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.
Rebecca
Lemon curd is FANTASTIC. Can I substitute crisco shorting for butter as I only have salted and my car is in the shop😱
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you like it, Rebecca! Unfortunately we recommend sticking with butter here 🙁
Terri C
Exactly how long can I store the Lemon Curd before making the frosting?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Terri! We actually address this in the recipe notes 😊
Ebti
The most perfect lemon frosting!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you like it! 😊
Matthew Benson
I love the way you post the ingredients in each step. I’m baking the blueberry cake right now.
Katrina Sosnowski
Can you use egg beaters instead of egg yolks for the lemon curd? Thanks Katrina
Sam
Hi Katrina! I’m not super familiar with egg beaters but it looks like they are meant to be a substitute for whole eggs and have other ingredients added as well, in which case I would not recommend them. I hope that helps!
Karina
Hi!
Just curious- this recipe does not call for lemon zest in the lemon curd for the frosting whereas your traditional lemon curd recipe does. What is the reason you excluded it for the frosting recipe? Thank you! Can’t wait to make this.
Sam
Hi Karina! I find that it didn’t do much because it ultimately goes through a strainer, but you could add it if you wanted to do so. The omission of the lemon zest also helps with a smoother texture. 🙂
Me
How can I make the frosting more smooth and thicker?
Sam
It should be completely smooth so I’m not sure how to combat that. You can try adding more powdered sugar to thicken it up a little bit, but if the curd wasn’t thickened quite enough I’m not sure more powdered sugar is going to help. 🙁
Me
My frosting felt a little bit grainy and thin but when I tried to add more powdered sugar it just became too sweet, could I try to mix it in a blender to see if that helps?
Sam
I’m not sure a blender is going to help here. It sounds like the curd may have not been to the point it needed to be and there’s not really a way to fix that other than to start over. 🙁 I do have a video in the post if that helps. 🙂
Ella
Can you tell me how long I should be whisking the lemon curd? I feel like I’ve been stirring for a long time. Thanks!
Sam
Hi Ella! It should only take a few minutes. You can see what mine looks like in the video, if that’s helpful. 🙂
Olivia Anne Tworkowsky
If i have leftover homemade lemon curd how much would I use?
Sam
Hi Olivia! I actually cover this in the FAQ section of the post. 🙂
Melanie
I made your delicious Lemon Frosting for some birthday carrot cake cupcakes – what a hit!! One of the birthday guests requested them specifically, so making them again today – thanks for sharing!!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Melanie! 🙂
D T
The first time I tried the lemon curd, it turned out absolutely inedible. Second time around, I used just a pinch of kosher salt, instead of the full 1/4 t of iodized table salt and it turned out just fine. I’m not sure if it was the iodine or the quantity of salt, or some other factor I’m missing. Has anybody else had this experience?
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this happened! What was wrong with it that made it inedible? Too salty? I would think that even if you used salted butter instead of unsalted butter, I don’t think it would cause too much of an issue, simply because there’s only a few tablespoons of butter. Did you make any substitutions?
D T
In both batches, I did substitute Earth Balance Soy-free Buttery Sticks for actual butter due to allergies in my family. So that might have been a contributing factor with the overall salt content. It’s hard to say exactly what was wrong. Too salty for sure, but I thought maybe it did have a metallic taste, too. Did I mis-measure the salt? I had just scoured the pot with Barkeeper’s Friend, did I not wash out that residue well enough? Was there something about the sieve I used? I skipped that step with the second batch, as well. Maybe it was the fake butter, maybe it was the salt, maybe, maybe, who knows. But I DID get a good second batch, and the frosting was a HIT, so thank you!!
Sam
Hi D T! I do believe those buttery sticks have salt added so it makes sense that the frosting would come out too salty between that and the salt called for in the recipe (since I use unsalted butter here). Next time I would skip the salt if you’re using the substitute. As for the metallic taste, that’s usually caused by using a reactive pot, what material was the pot that you used? The sieve should also ideally be a non reactive metal but since it passes through so briefly that would be less of a concern. I hope this helps!
B Lawson
my first try at this recipe turned out smooth and perfectly balanced. I covered a two layer strawberry cake with it without issues. this is definitely a winner to be added to our family cookbook.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Ashley Lohman
Never made homemade icing before. This is both light and creamy. It is a perfect lemon frosting.
Tess
Hi Sam, I’ve tried to make this recipe twice and each time the frosting is very runny, if i leave it in the fridge it stiffens up but the minute i take it out and try to pipe it doesn’t hold shape, what could it be?
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this, Tess! I wonder if the lemon curd needed to be thickened a little bit more, or maybe just a little more powdered sugar stirred in could help. 🙁
Dawn
I made this for 24 cupcakes and it was amazing. I had people say I should make it for my wedding coming up. I have one question. It says 12 servings for the frosting but when I made a double batch for 24 cupcakes it was twice as much as I needed. Can I make the frosting and froze it ahead of time and then just frost the cupcakes the night before?
Sam
Hi Dawn! I haven’t personally frozen the frosting in advance, but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work fine to do so. 🙂
Bridgette Wood
Bridgette Wood
I just made this lemon kird frosting and we both LOVE it! Thank you so much for sharing, GOD BLESS.