to our family group chat asking someone to make it for her. I figured it would he worth trying since who doesn’t love lemon?!
I haven’t made it yet, but can I just say how much I LOVE the fact that the amounts of each ingredient are also added in the instructions?? Let’s make *that* a normal thing so I don’t have to scroll back up for each new measurement with messy hands. Thank you for that! I’m so excited for that aspect, AND the amazing lemon frosting. 😂
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Lizzy! Thank you for the feedback regarding the ingredients in the instructions. 🙂
Bridgette
I am so dang excited to try this! I’m getting my ingredients today for the frosting and the lemon berry cake! I’m going to make the frosting today (as suggested) then bake the cake tomorrow and use the frosting! My mouth is already watering 😂
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We hope you absolutely love it, Bridgette! It’s one of our favorites ❤️
Ash
This is the absolute most delicious frosting ever! I wanted something other that a vanilla or chocolate buttercream for a birthday cake and this was perfection! To me it tastes like a lemon meringue pie (yum!).
I was doing rosettes and did end up making 1.5 times the amount (thank you for that tip!) it was the perfect amount. Added bonus is I now know how to make a simple and delicious lemon curd! Thank you so much!!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it os much, Ash! 🙂
Wendy
Hey Sam!
To increase the frosting, you should also increase the amount of lemon curd, correct? Increase both components equally or the curd stays the same and just the butter/sugar amount increases? Thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Wendy! Yes, you will want to increase all ingredients, including the curd 😊
Barb
I have not made this yet, but what is the reason for putting it through a strainer?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Barb! We strain the curd to make sure no cooked egg lumps make it into the final frosting. Hope you love it! 😊
Jessica
Hi! I am hoping to make this frosting for my son’s birthday cake this week. He is set on lemon cake and frosting but he also wants it themed! Does this frosting color well?? I have gel food coloring, i want to make it blue and another batch red! Is the frosting too yellow to take on food coloring? Thanks you!
Sam
Hi Jessica! Unfortunately this frosting is pretty vibrant yellow so I’m not sure that dyes would work well here. 🙁
Chely
I was surprised by just how delicious this was! The flavor is uniquely fresh and rich, & downright zippy. Thoroughly enjoyed. It piped flawlessly, too (although on a high-humidity day in the south, I did need that optional extra cup of powdered sugar). Thank you for sharing! I’ll be making these again.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Chely! 🙂
Anne Marie
I made this frosting to go with the lemon blueberry cake and I couldn’t stop thinking it tasted like hollandaise sauce which made it a bit overpowering for me. Did i maybe not make it correctly? Could I have used more sugar in the curd? Or is that how it’s meant to be?
It does pair very nicely with the cake, but I could only handle it in a very thin layer – I used about 1/3 of the total frosting amount for the 3-tier cake.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Anne Marie! We’re so sorry you weren’t a fan of the frosting. It sounds like there may have been an issue with your lemon curd. Did it taste overly eggy? If so, the eggs may have been overcooked. The curd should be creamy, tart, and sweet. Using fresh lemons is key, so if that wasn’t the case for you, that could also affect the flavor. Hope that helps…let us know if we can help troubleshoot any further!
Cindy
Just wondering if I could use lemon curd from the grocery store and if so how many ounces of curd to your recipe? Thanks
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Cindy! We answer this question in the FAQ section of the post 😊
Kari
This frosting was perfect, we put it on top of your lemon blueberry cake that we made as cupcakes. Love that it has a bit of tartness to it.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wonderful! Thanks for letting us know how you enjoyed them, Kari 🥰
Marci
I made a raspberry lemon cake for my daughter’s birthday but she thought that the lemon cream cheese frosting was too much. Now my sister is asking me to bake the same cake and I want to use your recipe, which seems lighter. Will this recipe construct 3 – 8 inch round cakes with raspberry filling but also be able to pipe a small amount on the edges to hold in the filling as well as frost the entire cake?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Marci! Our recipe as written will cover a 2-layer 8″ cake. Since you’re not putting icing between the layers, you may be able to get away with the recipe as written, but we’d recommend increasing by 50% just in case. Hope that helps!