Triple Lemon Buttercream
Brightly lemon-y buttercream that is still creamy and sweet and perfect for frosting and holding together any kind of cake. This is a buttercream for true lemon lovers!
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This recipe is for my lemon lovers! Anyone watch Kids Baking Championship? We love all of those baking championship shows on Food Network (surprise, surprise), and the kids one is so fun! One thing I love is that the kids all know Duff loves bacon and Valerie loves lemon. They’re always trying to include lemon to get Val to like their dessert (poor Duff, he rarely gets bacon). But the key to winning over a lemon lover isn’t just more lemon.
The key is using the right amount of lemon to have a bright citrus pop while balancing it with the other flavors.
Most lemon lovers want a strong lemon flavor. But no one wants to feel like they’re just biting into a lemon (although I get it if that’s your thing—I love squeezing a lemon or two into plain water). You want a balance of citrus and sweet. Plus, you have to use lemon carefully, or it will drastically alter the texture of any dessert.
Which is why I’ve spent years figuring out how to make a really lemony lemon frosting that’s not gritty with lemon zest or runny from lemon juice.
The key? Lemon curd.
I had a jar of leftover lemon curd that I was already planning to use as a filling for my lemon cake, and I had a last-minute idea to add lemon curd to the frosting.
I honestly felt like I’d cracked a code or solved a case, because it was the perfect move! My lemon curd is fairly tart and sturdy (I made it for a tart filling), so it added lots of lemon flavor without breaking the frosting or creating a runny mess. Win!
How to make triple lemon buttercream
You’ll make this like a classic American buttercream, adding the lemon curd, zest, and juice at the end like you would a jelly or heavy whipping cream. First, cream the butter until smooth.
Add the powdered sugar in, one cup at a time, blending until smooth each time.
Add the lemon zest (make sure it’s really finely grated) , lemon juice, lemon curd, vanilla, and salt. Blend until smooth. Taste, adjusting flavors as needed—but see note about adding more lemon anything. Scrape the bow then beat on high for about a minute to make this very smooth.
Pairs well with:
While I made this for my lemon and mascarpone cake, it would pair well with a variety of cakes and cupcakes!
Turn these White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes into lemon raspberry!
Old Fashioned Lemon Cake (a denser, more old fashioned cake—pair with your favorite fruit jam!)
Tips and notes for this recipe
Add extra lemon with extreme caution
While you can always adjust an American buttercream at the end to have more of any ingredient besides butter, be very cautious adding more lemon ingredients! Too much zest becomes annoying and even chewy. Too much curd or juice could cause the frosting to break or become runny. While you can sometimes save a broken (separated) frosting with refrigeration and beating on high, it doesn’t always work. And it’s nearly impossible to save a buttercream that’s too runny. All you can do is add more powdered sugar, but in my experience you can’t ever add enough to make it sturdy again. This recipe pretty much pushes the limit on how much lemon you can squeeze into frosting before the structure is comprised. And no, pun not intended but happy surprise!
Use finely grated zest
Only a few years ago did I discover that “lemon zest” on its own means something different to everyone. I thought we all used our zester and had roughly the same product—finely grated zest. Turns out some people use longer strips or chunks of the zest. Personally, I don’t care for strips of zest in my desserts, so I try to always indicate grated zest. You can use what’s technically called a microplane zester. I used to use my fine cheese grater, but now I love this grater/zester because it gets even finer zest. If you choose the fine cheese grater, be sure not to zest the pith (the white part) or you’ll have a bitter aftertaste.
Sub a thick store bought lemon curd
Obviously, you can use store bought lemon curd. I do it quite often these days, as time is precious when you’re a toddler mom and work full time. Homemade lemon curd will always be my preference, but this buttercream will work just fine with store bought as long as it’s a thicker curd. If you can scoop out a spoonful and hold it upside down without it falling, you have a thick enough curd to use in this buttercream.
My buttercream tools
Here are my must-have tools I use for making this buttercream. Affiliate links provided.
Triple Lemon Buttercream
total time: 5-10 minutes
yields: 2 ½ - 3 cups (enough to fill and frost a 2-3 layer cake)
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups (3 sticks or 12 ounces) unsalted European style butter, just barely room temperature
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar, to taste
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon curd
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
- 2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions:
- First, make your lemon curd (if using homemade).
- Beat butter on high for about 30 seconds, until smooth. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Start on low then increase speed to high until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape bowl as needed.
- Add the lemon curd, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on high until smooth. Scrape down the bowl and beat on high for a few seconds. Taste, adjusting sugar or other flavors as needed. See not about adding too much lemon.
- Once flavor is balanced, scrape the bowl and beat for about 1 minute, until smooth.
Enjoy! If not using right away, store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2-3 weeks or in the freezer for 1-2 months. If chilled, you will need to stir or mix for a few minutes to fluff back up before use.
